Puchi Carat

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Puchi Carat - Gemstone Ohkoku No Sekai
Thank you for player
One of the many translation errors in Puchi Carat.
Developer(s) Taito
Publisher(s) Taito
Distributor(s) (Various)
Designer(s) Taito
License (Various)
Aspect ratio Vertical scrolling
Platform(s) Arcade
Sony PlayStation
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Sony PlayStation 2
Microsoft Xbox
PC
Release date October, 1997 (Arcade)
1998 (PlayStation)
1999 (Game Boy Color)
2005 (Taito Memories Vol. 1)
2006 (Taito Legends 2)
Genre(s) Breakout clone
Mode(s) Single Player
Player vs. player
Player vs. computer
Rating(s) Rated "E" by the ESRB
Media (Various)
Input methods 8-way joystick, 4 buttons
(arcade version)
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system Taito F3 System
CPU Motorola 68EC020 @ 16 Mhz
Sound Motorola 68000 @ 16 Mhz
Display Standard resolution
320 x 232 @ 58.97 Hz
8192 palette colors

Puchi Carat (known as Puchi Carat - Gemstone Ohkoku No Sekai in Japan) is a 1997 arcade game by Taito.

The game is similar to Breakout (or Taito's own Arkanoid) in which the player uses a paddle to direct a ball and destroy gem-stones in order to either clean one's play-area of gems, or to destroy as many gems as possible to add to the amount of gems in the other player's field. The amount of gems increases every once in a while and if the gems reach the line at the bottom of the play-area, the player loses. It is also possible to drop groups of gems by destroying a gem that holds up the others, similar to Puzzle Bobble (Bust-a-Move in the U.S.), another Taito game.

The game has a story-mode where the player has to compete against eleven of the twelve characters from which the player chooses one as his own. Characters are fully animated in the "anime" style, and perform a number of actions and yell Japanese to reflect the situation a player is in. In the story-mode the player must collect twelve gems by challenging other characters in order to make a wish. Each character has their own ending when the game is played through on the highest (Expert) difficulty setting.


Contents

[edit] Story

In the game manual there is a short introduction to what happens in the story:

"Dreams will come true if you collect the precious gems...

The world of "Gem Stone" is where science and magic coexist. Legend tells of 12 precious gems for peace and prosperity, they believed that the gems made dreams come true. But 500 years ago the gems were taken by thieves and passed into the hands of people with high magic powers. These people dominated the poor and weak who had lost the precious gems along with their hopes and dreams. A long time has passed and the stolen gems are shining in the possession of 12 mysterious people. These 12 are each seeking to own all the gems and so realize their personal dreams. Some seek peace and others power and domination..."

[edit] Modes

[edit] Single player

[edit] Story mode

Story mode is where you choose one character whose story you want to follow as you play through the game. There are three versions of story mode: practice, original and arcade. In practice mode the cursor is large so it is easier to bounce the ball and hit the stones. There are only 3 rounds. The original version has an fully animated introduction in anime style. You can choose what order you face your opponents and once you have defeated a character you gain their attack pattern and can choose to use it instead of your character's original attack pattern. In the arcade version you cannot choose what order you face your opponents and you complete the game using the same attack pattern all the way through.

[edit] Trial mode

Trial mode is a way of evaluating the player's level of ability. You can choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Easy mode can be cleared when 100 lines of stones are destroyed; Normal can be cleared in destroying 200 lines of stones, and in Difficult 300 lines of stones must be destroyed. After finishing the game you see a ranking screen which tells you your ranking; number of lines of stones cleared; time spent; the maximum number of stones destroyed at once (highest drop); the maximum number of stones hit successively in one shot, and perfect scores where all stones on the screen were destroyed.

[edit] Rapid mode

Rapid mode is where you just have to keep destroying the stones. When you lose the game, you see a screen that tells you how many lines of stones you cleared and the time spent.

[edit] Time attack

This mode comes in four difficulties: Easy, Normal, Difficult and Very Difficult. The aim is to clear 50 lines of stones in the fastest time

possible.

[edit] Player vs player

Player vs Player lets you play against a friend. You both select a character then you can choose the size of the cursor and the attack power depending on who wants or needs an advantage. The game works like in story mode where as you drop stones, they are sent to your opponent's screen making it harder for them.

[edit] Trivia

  • In the PlayStation version, pressing start [L1] to select a character will give the character different colors.
  • A 13th character is in the game as a secret but can only be found if you reach a certain score on story mode.[citation needed]
  • Pearl's dialog is always written in kanji.
  • The game was re released in Taito Legends 2. You can easily get Patoraco, Press square 3 times, and press L1(This is as C-Mond is explaining how to play). (This is for PS2 version)

[edit] Characters

[edit] Garnet

  • Month: January
  • Birthstone: Garnet, on his wrist
  • Symbol: A thumbs-up sign
  • Gender: Male
  • Lost: He bites his hat
  • Game Manual Description: "His Ancestors were involved in the robbery 500 years ago. He is a boy who loves nature and peace. Due to his unfortunate heritage he seems to dislike lies and authority. He is 13, the same age as Shyst."

