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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Table of Contents ]-=-=-=
Puyo Puyo DA! Intro
Version History
Songs and Dancers
The ELLENA System
General Information
Closing
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Puyo Puyo DA! Intro ]-=-=-=
This is a quickie guide for the Japanese only Sega Dreamcast
dancing game, Puyo Puyo DA! The idea is to highlight the gameplay
system which makes the game somewhat unique for what otherwise
could be dismissed at a Parappa the Rapper clone. This guide
should help people get started playing and understanding
PuyoPuyo DA! even though it is an admittedly very simple game.
If you enjoy reflex test games such as Simon and Parappa the
Rapper and Japanese pop music, then I would encourage you to
check the game out. Hopefully this document will be of some
assistance early in the game.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Version History ]-=-=-=
The latest version of this guide can be always be found at
GameFAQs [ gamefaqs.com ]. If you happen to make this guide
available on your site and see a newer version available at any of
the above sources, then please go ahead and replace your older
version.
Version 1.1 [ March 15, 2006 ]
Minor editing.
Version 1.0 [ February 1, 2006 ]
Finished document and removed reference links due to sites
disappearing, including the developer Compile having since gone
bankrupt. Sega now owns the Puyo Puyo license.
Version 0.8 [ July 20, 2001 ]
This update fixed errors in The ELLENA System explanation.
I also changed the formatting and section heading a bit and
added new information about the history of the game and the
songs and cast of characters.
Version 0.3 [ July 3, 2001 ]
This is the first version of this document. Puyo Puyo DA!
is a nice sorta dancing game and deserved a guide to help
people get into the game.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Songs and Dancers ]-=-=-=
Please note that I am unsure if the character rating means that
choosing him or her makes for a more difficult game, or if the
CPU plays the character at that difficulty. I want to say it's
the former, but I'm not completely certain.
In a single player game, you must dance to your opponent's songs,
but it is possible to have two people play using another song
in the versus mode. Unfortunately, there is not sound test so you
can listen to the songs without playing the game, but do notice
that you can start a 2-player versus match and let the controllers
idle to listen. I suggest recording the songs if possible since
that gets annoying and the songs are quite nice.
All characters are from the Puyo Puyo series except Ellena Stevens,
whose origin is explained above. For more information and pictures
of the Puyo Puyo cast, you should go visit the web sites listed
at the end of this document.
The Puyo Puyo DA cast and songs:
Arle Nadja (easy)
No. 1 -- Shakunetsu no Fire Dance (Edit)
Skeleton-T (easy)
No 2. -- Puyopuyo(DA Original Mix)
Tara (easy)
No. 3 -- i miss you
Ellena Stevens (normal)
No. 4 -- i sing
Minotaur (normal)
No. 5 -- Hip House Compile Classix'95
Schezo Wegey (hard)
No. 6 -- toy of puyopuyo
Rulue (hard)
No. 7 -- memories of puyopuyo(euro version)
Satan (hard)
No. 8 -- i hate you(hanglish version)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ The ELLENA System ]-=-=-=
Much as in Parappa the Rapper, Puyo Puyo DA! is a "dancing" game
with a Simon-like gameplay system. A line at the top of the
screen is displayed for each of the two "battling" characters,
and the simple goal is the press the coresponding button while
the indicator passes over it.
TYPES OF INPUT
There are five available input types: red puyo, blue puyo, yellow
puyo, green puyo, and the star. You should notice that the
directions the puyos are mapped to also are indicated with their
color -- such that the red puyo is inputted by pressing the red
button on the standard Dreamcast controller and so forth. The
star icon is mapped to the shoulder triggers, and I'd greatly
urge players to remap it to the d-pad in the options screen.
The delay of the analog triggers can and will be a pain to deal
with, especially during the more difficult rounds.
DANCING AND CHAINING
Unlike Parappa, you are not awarded for improvising. Any button
press not indicated on the meter will count against you; however,
you are free to miss notes without being penalized as in Sony's
game. Thus, if you are greeted with a string of commands after
chaining the ones previously shown and do nothing whatsoever, you
will not incur any penalty. This will allow you to skip over
difficult sections of songs without ruining your chain. Of course,
depending on the difficulty setting or person you're playing
against, skipping too many can spell disaster to your chances of
winning. Still, it is a strategy unique to Puyo Puyo DA! and well
worth taking advantage of during the game.
The basis premise is to see which player can "chain" the most
commands together, which is done by pressing the displayed button
at the exact moment the meter indicates it must be pressed. Each
button press is assigned a rating based on how close it was
inputted while the marker passed over the indicator: excellent,
great, good, fair, and bad. Pressing the button at the exact moment
indicated will grant you an "excellent" rating, while the others
appear as you delay your input. "Bad" appears when you completely
miss the mark.
