Puyo Pop Fever DS! - FAQ.
Copyright 2005 Corey Fry


Table of Contents:
1. Version History
2. Legal Stuff
3. Introduction
4. Basic Rules
5. Characters
6. Modes
   - Runrun
   - Wakuwaku
   - Harahara (coming soon!)
7. Strategies
8. Credits

-------------------------------
1. Version History
-------------------------------
ver.30- Added borders to try to make this more readable, and Harahara!

ver.20- Added Wakuwaku Course.

ver.10- Added Runrun Course and finished the character section

ver.01- Posted the FAQ... not too much meat for the moment.


 -------------------------------
2. Legal Stuff
--------------------------------
This FAQ may only be posted on:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com
www.supercheats.com



If you ask for my permission and give me credit I will be happy to agree
but I would like to know first, my e-mail is
[email protected].


********************************************************************
3. Introduction
********************************************************************
Welcome to the world of Puyo Pop Fever! This FAQ is mainly to help
beginners, but will give some insight to veterans too.
It will include:
Rules/Controls of the game.
Modes and help getting through them and scoring well.
Character drop patterns and CPU playing styles.
Strategies to help you along your way.

Puyo Pop Fever, being a puzzle game, is hard to really just suddenly
bestow upon you a perfect feel of the game and allow you to bust out 10
chains at a moment notice. So you will have to put some time into it and
find your own personal playing style.

**********************************************************************
4. Basic Rules
**********************************************************************
The goal of Puyo Pop is to be the last player standing. You can have from one
opponent to seven. You will get a board and little jellies fall down called
Puyo. You rotate the Puyo and drop them down to the bottom. If 4 or more Puyo
of the same color connect they will explode, and when they explode and Puyo on
top will fall down. If this falling creates another match, you will have
gotten a chain. As you pop Puyo you will send Nuisance Puyo (or garbage) to
your opponent. The more Puyo popped the more garbage. Chains are the most
efficient way of sending garbage, and where the main strategy of the game
comes in. You lose when either of the two middle rows fills up.

If you look above your playing field, when your opponent sends a chain you
will see little symbols appearing, this is the garbage indicator.

Here's what the symbols mean:

Small Puyo: 1 garbage
Large Puyo: 6 garbage
Rock Puyo: 36 garbage
Star Puyo: 180 garbage
Moon Puyo: 360 garbage
Crown Puyo: 720 garbage

When you get garbage, the only way to destroy it is making Puyo pop next to
it. The garbage will then be destroyed.

Example:
P
PPP
YYYX

P- Puyo
X/Y- Garbage

The Y's would vanish, but the X wouldn't. Garbage doesn't count as popping
Puyo, you also don't get to send more garbage by destroying it.

*******************
Controls (Default):
A. Rotate Clockwise
B. Rotate Counter-clockwise
Start- Pause
Left/Right- Move Puyo
Down- Drop Puyo

Touch Screen Controls:
Touch Left Side: Rotate Counter-clockwise
Touch Right Side: Rotate Clockwise
Drag downward: Drop Puyo
Drag Right/Left: Move Puyo
**************************

There are 4 types of Puyo that can fall, 2 sets, 3 sets, 4 sets, and Big Puyo.

2 Sets: Simply two Puyo.
R
R

3 Sets: 3 Puyo in an L shape. Can be one color or two, but if two colors the
two of the same will be next to each other.
R..OR..R
RR.... RB

4 Sets: A 2x2 square of Puyo. Always two colors and the same colors are next
to each other.
RR RB
BB RB

Big Puyo: 2x2 square, all one color. You can change its color but not rotate
it.
RR
RR

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Fever/Offsetting:
Offsetting is when your opponent sends you a chain and you can see it ready to
fall on you with the Puyo Radar. If you make a chain instead of landing on
your opponent, it subtracts from the Puyo ready to fall on you! Also, very
turn you offset you delay the falling of Puyo meaning you can hold out for a
long time under the pressure. Everytime you make an offset you get one notch
of your fever bar full, when completely full you enter Fever!

Fever happens when you fill the fever bar. You get premade combos with one key
point that if you pop it sets off the whole chain! Obviously this allows you
to make some deadly combos. Each time you do the chain correctly, the next one
gets bigger. Fail a chain and your next one will be smaller. Using Fever
correctly is key to winning.

