The land of Cleo was once powerful and safe. As this decadence took over the people began looking for other forms of entertainment. Cleo was special because this was where magical blocks were made. These blocks, when matched in sets would disappear, unleashing their imbued power. Warriors would use these blocks in battles to entertain not only themselves but the populace of Cleo. As fate would have it, though, an evil power eventually got control of the blocks and began ravaging the land and people of Cleo. The heroes of Cleo won’t stand for this. So sets the backstory of Dossun! Ganseki Battle for the Super Nintendo.

If you have played Tetris or Columns, then you know the drill: blocks fall from the top of the screen in a pit. At the bottom of this pit lay other, similar, blocks. Matching three or more blocks in a verticle, horizontal, or angled manner will make them disappear. When matches are made, the icons they carry will unleash that power. On the other side of the screen is your opponent who is doing the same.

Blue blocks feature a potion bottle and heal while yellow blocks carry a sword and will attack. Pay attention to the blocks and which ones produce the effect you are wanting. If low on energy, it is obvious that you need to match blue blocks. Occasionally, there will be an extremely rare heart block. Remember, it takes three blocks to make a match, so if you receive one heart block, you will have to keep the battle going to get the other two in a match formation. This adds a bit of strategy to the early matches because later on you will need all of the health you can garner.

Setup much like a Street Fighter II one-on-one fighting match, Dossun! Danseki Battle pits you against opponents when you beat them. In the beginning, and after each match, you can pick a new fighter, one of three available. This comes in handy when you realize the fighter you are using kind of sucks against certain opponents.

Graphically, there is more going on than just the normal Tetris or Columns clone. The little character’s bounce around the bottom of the screen as the battle rages on. Major attacks are glorified with weapons or creatures flying across the screen to perform the attack. Even certain moves bring full size characters onto the screen to perform an attack.

If you are looking for something different, then you will want to check out Dossun! Danseki Battle. This is one of those interesting titles that never made it to North America and that is a shame. This was probably due to the release date of Dossun! Danseki Battle of 1994 and the looming launch of the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn consoles.

Puzzle fans here you go. Another digital crack game to eat up your time.

Carl Williams

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