[edit] Shyst

  • Month: February
  • Birthstone: Amethyst, on her hat
  • Symbol: A ribbon
  • Gender: Female
  • Lost: She cleans her glasses
  • Game Manual Description: "Second daughter of the Corandam family and Sapphire's younger sister. She has a weak personality, hates herself. She is secretly adored by her elder and stronger sister Sapphire."

[edit] Aqua

  • Month: March
  • Birthstone: Aquamarine, on her forehead
  • Symbol: A parasol
  • Gender: Female
  • Lost: She faints
  • Game Manual Description: "She is the first daughter of the family Berirumarine and the younger sister of Paz. She always looks posh and daydreams. She loves to collect clothes and is very proud of her incredible collection. She is 20 years old."

[edit] C-mond

  • Month: April
  • Birthstone: Diamond, on her arm or in her hand
  • Symbol: A teapot
  • Gender: Female
  • Lost: She lies down
  • Game Manual Description: "She used to be the house-maid of the Imitation family. The son of the family adored her and she is now following him. She has a complex about her small stature. She is 15 years old."

[edit] Rald

  • Month: May
  • Birthstone: Emerald, on his tie
  • Symbol: A wrench
  • Gender: Male
  • Lost: He seems to be shocked
  • Game Manual Description: "He is related to Crom the man who invented the legends regarding the gems. He is a fanatic about science and inventions. He is a quiet boy with a temper if either his science or inventions are made fun of. He is 11 years old."

[edit] Pearl & Dearl

  • Month: June
  • Birthstone: Pearl, on Pearls's chest, in the

middle of her ribbon ( Dearl has a silver pearl)

  • Symbol: A bottle of potion
  • Gender: Pearl is Female, Dearl is Male.
  • Lost: Dearl collects Pearl's tears in a jar
  • Game Manual Description: "The lively Pearl and quiet Dearl are twins. They live in a village and own a pharmacy. They lost their parents at an early age but Pearl had the strength to manage for both of them. They are 14."

[edit] Bee

  • Month: July
  • Birthstone: Ruby, on his belly
  • Symbol: A paw
  • Gender: Male
  • Lost: Cries and looks to be walking away
  • Game Manual Description: "In reality he's the wealthy Ogust, head of the Corandam family. Has been transformed into an animal by Sapphire. Age unknown."

[edit] Perydot

  • Month: August
  • Birthstone: Peri dot, at the end of her collar
  • Symbol: Lips
  • Gender: Female
  • Lost: She is on the floor, mad
  • Game Manual Description: "Wife of Ogust Corandam. Like her husband she has been transformed into a beast but she hasn't lost her human nature and likes to go out at night. Her hobbies are dancing and seduction. She is 26."

[edit] Sapphire

  • Month: September
  • Birthstone: Sapphire, at the tip of her wand
  • Symbol: The gem on her magic wand
  • Gender: Female
  • Lost: She clenches her fist
  • Game Manual Description: "Eldest daughter of the Corandam family, she has led a sad life dominated by greedy parents. She meets Paz and becomes his pupil. She is an expert at magic. She is 19."

[edit] Opa

  • Month: October
  • Birthstone: Opal, on the eye patch for his left

eye

  • Symbol: A rose
  • Gender: Male
  • Lost: Turns into stone
  • Game Manual Description: "He used to be a corrupt official but is now paying the price for his dishonesty. Memories of happier days have driven him to body building and preaching. A quiet strange troubled man. Age: 77"

[edit] Paz

  • Month: November
  • Birthstone: Topaz, location uncertain
  • Symbol: His cape covers just about the whole of

the bottom of the screen. (It really does.)

  • Gender: Male
  • Lost: Buries his head in his Hands
  • Game Manual Description: "He is a young man seeking to dominate the world by using magic powers. He wants to eliminate science and let magic take over. He is ambitious, focused on world domination. Age: 22"

[edit] Ruco

  • Month: December
  • Birthstone: Turquoise, on her KumiKumi's

forehead

  • Symbol: The face of her pet, two eyes, a mouth,

and the gem

  • Gender: Female
  • Lost: she cries squashing the animal
  • Game Manual Description: "She is an intricate girl from a complex family. Her only friend is her pet called KumiKumi. She has run away from home. She wants to conquer the world. She is 7."

[edit] Patoraco

  • Month: Has none
  • Birthstone: A Hierogylph
  • Symbol: An Egyptian hieroglyph
  • Gender: Female
  • Lost: Sits down and cries, Hands over her eyes
  • Game Manual Description: ...

A small girl with purple hair. Not much is known about this secret character other than the fact that she is the star of Taito's Cleopatra Fortune, another of their puzzle games.

[edit] See Also

[edit] External Links

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