&&&&&&&&&&&
All Clears:
If you ever remove ALL Puyo/Garbage from your board you will get a premade 4
chain, a la fever. It will always be a 4 chain, never bigger.

************************************************************
5. Characters
************************************************************
Note: Drop pattern/Drop set is the order of what kind of Puyo you get.

Amitie: The main Heroine of PPF. A well-balanced character that is used for
Runrun, Wakuwaku, and the Endless modes. For this reason many characters will
be compared to Amitie since she is so well rounded. If you choose to play as her
you aren't going to be floored, but not disappointed either. Her main
disadvantage is that she only gets one Big Puyo, which are the best kind.

CPU Strategy: Just an average character, plays decently fast, makes okay
chains. Nothing really out of the ordinary.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,2,3,2,2,2,Big,2,2,2,3,2,2,2,4

 -----
Raffine: A prissy girl who uses French sometimes. She is used as the main
player in Harahara course. She gets a bit more Puyo than Amitie making her
better to set up big chains quickly. Not bad, but for players there are better
choices. Her drop set is set up to get all clears.

CPU Strategy: Plays about the same speed as Amitie, but since she gets more
Puyo she has a slight edge. I also feel that she makes chains better. Not
great, but by no means bad.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,3,2,2,Big,2,2,2,3,2,2,3,2,2,4

-----
Arle: The old school girl. From the old Puyo games Arle is back! Because of
this, she has all 2 sets. Good for people adjusting to the new sets of Puyo, but
don't get too attached to her since you will want to play as someone else to get
more Puyo. She is however used by the 'pros' often since it's the easiest to
make chains since when you have large Puyo sometimes you are forced to drop one
where you don't want to.

CPU Strategy: Quite good, but since she only gets 2 sets she is a poor offsetter
making her easy to beat with an early barrage.

Drop Pattern:
All 2-sets!

-----
Rider: A quiet timid girl, an early opponent on the course. As a player you
won't find anything really unique about her. One advantage she has over Amitie
is she gets two Big Puyo in her set, which is very useful. She's a decent
offsetter but otherwise nothing special.

CPU Strategy: Far too slow to be good. She can make chains but it takes her so
long you probably can kill her before she sets it up. She gets all clears, but
she takes her sweet old time at it.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,2,3,2,2,Big,2,2,3,2,2,Big,2,2,4

-----
Onion Pixy: An onion... um, yeah. He gets almost all 2 sets so he's easy for
old schoolers to learn. However, this makes him a bit slow since he takes
longer to get Puyo down. I'd say pick someone else, if you want 2 sets go with
Arle, if you want more Puyo pick Accord or Klug.

CPU Strategy: Pretty weak, while he can chain, he just isn't that good. He
plays too slow.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,2,2,2,Big,2,2,2,2,2,3,2,2,2,4

-----
Oshare bones: A talking skeleton with some amusing quotes. He has the same
drops as Onion but in an different order, so they are pretty much the same.

CPU Strategy: Worst in the game. Slow and stupid, he usually maxes out on 3
chains.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,2,2,3,2,2,2,2,Big,2,2,2,2,2,4

-----
Klug: A textbook nerd. He gets loads of Puyo though, making him a good choice
for players. He has a nice mix of 3 sets and 2 sets making him a very
versatile character. He is one of the best chainers in the game.

CPU Strategy: Not bad, but still in the lower half. He does well in fever, but
usually fails to make the best chain possible.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,3,2,3,2,Big,2,3,2,Big,2,3,2,2,4
-----
Donguri gaeru: A frog that only says 'Ribbit!' Seems kinda nuts if you ask me...
Anyway, if you play as him you won't get anything special. He has a good number
of 2 sets, only one 3 set and two 4 sets. This makes him pretty basic.

CPU Strategy: He will drop things very quickly and make a tower on one side.
Then he combos using this tower, he makes a match somewhere in the tower and if
it happens to chain lucky him. After he finishes making the tower he slows down
consideribly. Not that good.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,2,3,2,2,2,4,2,2,2,Big,2,2,2,4
-----
Prince of Ocean: Some bizarre fish creature. It gets a good number of 3s so it's
not bad, but it doesn't get as much as Klug. A pretty basic character but I
still prefer it over Amitie since it gets more 3 sets.

