Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop Producer Mizuki Hosoyamada on Continuing 30 Years of Satisfying Slimes

Slime being sticky is one of nature’s unwritten laws – invariably learned after an unfortunately placed foot lands with a squelch instead of a step. But while the real-life stuff will rudely cling to anything it can cozy up to, the slimes of tile-matching game series Puyo Puyo are far more polite. Falling Tetris-style from the top of the screen, these cutesy blobs only link up when in color-matched groups of four, vanishing thereafter in a gratifying burst of points.

That slime-slotting core has proven a perpetual joy. More than three decades after the 1991 original delighted Famicom owners in Japan, the blobs are still falling. 2024 saw Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop join the Apple Arcade catalog, bringing a modern and evolving take on those classic eyeballed oozes.

To celebrate the release, we had the chance to drop our questions directly into the mind of series producer Mizuki Hosoyamada. Below, you’ll find his thoughts on how Puyo Puyo fits into the modern world of gaming, and the future offered by Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop.

Restart: It’s been over 30 years since the first Puyo Puyo game debuted. What makes the concept of linking together cute blobs so timelessly endearing?

Hosoyamada-san: I believe it’s partly because the action-puzzle gameplay system feels complete－the concept of connecting and erasing four or more puyos of the same color to create satisfying chains makes for fun battles. Also, I think the game receives a lot of love due to its characters and the world design appealing to a broad range of ages, regardless of gender. The game bridges the generation gap, with kids in elementary school able to battle senior citizens!

After working on the Puyo Puyo series for more than 15 years, what does it mean to you, personally?

I’ve headed up the team since 2006－18 years ago. When I joined, I had no idea I’d end up leading the Puyo Puyo series. Originally, I was only supposed to provide support to the team for a month, but since then I’ve worked as a director and a producer for the IP.

I was a fan of the game first, having played the game at arcades and on the SNES, and it really fills me with great joy to be trusted to create games for a series I enjoy. Puyo Puyo is like family to me now.

Do you have a favorite game or memory from your time working on the series?

In terms of Puyo Puyo, I have a lot of love and memories for each title, but the first game I worked on stands out: Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary. I joined the project at a point when there were five months left until the deadline and everything was being reconsidered.

I had to hit the ground running and maintain that momentum, bouncing ideas off the original development team in order to create a game that would be ready on time. We had to come up with new rules, get the game design in place, do all the work required to port the game to various devices, and more! It was tough! I had to be a game designer, a director, and a producer all at once, but thanks to the brilliant team, we managed to get the game done and released on time.

And despite all the problems we faced, the game was a huge hit in Japan, even appearing in a Japanese gaming magazine’s Top 10 Games for PS2. The fact that the game achieved records and remains in the hearts of fans really made all that effort worth it, and spurs me on to this day when creating Puyo Puyo titles.

How did you approach designing Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop for a modern audience while retaining the series’ classic appeal?

It’s been three years since Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and eight years since Puyo Puyo Chronicle. When creating Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop we wanted to make the most of the knowledge and experience we had gained as far back as Puyopuyo!! Quest and from the esports scene.

We put as much detail as we could into the 3D animations, which you can see in particular during the conversations between characters in Adventure Mode, so please take a look! We also realized that a lot of people would be new to the game, so we did our best to make the experience as approachable to those people as possible.

Puyo Puyo is a series that veterans have become incredibly good at. Do you think Puzzle Pop is accessible for new players? We’ve certainly been struggling in ranked mode!

I highly recommend first playing through and enjoying the single-player modes, such as Adventure Mode. Once you feel good enough, then tackle online battles.

Personally, I wouldn’t go into online battles without practicing first, because newer players will likely have a tough time when pitted against top players or professional Japanese players. Of course, we designed the matching system to put you against people close to your level, but you might face tougher opponents depending on how many people are available at that time and whether a lot of advanced players are playing.

Also, try playing Challenge Mode, where the only opponent is yourself. See if you can beat your high score.

The Puyo Puyo games have dabbled in new mechanics many times. When experimenting for Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, how did you determine what worked?

While in the past we’ve had a subscription service on feature phones, as well as released games to celebrate the series’ 15th and 20th anniversaries, this is the first time we’ve been able to release a game worldwide on a scale bigger than Puyo Puyo Tetris 2.

We had released some games in Japan and parts of Asia, but we were aware that fans around the world－as well as those who got on board through Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 & 2, and Puyo Puyo Champions－wanted to see a new independent or anniversary title. So we took the best aspects of those games and added new elements to create Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, which we were able to release simultaneously worldwide.

