Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop is a great mobile version of a classic series

Last year, Sega revealed a newfound commitment to its wide catalog of franchises. In December, it announced that several series would get the revival treatment, including long-dormant franchises like Crazy Taxi. We’d even get a tease at that IP comeback with three new Samba de Amigo games, which were released across Nintendo Switch, VR, and mobile.

While there was a long stretch where it felt like Sega was moving past its classic games, we’re at the onset of a retro renaissance. And judging by Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, Sega isn’t taking that opportunity for granted. Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop is a new version of the classic match-four puzzler that’s available now exclusively on Apple Arcade. It’s the first Puyo Puyo game in four years and it comes loaded with enough content to fill that gap. It doesn’t do much to meaningfully shake up the series’ winning formula, but it doesn’t need to. Sega instead puts its effort into making this version of Puyo Puyo the best it can be, which is something all of the company’s upcoming revivals should strive for.

Popping Puyos

Rather than leaning on a big central gimmick, like Puyo Puyo Tetris does, Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop is a more straightforward version of the classic puzzle game. Players drop colorful goo balls into a well and match four of the same color to clear them. Combos are as key as ever, as Puyo Puyo is about staying three steps ahead of the board to aim for big chain reactions. That playstyle has always made it less newcomer-friendly than something like Tetris, but Puzzle Pop is more committed than ever to onboarding new players.

• The next great Sonic the Hedgehog game may be hiding on Apple Arcade
• Sonic Superstars found great new ways to freshen up the classic 2D formula
• Pocket Card Jockey director details the long road to its mobile port

It features a whopping 50 tutorials, which cover everything from the basics to expert combo planning. It’s perhaps the best introduction to the series Sega’s ever made. It helps that