''Moujiya'' or ''Ryougae Puzzle Mouja'' is a falling blocks

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

from Fujitsu Pasocom Systems, the consumer software division of Fujitsu. Initially developed for computers running Windows 3.11 and above, it later got made into an

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

, which itself was ported to popular home consoles of the time.

Gameplay

''Moujiya''’s gameplay is similar to ''

Puyo Puyo , 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-of ...

'', in that it is a falling blocks game where the units fall in pairs and must be grouped together with other units of the same type. Here, the units consist of yen coins that are exchanged for one of the next denomination when enough coins are grouped side by side. When two ¥500 coins are grouped together, they are exchanged for a ¥1,000 banknote and are removed from the board. This mechanic was later copied by Face and combined with '' Magical Drop''’s gameplay to make '' Money Idol Exchanger'', which saw much wider success, being released across the world, possibly due to the popularity of

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

arcade platform at the time.

Releases and spin-offs

The game was originally released in 1995 for

Windows 3.1 Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0. Like its predecessors, the Windows 3.1 series run as a shell on top of MS-DOS; it was the last Windows 1 ...

and above. A second version was released in 1997 for

Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft and the first of its Windows 9x family of operating systems, released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and generally to retail on August 24, 1995. Windows 95 merged ...

which allowed for online play. This version was also released on

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

. In 1996, Etona licensed ''Moujiya'' from Fujitsu and commissioned

Racjin , formerly known as , is a Japanese video game development company located in Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, which was established on April 17, 1995. Its name was changed in 2000 to make it more easily pronounceable for the Japanese. Their first game was ...

to make an arcade conversion. This game, made from the ground up, featured a completely new cast of characters and different garbage block mechanics from the original, among other lesser changes. Etona's version was then ported to the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

and also to the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

shortly thereafter, with the publishing being handled by

Virgin Interactive Entertainment Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...

. In 1999,

Hect or Hector was a Japanese people, Japanese video game developer and publisher. It had a Virtual Boy game in development, entitled ''Virtual Battle Ball''; however, it was eventually canceled. List of games *''Shogun (video game), Shogun'' *''Em ...

would snatch up publishing rights for the PlayStation version and rerelease it under their ''Honkakuha de ¥1,300 Series'' budget label. In the 2000s, mobile game company BTD Studio would license ''Mouja'' for release on Japanese cellular services. Its first game was ''Chou Ge Moujiya'', a cut down version of the arcade game released only on

i-mode i-mode (, ) is a Japanese mobile internet (distinct from wireless internet) service operated by NTT DoCoMo. Unlike Wireless Application Protocols, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail, and ...

. They would later make two spin-offs: ''Doubutsu de Moujiya'', also only on i-mode, and ''Gals★Moujiya'', part of their ''Gals Kiss'' series of burlesque games, released on i-mode, EZweb and S!Appli.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, 1990s, Japan, Video games 1995 video games Arcade video games Falling block puzzle games Fujitsu software Hect games Japan-exclusive video games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation (console) games Racjin games Sega Saturn games Video games developed in Japan Virgin Interactive games Windows games