We’re currently working on updates that feature older rules and modes that haven’t seen the light of day for a while, so stay tuned!

Of all the new modes and rulesets you’ve introduced since the game launched, which is your favorite, and why should players return to check it out?

Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 had co-op modes, but I wanted to do so much more with them, so I’m happy I got to do that for Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop.

I highly recommend Mega Puyo Rush, which came from Puyo Puyo 7’s “transformation” feature that incorporates gigantic puyo! This time around, we tweaked the design to provide a more streamlined experience. Also, we designed the Challenge Adventure mode with replayability in mind, so please check that out, too!

Why did you decide to release on Apple Arcade, and are there any plans to bring Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop to other platforms in the future?

On consoles, we’ve been able to globally release Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 & 2 as well as Puyo Puyo Champions, but the only mobile game we’ve been able to release is Puyo Puyo!! Quest, whose release was limited to Japan and parts of Asia.At one point, we did a subscription-based game, but those days are gone, and the gaming landscape is changing so much right now that we want to keep Puyo Puyo moving with the times.

On top of that, each country has its own way of providing games for mobile devices, meaning we had to come up with a way of overcoming all these factors and connecting all players around the globe. Apple was the perfect partner to help us do that and cooperated with us to help release a game we are very proud of.

As Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop was made in collaboration with Apple, we don’t have any plans to release it on other platforms. That being said, we do see Puyo Puyo as a multi-platform game series, appearing on mobile devices, consoles, and in arcades, so we hope you look forward to what we have to bring in the future.

Sonic the Hedgehog characters feature noticeably in Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, with a series connection that harks back to the westernized Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. Could you tell us a bit about why that link came about?

I was involved with the production of Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine for Sonic Mega Collection Plus and Sonic Gems Collection. In addition, many of Puyo Puyo’s developers have worked on Sonic games, too, which is how the connection came about.

In Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, you can change the puyos to Sonic shapes, as well as the Morolians from Space Channel 5. With developers of other games on the team, we end up putting these references in for fun and are really happy when people notice them.

How have you seen interest and awareness of the Puyo Puyo series change in the West over your time working on the games?

While ports of Puyo Puyo games to overseas markets－from the very first game to Puyo Puyo Fever and beyond－have been relatively successful, we have yet to have a huge hit. Still, we have our loyal fans, and awareness of the brand is increasing slowly but surely.

I’ve been working to secure a hit abroad since I started heading up the IP, but some games we haven’t been able to release worldwide. That being said, with each new global release, for example Puyo Puyo on Sega Ages, Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 & 2, Puyo Puyo Champions, etc. we have been able to see actual data showing that new fans have gotten on board, increasing brand awareness. While in Japan, almost everybody has heard of Puyo Puyo, it’s quite exciting as a developer to think of all the people out there in the world waiting to be pleasantly surprised.

What are your hopes for the future of Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop and the series as a whole?

For Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, we have been working hard on updates that will gradually release in the coming months, with the aim being to make this the most content-heavy game in the Puyo Puyo series so far. Where possible, we would like to consider fan opinions, too, so we encourage players to really delve into the game and share their opinions on social media, etc.

As for the Puyo Puyo series itself, we have a few things lined up, such as collaborations and merch, mainly for Japan. Also, we’re constantly looking into ways to evolve the series; naturally, the more popular the game gets the easier it will be for us to try new things, so please support us!

Recently, other developers have been adapting popular battle royale multiplayer modes for classic puzzle games, like Tetris 99. Do you think this would work for Puyo Puyo?

Without doubt, I think it’s possible. Apparently, a version was considered previously; I didn’t know that and ended up creating my own plans before, too. On a technical level it would be very difficult to create, and also I try to consider what would be a better service or product than what’s on offer now, so that’s halted progress on the idea. However, from time to time I do get inspired and create a draft for the gaming devices available. I’m hoping that one day we can bring a very unique Puyo Puyo spin to the battle royale concept.

Finally, which of Puyo Puyo’s colorful cast is your favorite character and why?

You can find the characters Carbuncle and Suketoudara greeting fans even to this day, and I have to admit I’m very fond of them. We haven’t had the chance to introduce the costumed mascots to people outside of Japan, but hopefully we can have them give high-fives around the world soon!

Our thanks to Hosoyamada-san for taking the time to respond to our questions. Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop is available now on Apple Arcade.

Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop

Release Date: April 4, 2024

Digital Only

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