Game:

Puyo Puyo 2 (1994)

Duration: 9:06

7,373 views

0

Original Air Date: September, 1st, 2009

Chou Gals! Kotobuki Ran (or Super Gals! Kotobuki Ran, Chou meaning "Super" in this case) is based off of the popular "Super Gals! Kotobuki Ran" anime series which is based off of the semi-popular "Gals!" shōjo manga written by mangaka Mihona Fujii. The basis of Gals! stems from the kogal (or Ko-Gal) subculture in Japan, a fashion that involves wearing an outfit based on a Japanese school uniform, platform shoes, and other "young and hip" attire. It can also incorporate make-up, tanned skin and slang terminology and be mistaken for Ganguro at times. Even more confusingly, Para Para dancing is done often throughout Gals! It was most popular during the 90s. Females considered themselves gyaru or gals.

The game stars Ran (Kotobuki Ran), a young teenage girl who loves fashion, food and friends. She is part of a large family of skilled police officers and naturally accels at fitness and has a strong sense of justice, but she isn't interested in taking the family business. She just wants to have fun and be known as the best gal in Shibuya and eventually the world, though she does fight crime and show how tough she is from time to time. Her two best friends are Miyu (Yamazaki Miyu) and Aya (Hoshino Aya). There's romance, troubles, drama and insecurities, and a slew of other things you can attribute to being young and growing up.

Of course, this game is much more cookie-cutter and focuses primarily on the fashionable aspect of Gals! This game is all about dressing up and being cute. It's almost like a Japanese "Barbie" game with a story. The graphics are pretty good, but the music is limited and repetitve and the gameplay is rudimentary. To its credit, you get to mix and match 150 different pieces of clothing for a ton of different looks and seven character-types to dress for more personality, but the bulk of the game is a falling-object puzzler that (while original) lacks the polish of more addictive puzzlers, though it's not bad considering this is just another anime/manga-to-game adaptation.

The idea is that Ran is trying to get ready for different events in the game which come into being in various whimsical ways from waking up late to getting prepared quickly to go somewhere fancy. You'll have to dress and undress Ran throughout the game which gets progressively harder and trickier. You get your pairs of like-objects together like you would in many other games like it and then wait for a "dress" object. You use the dress object to set off chain reactions and depending on how big the chain, you get more chances to cycle through her clothes and get the right thing to wear. You don't necessarily want to do huge chains, but rather pull off smaller chains and leave yourself with some junk in case another dress icon shows up.

As you progress, Ran's friends and enemies may intervene and raise your stack or change what's on the field to waste your time. If you manage to get Ran the top, middle and bottom she needs, you'll win the level. This game is decent, but it won't set you on fire or anything. This is for fans of the "Gals!" franchise. Interestingly enough, this game and the anime were made towards the decline of Kogal subculture and towards the height of Ganguro subculture and Para Para fame and incorporates elements of all three, likely as an attempt to garner more revenue. Enjoy.

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