Puzzle De Pon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Puzzle De Pon

Developer(s)	Visco Corporation
Publisher(s)	Taito
Release date(s)	1995, 1997
Genre(s)	Puzzle game
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Platform(s)	Arcade
Input	Joystick (8-way); 1 button
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade system(s)	Neo Geo Multi Video System
Arcade display	Raster, standard resolution

Puzzle De Pon! is a puzzle video game made by the Taito Corporation in 1995. It was initially released for the Neo Geo arcade platform and was compatible with its Multi Video System (MVS). The game plays similarly to Taito's own Puzzle Bobble series. There are some gameplay differences however. Although the player clears the colored balls on the screen by firing balls against other balls of the same colour, the objective of the game is not to clear the screen of balls. It is instead to clear all the balls from around the level shape, referred to as the "drop token". Once this shape is freed, it explodes and the player travels onto the next level.

Levels in this style were later adopted by the Puzzle Bobble series.

[edit] Puzzle De Pon R

In 1997, a sequel to Puzzle De Pon! was released for the Neo Geo MVS system, entitled Puzzle De Pon! R!.

[edit] Trivia

The name Puzzle De Pon is derived from the animations of bubbles popping in the original Bubble Bobble videogame, where a little onomatopoeic animation (through Japanese pronunciation) saying "Pon!" would appear once a bubble was popped.

One unique feature to the game is often referred to as the "Million Point Shot". If the player manages to shoot a bubble into an awkward crook in the gameboard (usually between the wall, the drop token, or some unpoppable bubbles), a cuckoo clock sounded, and the player was awarded 1 million points. This could be acquired one time per round. The Million Point Shot is never announced or pointed out to the player ahead of time; it must be found using trial and error.