CPU Strategy: Not a bad player, can chain well and build combos. Can set up
chains pretty quickly but doesn't play well in fever from what I've seen. Tends
to play a fast small chain, but does poor at making big ones. Make a bigger one
to over power it and you should be able to use the momentum to win.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,2,3,2,2,3,Big,2,2,3,Big,2,2,3,4
-----
Yu: A ghost girl whose English voice has driven many insane. She otherwise is a
very good character to play as. She is like Klug as she gets a lot of Puyo but
she gets even MORE 3 sets and 4 sets making her even faster. One of my personal
favorites.

CPU Strategy: She stacks up chains on the sides, she piles up the Puyo without
even considering their color. She is fast to set up chains but slows down after
they are made. A bit aggressive though allowing players
to enter fever easily if they just wait.

Drop Pattern:
2,3,2,Big,2,3,2,Big,2,3,2,4,2,2,2,4
-----
Tarutaru: A big man with a gentle heart. If you play as Tarutaru he's pretty
much like anyone else. Has about a 3:2 ratio of 2-sets to others so nothing
special. But likewise, not a bad player.

CPU Strategy: Plays fast and hard. She is better than Yu since he plays faster
but other than that they are pretty well matched. He might surprise you with a
big chain so be careful!

Drop Pattern:
2,2,3,2,2,Big,2,3,2,2,Big,2,2,3,2,4
-----
Frankensteins: Two zombie like creatures. They have a TON of 3 sets, but if you
like 3 sets you should take Accord. The bad thing about this is they have only
one big Puyo and one 4 set. Still, a good player can wreak havoc quickly with
them.

CPU Strategy: They may surprise you, but most of the time you don't have to
worry. They can have a few good chains but they usually are far too slow to be
a threat.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,3,2,2,3,2,Big,2,3,2,3,2,3,2,4
-----
Hohow Bird: A talking bird, somewhat entertaining. I personally don't like him
that much since he gets NO big Puyo. He also only gets one 4 set. The rest is
all 2 sets and 3 sets but I find his drop pattern not pleasing at all.

CPU Strategy: A great player actually. Sets up chains quickly and knows when to
knock them down. In fever he's very good and once he gets on a roll it's hard to
stop him.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,2,3,2,2,2,3,2,2,2,3,2,2,2,4
-----
Accord: A school teacher that is quite the Puyo player! If you choose the play
as her you will get about half 2 sets and half 3 sets. She is very similar to
Frankensteins but she gets a few more 3 sets. Only one big Puyo though.

CPU Strategy: Great! She is a godly chainer and can work her way out of
anything. Just play against her and watch her work her magic! She stacks up the
middle columns too high sometimes so you may be able to get a lucky shot and
knock her out, but don't rely on it.

Drop Pattern:
2,3,2,3,2,3,2,Big,2,3,2,3,2,3,2,4
-----
Popoi: Accord's little doll that she uses to talk to the class. A cute little
kitty but there is something odd with it... If you choose to play as Popoi you
have to adjust to his somewhat awkward drop set. He gets all of his 4 Puyos and
the end, meaning sometimes you will need them and have to wait a while, and
other times you will get too many! Learn to time your chains to his drop set.

**How to unlock: Beat Harahara mode.

CPU Strategy: Very good, but seems to make slightly poorer chains than Accord. A
great player though so be careful! He gets a good number of all clears also.

Drop Pattern:
2,2,3,2,2,3,2,2,3,2,2,Big,2,Big,2,4
-----
Carbuncle: The mascot of the Puyo Puyo games! A odd bunny like creature. He gets
TONS of 4 sets and Big Puyo (3 of each!) making him a great player! He can set
chains up insanely quickly but be careful you don't break them by accident.
Using many Puyo can be difficult.

**How to unlock: Beat Accord in Harahara mode after using 4 or less fevers or 8
or more; OR Beat Accord in Harahara mode after using continues in a multiple of
7. Then instead of Popoi you will play Carbuncle.

CPU Strategy: Very quick but plays a bit too aggressive. Very annoying to play
Against since he chains so fast! Just try to hold off and build up fever.

