Columns II

Last updated
Columns II: The Voyage Through Time
Columns II Title.png
Developer(s) Sega
Publisher(s) Sega
Composer(s) Takayuki Nakamura
You Takada
Platform(s) Arcade, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Switch
ReleaseArcade
Sega Saturn
  • JP: October 30, 1997
Nintendo Switch
  • JP: August 8, 2019
  • NA: October 17, 2019
  • PAL: October 17, 2019
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Sega System C [2]

Columns II: The Voyage Through Time (erroneously labeled as A Voyage Through Time on the Switch release) is a 1990 puzzle video game released by Sega, as the sequel to Columns . It was released in Japan for the Sega System C. A port was included in the compilation Sega Ages: Columns Arcade Collection released for the Sega Saturn in Japan in 1997. Columns III however, would be released in North America on the Sega Genesis. The game saw an international release through the Sega Ages line on Nintendo Switch.

Contents

Gameplay

The gameplay is standard Columns fare, match at least three jewels to eliminate them. Once the players fill own board to the top, they will lose, but the objects that the players must destroy aren't always jewels. Because the players go "Through Time" the objects that the players destroy can vary from fossils to futuristic disks. Other than an interesting sprite swap the "Through Time" idea doesn't actually affect the game play.

Columns II has two modes, Flash Columns, and Vs Columns (eventually renamed Stack Columns). In Flash Columns the goal is to eliminate the flashing jewels, disks, or fossils that are in each stage. In order to reach the flashing objects the player must dig their way through the objects that cover it. After all of the flashing objects are eliminated the player advances to the next, usually faster level. Every three levels there is a bonus stage in which the player is able to earn some bonus points. While Columns for the Sega Genesis was the first appearance of Flash Columns, Columns 2 was its first appearance in the arcades.

Vs Columns is much more similar to the original Columns where the players build up combos and clear them rather than digging through jewels to get to a certain gem, but it has a competitive twist. In this mode, both players are given the same gems and have to build up combos against each other. The bigger the combo, the higher opponent's board is raised until the other player's board is filled to the brim. This is the first appearance of Vs Columns; this mode has been put in almost all later versions of Columns and has become a fan favorite.

Ports

The game was later ported to Nintendo Switch as part of the Switch Sega Ages line. It also marked the first time in nearly 30 years that the game was released in Western territories.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Columns II on their November 1, 1990 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month. [3] It went on to be Japan's eighth highest-grossing arcade conversion kit of 1991. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Darius II</i> (video game) 1989 Video game

Darius II is a 1989 arcade shooter video game developed and published by Taito. It is a direct sequel to the 1987 title, Darius. It was later released as Sagaia in Japan in 1991 for the Game Boy as well as non-Japanese ports. A remake was released for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² as Super Darius II in 1993.

<i>Columns</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Columns is a match-three puzzle video game released by Jay Geertsen in 1989. Designed for the Motorola 68000-based HP 9000 running HP-UX, it was ported to Mac and MS-DOS before being released commercially by Sega who ported it to arcades and then to several Sega consoles. The game was subsequently ported to other home computers, including the Atari ST.

<i>Wrecking Crew</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Wrecking Crew is an action game developed and published by Nintendo. Designed by Yoshio Sakamoto, it was first released as an arcade video game for the Nintendo VS. System in 1984, titled Vs. Wrecking Crew with a simultaneous two-player mode. It was released as a single-player game for the Family Computer (Famicom) console in 1985, and as a launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) later that year. A sequel, Wrecking Crew '98, was released in Japan in 1998 for the Super Famicom.

<i>Puyo Puyo</i> (video game) 1991 puzzle video game

Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ) is a puzzle video game released in 1991 by Compile for the MSX2. Since its creation, it uses characters from Madō Monogatari. It was created by Masamitsu "Moo" Niitani, the founder of Compile, who was inspired by certain elements from the Tetris and Dr. Mario series of games.

<i>BurgerTime</i> 1982 video game

BurgerTime, originally released as Hamburger in Japan, is a 1982 arcade video game from Data East released initially for its DECO Cassette System. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients in a maze of platforms and ladders while avoiding anthropomorphic hot dogs, fried eggs, and pickles which are in pursuit.

A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with video games, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize playing the sport, whilst others emphasize strategy and sport management. Some, such as Need for Speed, Arch Rivals and Punch-Out!!, satirize the sport for comic effect. This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is competitive, just like real-world sports. A number of game series feature the names and characteristics of real teams and players, and are updated annually to reflect real-world changes. The sports genre is one of the oldest genres in gaming history.

<i>Space Harrier</i> 1985 video game

Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but technical and memory restrictions resulted in Sega developer Yu Suzuki redesigning it around a jet-propelled human character in a fantasy setting. The arcade game is controlled by an analog flight stick while the deluxe arcade cabinet is a cockpit-style linear actuator motion simulator cabinet that pitches and rolls during play, for which it is referred as a taikan (体感) or "body sensation" arcade game in Japan.