Only "excellent" and "great" rated inputs are added to your chain
total and keep the chain alive. The moment you input a "good" or
worse command, your dance chain will end. Thus, if you enter a new
line of commands with an existing 12 puyo chain and input the
following rated presses:
Excellent Excellent Great Good Great Good Poor Good Great
You will continue to the next line with no chain, although you did
build upon the previous chain by three until having the "good"
rating ruin it. "Good" and "fair" ratings only serve as a point
measure and determine whether or not your dancer does a good or bad
pose at the end of the meter, so the final three "good" rated
inputs contributed nothing, and the "great" rating must be
followed by another "great" or "excellent" rated command to begin a
chain. If your first input on the next line is rated "excellent" or
"great," then you'll have a chain of two puyos.
The strength of your attack depends entirely on both your and your
opponent's dancing ability. If hit more notes than the other
player, then your opponent will suffer damage and puyos will
appear on that side of the screen in the bar at the top. After five
puyo types appear, the five will be removed and replaced with a
more valuable puyo which represents the previous five puyos with a
single unit. The order looks like this:
Small gray puyo -> Gray puyo -> Red puyo -> Moon -> Comet -> Saturn
You can repair damage and remove the gray ojyama (garbage) puyos
from your side by performing better than your opponent. Note that
puyos don't really affect the gameplay at all, though if you dance
well enough you can defeat your opponent before the song ends.
HITTING YOUR NOTES
Finally, on the more difficult command strings, you'll notice many
notes overlap each other. These require split second timing and
pose the greatest challenge in the game, especially when they are
encountered in rapid succession. Remember that you can skip them if
you do not think you can input the overlapping notes without
ruining your chain; however, you will have to learn how to
successfully read and enter the commands if you hope to make it
through the more difficult songs. I find it helps to slide my
finger quickly across the notes required so that I can hit them
quick enough to at least maintain my chain. If you're still having
difficulty, then you should at least make the attempt to land the
first note -- you can skip the overlapped note and shouldn't fall
behind as much as you would attempting both.
DANCE RATING AND SCORING
At the end of a match you're rated in three areas:
Max. Chains 1 -> ?
Your Dance Mark 50 <-> 100 %
Dance Level A <-> F
Max. Chains is obviously your maximum number of chains you were
able to complete during the song. Your Dance Mark is a rating of
how well your performed based on your input ratings. Your Dance
Level may or may not take in the Max. Chains into account.
You gain one point per second of the song. I'll have to play
again and see if I can get a VCR to understand the other scoring
methods. It's not that complicated -- obviously, the best
possible score would could from getting an "excellent" rating
on every note and making no mistakes. Still not sure if there's a
bonus for defeating an opponent before the song is finished.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ General Information ]-=-=-=
INTRODUCTION
While I can't translate the introduction, I can clarify some of
the information presented during it. The introduction basically
describes the original of Ellena and the connection between it
and Puyo Puyo DA! You'll notice some English text being shuffled
around the screen at the beginning:
Disc Station Vol. 4 - 1994
The legend of the girl who wanna get a chance with her DANCE be cool.
- featuring ELLENA System -
Compile offers a Japanese PC magazine called Disc Station which is
still available today and can be seen on the company's website.
Compile includes a disc with this magazine, and volume four had an
all new game featuring the dancing of Ellena. Again, you see this
game during the introduction during play. You may be able to order
back issues of Disc Station if you want it -- I really don't know.
Remember that you will need a PC running Japanese Windows to play
the game if you can get your hands on a copy.
Five years later Compile decides to release Puyo Puyo DA! The game
uses the Ellena system found in the Disc Station game and also
brought her on board the cast.
GAME MENUS
I can't comprehend Japanese on any level, so all I can offer at
the moment which may be of help is a vague understanding of the
difficulty selection in the story mode. When you're presented with
a choice of three bubbles each with two Japanese characters in it,
remember that the default difficulty is "normal." Pressing left
will put you on "easy," and the right selection is the "hard"
difficulty. On the easy setting you'll face three dancers, five
on normal, and all eight on hard.
WHERE'S CARBUCLE?
This is the first Puyo Puyo game to not feature Arle's "pet"
Carbuncle in game. Carbuncle instead appears on the VMU screen.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Closing ]-=-=-=
This document may be distributed freely as long as no alterations
are made to this text file and the author is given credit for the
work. No website must profit, either directly or indirectly, from
the use of this guide. Bad things will happen if someone does not
comply to the above without my written permission.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ End of Document ]-=-=-=
