Piyotama [ピヨタマ] Game Sample - PSP
Japan Studio's "Piyotama" is simple super-budget puzzle fun for less than the price of a Wendy's Bacon Double Stack. It's also on PS3 (where it was first released) with better graphics, but this game is more suited for play on the go. Originally released for download in 2007, it got ported to the PSP three years later in 2010 and can be picked up for $2.99 or less. There isn't really a whole lot to say about it, but if you need some game' for some kind of comparison, it's basically a combination of Seibu Kaihatsu's "Senkyu" (aka "Battle Balls"), Datt Japan's "Monster Slider" and a little of the ol' sliding block / tube / picture puzzle (known as many different things between the 19th and 20th century). Even in the highly crowded puzzle game space, Piyotama can be viewed as slightly unique.
The goal of the game is about as simple as a budget game can get: A big ol' mama chicken (who isn't exactly a chicken) has been doing the dirty with an untold number of potential suitors and her infidelity has led to the world's biggest egg-laying debacle. Yes, that synopsis only embellishes the details slightly, but it is nevertheless up to the player to right the ship and help Mama to get those eggs hatching. Piyotama (which literally means "Chirping Marbles") is a drop puzzle game with a twist as players utilize pulleys on the left and right to shuffle eggs around and match them together horizontally or diagonally. When the player gets four or more of the same type together, something interesting happens: they don't disappear right away. During this time, there is a somewhat long (by puzzle standards) "incubation" period where you can match more eggs in the sequence and create combos to hatch a large flock of chicks and get more points. There are also nuisance eggs which require more effort to clear as the row they are on can't be shuffled as well as a "universal" egg which can match with any egg of a particular color that comes into play at once (and is the easiest way to get a full clear bonus).
The player also has the ability to manually feed the field more eggs as well as immediately hatch any eggs that have already been connected (which has its uses but you generally don't need to as the incubation period will also delay time for anything over the normal player margin). With two different "skins" to change up the scenery, a nice night / day / season change as you climb up the score ladder and quaint audio / video aesthetics, the game doesn't offer up much but doesn't demand much either. A timed single player mode, longer endless mode, and Online (PS3) / Adhoc (for PSP) features more or less complete the package. This is a simple video of the game in action. Enjoy.
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