<i>Super Street Fighter II</i> 1993 video game

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers is a competitive fighting game produced by Capcom and originally released as an arcade game in 1993. It is the fourth game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting. It refines and balances the existing character roster from the previous versions, and introduces four new characters. It is the first game on Capcom's CP System II hardware, with more sophisticated graphics and audio over the original CP System hardware used in previous versions of Street Fighter II.

<i>X-Men vs. Street Fighter</i> 1996 video game

X-Men vs. Street Fighter is a crossover fighting video game developed and published by Capcom. It is Capcom's third fighting game to feature Marvel Comics characters, following X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes, and is the first installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. As the title suggests, the game includes characters from Marvel's X-Men franchise and the cast from Capcom's Street Fighter series. Originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1996, it was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1997 and the PlayStation in 1998. The original arcade release is included in the game lineup for the upcoming Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics compilation for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows, scheduled for release in 2024.

<i>Magical Drop</i> Video game series

Magical Drop, sometimes referred to in Japanese as MagiDro (マジドロ), is a series of puzzle games first released in the arcade, and later primarily for several platforms such as the Neo Geo Arcade, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Bandai WonderSwan, GBC and the Neo Geo Pocket Color; most of which were published by Data East.

<i>Congo Bongo</i> 1983 video game

Congo Bongo, also known as Tip Top, is a platform game released as an arcade video game by Sega in 1983. A message in the ROM indicates it was coded at least in part by the company Ikegami Tsushinki. The game is viewed in an isometric perspective, like Sega's earlier Zaxxon (1982), but does not scroll. Numerous home ports followed.

<i>Fantasy Zone</i> 1986 video game

Fantasy Zone is a 1986 arcade video game by Sega, and the first game in the Fantasy Zone series. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Master System. The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights an enemy invasion in the titular group of planets. The game contains a number of features atypical of the traditional scrolling shooter. The main character, Opa-Opa, is sometimes referred to as Sega's first mascot character.

<i>Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo</i> 1996 video game

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, released in Japan as Super Puzzle Fighter II X, is a tile-matching puzzle video game released in 1996 for the CP System II (CPS2) arcade board, by Capcom and its Capcom Coin-Op division. The game's title is a play on Super Street Fighter II Turbo, as there were no other Puzzle Fighter games at the time, and the game includes music and interface elements spoofing the Street Fighter Alpha and Darkstalkers games. It was a response to Sega's Puyo Puyo 2 that had been sweeping the Japanese arcade scene.

<i>Pinball</i> (1984 video game) 1984 video game

Pinball is a pinball video game developed by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on a Game & Watch unit of the same name, and was first released for the Famicom in Japan in 1984. It was later released as an arcade game for the Nintendo VS. System in Japan and North America in 1984. In 1985, it was a launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America.

<i>Bonanza Bros.</i> 1990 video game

Bonanza Bros. is a 3D-style, 2D side-scrolling stealth action game developed and released by Sega in 1990. It is one of the earliest arcade games powered by the Sega System 24 arcade system board. It was ported to various home systems, including the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-CD, and several home computers.

<i>Mercs</i> 1990 video game

Mercs, originally released as Senjō no Ōkami II in Japan, is a run and gun video game developed and published in arcades by Capcom in 1990. It is a sequel to the 1985 arcade video game Commando. While not as successful as its predecessor, Mercs was well received by critics and was a moderate commercial success. It was followed by Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 in 2008, a downloadable game.

<i>King of the Monsters</i> (video game) 1991 arcade game

King of the Monsters is a fighting game developed by SNK, released for arcades in Japan in 1991, and ported to the Neo Geo AES later that same year. The game features playable giant monsters that are reminiscent of characters from kaiju and tokusatsu films.

Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ), previously known as Puyo Pop outside Japan, is a series of tile-matching video games created by Compile. Sega has owned the franchise since 1998, with games after 2001 being developed by Sonic Team. Puyo Puyo was created as a spin-off franchise to Madō Monogatari, a series of first-person dungeon crawler role-playing games by Compile from which the Puyo Puyo characters originated. The series has sold over 10 million copies, including the Madō Monogatari games.

<i>Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix</i> 1997 video game

Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, released in Japan as Pocket Fighter, is a fighting video game released by Capcom in 1997 for the CPS II arcade system. It was ported to the PlayStation, which retained the Pocket Fighter title for its North American and European releases, then the Sega Saturn and WonderSwan, as well as the PlayStation 2 as part of the Street Fighter Alpha-themed compilation title Street Fighter Alpha Anthology.

References

  1. ↑ "Columns II (Registration Number PA0000620952)". United States Copyright Office . Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "System 16 - Sega System C-2 Hardware (Sega)". System 16. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). Amusement Press, Inc. 1 November 1990. p. 25.
  4. ↑ ""Final Fight II" and "Final Lap 2" Top Videos: Video Games of The Year '91" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 419. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 February 1992. p. 26.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.