Excellent Retro Puzzle Games: Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

Numerous characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series were fortunate enough to be spun off into their own games. Miles "Tails" Prower starred in a pair of games for the Game Gear, Knuckles the Echidna had his own adventure on the short-lived Sega 32X, and Shadow the Hedgehog received his own game for the Gamecube, Playstation 2, and Xbox. Even the evil Dr. Robotnik became the star of a game when, in 1993, Sega released Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, a puzzle game for the Genesis and Game Gear. Actually based on a game called Puyo Puyo, the game would become quite addictive and would provide hours of fun for anyone who played it. Let us look back at Robotnik's first and only time that he was a star.

Robotnik has cooked up yet another scheme. Since he hates anything to do with fun, he decides to capture the fun-loving beans of Beanville and roboticize (change into mindless mechanical slaves) each and every one of them. The only way to save the beans from a robotic fate is for the player (Sonic himself does not even appear in this game) to defeat each of Robotnik's mechanical minions, and eventually, Robotnik himself, in a game of Puyo Puyo. Since this is a puzzle game, the story is pretty weak, but it takes a back seat to the addictive puzzle action.

In the story mode, which can be played on various difficulties ranging from very easy to very hard, you must take on Robotnik's robots one by one. The game play is simple: as the beans fall from the top of the screen, you must group together four beans of the same color. Doing this will make them disappear. If you manage to clear larger groups of beans, either by grouping more of them together or creating chain reactions (i.e. making multiple sets of beans disappear one at a time before the next group of beans falls), you can send clear refugee beans to your opponent. Of course, your opponent can do the same thing to you. Only by connecting same-colored beans with refugee beans can you get rid of them. Longer chains can result in more refugee beans being sent, and if your opponent ends up creating a lot of chains, you may end up getting more refugee beans than you could possibly clear.

The way to win each match is to try and fill your opponent's screen with beans before they can do the same thing to you. Once the beans reach the top of the screen on either player's field, that player is the loser. If you win, you will receive a password for the next match and then proceed to the match in question. If you lose, you can choose to continue and try to beat the robot again. There are thirteen opponents in all, and many of them come from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series. While a lot of them were one-shot characters seen in the episode Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad, series regulars Coconuts, the mechanical monkey; Grounder, a robot with drills for his nose and hands; and Scratch, the robotic chicken also show up as you progress. This game and Sonic Spinball were the only ones to feature appearances from characters featured in the American Sonic cartoons.

If you wish to take a break from the story mode, there are some other modes that you can try out. In Exercise Mode, you can play by yourself and try to practice your skills if you are having trouble defeating Robotnik's minions. This mode lasts until your beans reach the top of the screen. If you have a friend, you can challenge him or her to a match, and try to defeat that person before he or she can defeat you. Compared to some other puzzle games, the amount of modes is limited, but you can still have plenty of fun in each of them.

A lot of the features for the Genesis version are also included in the Game Gear version, but there are a few differences in the latter version. In addition to the understandable downgrade in graphics and music, the story mode has no multiple difficulty levels. Instead, the game simply gets harder as you beat more opponents: the beans fall faster, and the minions become more aggressive. Also, there is a puzzle mode in which you must beat stages under a variety of conditions (i.e. making a certain amount of a specific colored bean disappear). You get a password when you complete a stage, but the puzzles get harder as you advance.

Despite having only a handful of modes, the game is quite addictive, and you will want to master it so that you can deal with Robotnik's henchmen even as the beans fall at a faster rate and the minions themselves become smarter. Anyone who has played any of the Puyo Puyo games will feel right at home, while newcomers can learn the basics of the game pretty quick. On the Genesis, the graphics are pretty decent, and the music is catchy, while on the Game Gear, they take a turn for the worst, which is understandable, but the results are still a bit ugly. Personally, I prefer the Genesis version for its harder difficulties and great soundtrack, but the Game Gear version can be fun for dealing with puzzles while you are on the go and for its truly difficult puzzle mode, something that I wish was on the Genesis version so that it would have even more replay value.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is a great puzzle game, and many other Puyo Puyo games such as Kirby's Avalanche would be released in North America over the years. Both versions of the game are readily available on e-bay and elsewhere, or you can find them on compilations, and the Genesis version can also be downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel. The game is proof that spin offs from Sonic games can work...all you need is game play that is solid and free of needless gimmicks and other flaws that can bring a game down significantly. Sega really needs to make more spin off titles like this, and less spin off games like Tails Sky Patrol.