Unique SFC Puzzle Game a New Hidden Gem for the West
This game has managed to fly under the radar mostly for many years due to it’s obscurity and lateness of it’s release. It was initially available as a download only both through Nintendo Power and Satellaview* [ had it’s own versions*] and later in 1999 it was available as a physical Super Famicom release in Japan only. So the west never got to experience it and at the time would have been too busy with the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation even if it did come out locally. However this game is so surprisingly well made that it’s getting attention even by Nintendo so many years later. It was released on the 23rd of January 2025 on the Nintendo Switch Online Uninted States service. Earlier it was released in 2010 and 2015 on Wii and WiiU Virtual Console’s respectively but in Japan only. Therefore 2025 is the first time any region outside of Japan has got this game, including the English speaking regions. Additionally only recently has a lot of attention gone into Satellaview games and translating them.
There are at least three Satellaview Sutte Hakkun games – ’98 Fuyu Event Version, BS Version 2 and Event Version. They are start off looking nearly exactly the same with the only difference being the title screens, however the stages for each game differ. Each version of the game starts with the same 5 part tutorial that goes through the video game’s fundamental but complex mechanics. The tutorials explaining the basics of playing the game need to be completed before starting even the first level. While it seems simple on the surface, it’s puzzle nature together with multiple moves and functions gives the game a lot of dimension for a real time puzzle game. Behind it’s simple premise is a glass drinking bird, I’ve never seen one in real life but I’ve seen references to it in TV. Anyway they are meant to automatically swing down to drink liquid and the motion of the liquid is meant make it swing down again to empty it and it keeps repeating. However in this game the bird is sentient and you control it. By default he is carrying no liquid but you can make him drink 3 different colors of liquid – red, yellow and blue and squirt them into blocks which give them all different movement properties. The directions the blocks can go with the various liquids are horizontal, vertical and diagonal. And with this simple system plus other nuances introduced from real-time play results in a lot of different puzzle situations can can be explored.
Available on Nintendo Power, Satellaview, Super Famicom and Gameboy Color
This game actually first started out as Gameboy Color / Super Gameboy game before being expanded into 16 bit. The handheld 8 bit versions were never commercially released, however a ROM was found during the 2020 Nintendo Gigaleak and released onto the internet. Seeing as the game only needs two buttons to accomplish all of it’s functions it’s suited quite well to the Gameboy, while the 16-bit SFC version was a nice graphical upgrade enjoyable with the added luxury of playing this game using the large screen of the living room TV. Unfortunately this game only got to the prototype level in Gameboy form. However I believe it was quite playable as there seems to be lots of playable demo videos and screenshots available out there. The initial game on the Super Famicom is an excellent puzzle game in many rights. The interest builds with your sense of self satisfaction that increases with each puzzle that you complete and gets addictive very quickly.
Together with it’s very cute graphical art style and self rewarding nature of the puzzle game genre it hit upon a very good balancing of fundamental gameplay elements to make it a real enjoyable and unforgettable game. This is true in no matter what form the game takes, although only the Super Famicom / Super Nintendo are the only playable ones. The Sutte Hakkun GB is a much shorter brain buster that is taken in short bursts as each level is generally much easier then the SNES and can be finished on just one ‘burst’ of a brain wave. The levels are very short, sharp and shiny some of them taking as little as 30-60 seconds to complete which is perfect for those moments where you only have a minute or so to play your Gameboy before having to put down the console, that is mighty quick gaming gratification!
The character of the game is very cute and lovable, he is portrayed as an innocent but determined glass drinking bird. By the looks of the situation he is collecting pieces of rainbow which you can see smashing and scattering in a cutscene in the Satellaview versions. Though his powers are limited to drinking and spitting liquids he is determined to use his powers for good, as all his efforts, in every single level, are to retreive another piece of crystallized rainbow fragment. If you know why he is collecting the fragments (or how they will save his world or a world as I’m sure they would do something important like that), please let us know by posting in the comments section at the bottom of this post. These kinds of graphics are what defined the 90s, when the pixelated sprites of the 80s gave way to the more detailed 16-bit sprites that could be so expressive as to appear cute or possess emotion. Nintendo I think knows what trends are going round and the 90’s must be in as they recently re-released the classic Snow Bros 2 for one of their latest consoles. These graphics are of the same era and very reminiscent of Snow Bros actually.
Conclusion and Game Score
As you can probably tell, by the way that I have talked about it, I am very impressed with this game. Everything about it is fun, bright and enjoyable. The game has some real puzzling situation but also knows how to motivate and stimulate the player into having a go at working out the puzzle and does so very well. As I mentioned it has that great expressive 16-bit 90s bright and lively sprite vibe going for it, making for a very fun game-play atmosphere. The music and sound effects harmonize perfectly with it’s graphical elements and overall atmosphere. The game is well-balanced in all those spheres which makes it right off the batt a very technically developed game. The way it challenges the player to solve it’s puzzles it’s a great example of self-reinforcing rewarding gameplay which is the mark of a really great game. I am a fairly discerning veteran gamer, and I prefer the obscure and non-conventional forms of games the most. However every once in a while there’s an example that reminds me why the game genre’s exist and how an excellent game can be creating by working within those constraints.
Graphics: 4.4 out of 5.0
Gameplay: 4.6 out of 5.0
Replay: 4.5 out of 5.0
Sound: 4.2 out of 5.0
Total Score 89%
