It is not all that often that we see two competing companies licensing the same game from overseas. That is exactly what happened between Sega and Nintendo when they licensed the Puyo Puyo game from Compile. Nintendo released Kirby’s Avalanche on the Super Nintendo and Sega released this game, Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, on their Sega Genesis console. Fans of this particular puzzle genre finally didn’t have to buy the competing console to enjoy it. The characters contained within, though, were another story.

Sega’s answer to Kirby’s Avalanche

The basic play mechanics of Puyo Puyo are kept completely intact in Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine by Sega. Pieces fall in pairs from the top of the screen, much like Tetris. They must be paired up in sets of four or more to remove them. Matches are made horizontally and vertically but also in squares and rectangles (2×2, 2×4, and so on). When completing pairs, the above beans will drop and if they create more matches, then you create combos. This is where things get frenetic. As combos are created, you send/receive trash from your opponent when playing in the competitive modes.

Expanding the Sonic world

The story behind Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is all evil incarnate. Dr Robotnik has conceived an idea to rid the planet of Mobius of fun and music. What ensues is a mass kidnapping craze at the hands of the evil doctor. The citizens of Beanville are captured by Dr. Robotnik. He is feeding them into the Mean Bean-Steaming Machine. This turns them into little robot critters that do the doctor’s evil bidding. Your job in Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is to stop this atrocity.

Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is dark

Ever notice retro games have catastrophically evil back stories? Mushroom Kingdom citizens were turned to blocks that Mario destroys. Beanville citizens are turned to blobs you blow up in sets of four or more. Tell me again family friendly games are not dark.

What is interesting about this release is that Sonic is not mentioned one time in the game – never. This makes Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine one of the few titles to not feature Sonic. At this time in history, the blue guy was Sega’s main focus too.

Grab a copy of Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine on eBay or on Amazon and find out what real rage quitting is all about.Thanks to Sega keeping the game alive on various compilations, it is easier to grab that way than on cartridge, at least for many gamers.

Carl Williams

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