Drop Pattern:
2,3,Big,2,4,3,2,Big,2,3,4,2,Big,3,2,4
-----




CPU Player Strength:
This came up on the board when we were trying to figure out what CPU players
were better than others, this is our results as the best we could get.
Kudos to KirbytheChef II and KirbyKollector for their help.

Accord
Carbuncle
Popoi
Hohow Bird
Tarutaru
Yu
Raffine
Arle
Amitie
Prince of Ocean
Klug
Frankenstiens
Dongurigaeru
Onion Pixy
Rider
Oshare Bones

This is the best we could do; it's by no means official.

-------------------------------------
Choosing the Character right for YOU!
-------------------------------------
With so many characters to chose from, which one do you want? They all have
pros and cons, so pick who fits your style of play the best. Arle is by far the
easiest to set up chains, since 2 Puyo sets are the easiest to work with.
Carbuncle gets tons of Puyo but it's easier to make a mistake since sometimes
you are forced to make a match. If you want many Puyo pick Carbuncle, Accord,
Klug or Yu, if you want easier chains pick Arle, Oshare bones, or Onion Pixy.
There are also characters that are a blend of the two, and Rider, Raffine,
Amitie, and Popoi are good for a well-balanced drop set.


*******************************************************************
6) Modes
*******************************************************************
Runrun Course-

3 stages:
Rider
Tarutaru
Accord

--------------
Stage 1: Rider
You should have no trouble beating her, even on Very Hard. She plays quite slow
so even if you are new to the game you will do okay. Just hammer her with your
best chains and she'll go down quickly.

-----------------
Stage 2: Tarutaru
Like Rider, he's really just another person to help you learn the rules. You
shouldn't have any trouble here.

---------------
Stage 3: Accord
On Very Hard she plays okay, but if you have it on easy or normal she's not that
impressive. If you have trouble just wait until she sends something over then
offset it to get fever.

---------------------------
High Score Tips for Runrun:

- Play on Very Hard! You shouldn't have trouble beating anyone and you get more
points on harder levels.
- Try to bait your opponent into sending chains, if you send just a small chain
they might send a big one, offset what they sent to you.
- Try to get your opponent to enter fever. This will cause them to send a large
amount of Puyo to you, allowing you to offset and get fever yourself. Getting
fever is where you are getting most of your points.


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Wakuwaku Course:
8 Stages:
Raffine
Oshare bones
Rider
Dongurigaeru
Klug
Frankensteins
Arle
Popoi

----------------
Stage 1: Raffine
She plays pretty much the same as the players from Runrun so if you beat that
you will be a-ok here.

---------------------
Stage 2: Oshare bones
Slightly faster than Raffine, but if you beat her you can beat Oshare just as
easily.

--------------
Stage 3: Rider
She plays faster than the first players, and chains better. However, if you play
faster and send a quick 3 chain you should be able to bury her chain and then
continue her decimation.

---------------------
Stage 4: Dongurigaeru
He plays much faster than everyone else, he stacks up Puyo on the right then
randomly pops them for chains. Since he plays completely randomly it's all luck
on how strong he will play. If he beats you once just try again, it was probably
luck.

-------------
Stage 5: Klug
Klug is the first player that actually plays. He sets up chains pretty well and
is fast enough too. Still, it's easiest just to give him a quick attack and
knock him out. If he gets into fever just try to set up as many offsets as
possible.

----------------------
Stage 6: Frankensteins
Be careful if he hits fever, he is the first person to use it well. I suggest
trying to wait him out and get into fever yourself then beat him then. Do it
fast!

-------------
Stage 7: Arle
Arle is the point where the game gets very tough. She plays fast and smart, and
will probably be the first person that survives a fevered assualt. Try to make
her hit fever first, you should be able to over power her then. She gets fewer
Puyo than you so you can set up chains faster than her.

