PLUS PLUMB | October 4, 1999

 『PLUS PLUMB』 is a Dreamcast software released by TAKUYO on October 4, 1999. Later, 『PLUS PLUMB2』 was released on January 15, 2004, for Xbox, on November 16, 2006, for PSP, and a distribution version for PSP was released on November 26, 2009.

This game is a typical puzzle game where you eliminate stones falling from above by matching three or more of the same color. Essentially, it is a competitive action puzzle game with many new elements. The falling stones have "weight," and the ground acts like a balance that constantly moves up and down. The stones fall one by one, and if you align three or more in a vertical, horizontal, or L-shape, you can eliminate them. While it may seem simple at first glance, the gameplay is actually quite complex. The unique special moves of the eight characters are also crucial to strategy.

In single-player mode, a story mode unfolds featuring the adventures of the eight characters. In two-player battles, you can set handicaps and freely choose your favorite characters. You can enjoy a thrilling game where the situation constantly changes. You can manipulate the stones falling one by one from above to align three or more of the same color in a vertical, horizontal, or L-shape to eliminate them.

The stones may appear to be single, but they actually possess two colors. The rules are as follows: red and blue can combine, yellow and green can also combine, and purple and white combine with purple.

You can change the color of the falling stones to the combined color by pressing the A button at any time. It may be a bit complicated, but thinking of it as an Othello stone with two colors combined can help with understanding. Additionally, this color change occurs to adjacent stones when a stone is eliminated, so be careful. If two places are adjacent at the same time, they will reverse and return to their original color.

Stones have "weight" assigned based on their color. At the start of the game, all stones have a weight of "1.0," but through chains (the process of eliminating stones in succession after one is removed) or special moves, their weight can fluctuate. When the weight difference increases, the balance will lower. If this balance drops to the red line on the ground, the player loses at that point. Conversely, the winning player will have their balance raised, making their play space narrower.

If stones pile up at the point where they appear (the top center of the screen), the weight of all colors of the player on that side will significantly increase. After the second time, not only will the weight increase, but an indestructible iron ball will also fall, so it is advisable not to stack stones too high in the vertical column where they appear. Even if you are not intentionally stacking, the sudden rise of the balance can cause a pile-up, so be cautious.

Special moves are unique attack methods that differ in effect depending on the character. To use a special move, you need to fill the gauge and raise the special move level to "1" or higher. To fill the gauge, you must eliminate stones, and performing chains will fill it more. However, if the chain is too large, it may fill only a little at a time. If you want to focus on using special moves in battle, repeating smaller chains is more effective.

The needle-like object near the special move gauge tilts toward the losing side (the heavier side) based on the balance's up and down movement. When the gauge fills to the needle, the special move level increases by +1, meaning the losing side can accumulate special moves more easily. Even when it seems like you are about to lose, be patient, use your special moves, and turn the situation around.

Chains refer to the process of eliminating stones in succession without disrupting the flow. This chain elimination is the main attack method to increase the weight of the opponent's stones. Larger chains, such as 6 or 7, can make the opponent's stones heavier than smaller chains like 2 or 3. In other words, the more chains you have, the better. Additionally, the heavier the stones eliminated during the chain, the more weight you can add to the opponent's stones.

When you create a chain, you can make the opponent's stones heavier, but you are not making all of their stones heavier. In fact, the color you eliminate at the start of the chain (the first chain) is the target for increasing weight. If you want to make the opponent's red stones heavier, start the chain with red. If you achieve eight or more chains, the attack value (the amount of weight added to the opponent's stones) will be added to all of their colors thereafter. It may be challenging, but if you want to decide the match in one go, aim for a large chain of eight or more.