Visiting the arcades of the otaku hub Akihabara, it struck me that beyond the many fighters, rhythm games, and prize collection machines lining their halls, I was seeing a pattern repeat itself. Tucked away in each one were several Puyo Puyo variants, and right by them the Tetris machines. Seeing this, I wondered why Puyo Puyo Tetris hadn't been made before. Maybe, like Sonic and Mario teaming up recently, I wasn't appreciating the rival puzzle games' long history.

Nonetheless, playing the newly unveiled crossover at the Tokyo Game Show a couple of days later, it was immediately clear how much sense this mashup made. Based on time with a seemingly limited demo, Puyo Puyo Tetris looks to offer simple, cute, but engrossing arcade puzzle fun. Quite appropriately, the two play styles just fit next to each other.