------------------
Final Stage: Popoi
Popoi is cruel, but then again he is the boss. If he gets in fever you are in
trouble, but it's very hard to not let him get in fever. The best way I think is
to push him in fever then go into fever yourself directly after. This way you
can offset most of the stuff he sends to you. After this, you will have cleared
Wakuwaku!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
High Score tips for Wakuwaku:
First of all, don't use any continues, they will ruin your score. The easiest
thing to do is to get as many fevers as possible. The trick is to get your
opponent in fever too so they don't die. It's hard, but possible. Also, play on
as high of a difficulty as possible, high enough to get more points but so you
don't need continues, it's a hard balance.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Harahara Course:
8 stages:
Onion Pixy
Klug
Prince of Ocean
Tarutaru
Yu
Hohow Bird
Accord
Popoi/Carbuncle


-------------------
Stage 1: Onion Pixy
If you beat Wakuwaku you can beat Onion easily. Just adjust to Raffine's drop
set as it's different than Amitie's. You should have no trouble.

-------------
Stage 2: Klug
I found he plays exactly the same as he did in Wakuwaku, so you shouldn't have
trouble but if you do look up at his strategy for Wakuwaku.

------------------------
Stage 3: Prince of Ocean
Prince goes for quick 3 or 4 chains, and has few Puyo on his stage at any time.
This makes him quite good at tapping fever, and if he does be careful! It's
quite easy to out power him since he limits himself to 3 or 4 chains but don't
do it! He will offset you then be in fever and after exhausting your chain you
will be vulnerable. Wait for him to attack then offset. This is the first real
challenge of your Puyo adventure so don't be discouraged if you lose.

-------------------
Stage 4: Tarutaru
Tarutaru can be easier than Prince of Ocean since he goes for bigger chains,
but takes longer to get them. Send a quick chain early on to disrupt his chain
building. You can do this often and may be able to knock him out but don't rely
on it. I say go for the old tactic of wait, then offset.

-----------
Stage 5: Yu
If Yu gets lucky she is a powerhouse, if she is unlucky she's a joke. She plays
by stacking Puyo on the sides of her screen VERY QUICKLY, and whatever pops,
pops. So if she happens to get a huge chain she can do it quickly since she is
just randomly dropping stuff. However, she is very easy to offset against since
she is popping Puyo like mad. Just wait, hit fever, then over power her for the
win.

-------------------
Stage 6: Hohow Bird
Hohow will be your first really skilled deliberate chainer. He sets up large
chains with fearsome accuracy. I know I'm repeating myself, but just wait until
he sends something then offset it and hit fever. You will be able to knock him
out if you use enough power.

---------------
Stage 7: Accord
Ah, Accord. She will be either easy, or hard. You MAY be able to knock her out
with a quick chain, but that is very unlikely so don't hope on it. She is a
player that is able to avoid being beat by a single fever since she will offset
YOUR fever and enter HER fever which is NOT good. So, YOU attack her. This
should let her offset, and if she enters fever, then you offset her and enter
your fever. Then she will be vulnerable since she just left fever and you
hopefully can knock her out.

--------------------
Final Stage A: Popoi
You will get Popoi if you aren't trying for Carbuncle so don't worry about that
at the moment.

Popoi plays similar to Accord, so follow that advice. He can't be beat by a
quick chain though so don't bother trying. It comes down to luck, EVENTUALLY he
won't be able to offset you and you will finally knock him out, but just keep
the pressure on him. He is a powerful feverer though so be careful. This could
take you a while =/

-------------------------
Final Stage B: Carbuncle!
You will get Carbuncle if you beat Accord with a total of 7 continues.

Carbuncle sucks to play against since he's so damn good >_> He plays INCREDIBLY
fast and since his drop set gives him tons of Puyo you can be buried before the
game begins. Also this makes him a great offsetter. Just keep trying and you'll
eventually beat him. If you have a good strategy for Carbuncle, post it on the
board or e-mail me and I'll give you credit here.

****************
High Score Tips!
****************
I found the easiest way to get a high score is just to get Popoi/Accord into an
early fever, then offset that to start your own. Then play gentle to let them
offset YOU back into THEIR fever. You can engage in long 'fever wars' which
will let you build up a load of points.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
7. Strategies
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
*coming shortly*

#############################
8. Credits
#############################
KirbytheChef II - He helped collect the CPU ranking chart, and general help in
other places (Characters for the moment)
KirbyKollector - Helped `kollect' the CPU ranking chart
Marce_Bort - Got me to write this.
GFAQs - Putting this up!

Contact Me! [email protected]
For anything you want to submit, or suggest. Please put something in the Topic
Title so I know what it is.