Puzzle & Action: Tant-R

Puzzle & Action: Tant-R
Developer(s) Sega
Publisher(s) Sega
Distributor(s) Sega
Platform(s) Arcade, Mega Drive, Game Gear, Saturn, PlayStation 2, Virtual Console
Release date(s)

Arcade

Mega Drive

  • JP 1 April 1994

[1]
Game Gear

  • JP 22 April 1994

[2]
Saturn

PlayStation 2 (Sega Ages 2500)

  • JP 15 January 2004

[3]Virtual Console

Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer
Arcade system Sega System C[4]
CPU 1x Motorola 68000 @ 8.948862 MHz[4]
Sound

1x YM3438 @ 7.670453
1x SN76496 @ 3.579545

1x UPD7759 @ 640KHz[4]

Puzzle & Action: Tant-R (also known as just Tant-R (タントアール), is a puzzle video game developed and published by Sega in 1993 for the Sega System C. It is the first of the Puzzle & Action trilogy, and is a spin-off of Bonanza Bros. In the game, the player chases a criminal, and must defeat interfering characters by completing a series of mini games. The game was ported the Sega Mega Drive and Game Gear in 1994, to the Saturn as part of the Sega Ages Shukudai ga Tant R compilation in 1996, to the PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 6 compilation on 15 January 2004 (re-released on the PlayStation Network on 17 July 2013), and was released for the Wii Virtual Console in 2007. A remade version of the game was included with Sega Classics Collection, which was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, and is the only non-Japanese console release. Reception was mixed, while the graphics and gameplay were praised, some reviewers criticised the mini-games themselves. The game was followed by a sequel, Puzzle & Action: Ichidant-R in 1994. The game's title comes from Japanese tanto aru (たんとある, "there are many").

Gameplay

Screenshot of one of the mini-games. Using the hints at the bottom, the player must find the correct item from a grid consisting of different shapes of various sizes and colours.

The game consists of four stages.[5](p5) To complete a stage, the player must complete the required number of games. The selected game shifts quickly and the player presses a button to play the game the selection is on.[5](p12) Games types include selecting the correct option (or options) from many incorrect ones, memorising and following a sequence, and pressing the button at the correct moment or at a quick enough pace.[5](pp6,7) Certain games' names are puns on pop culture names or terms.[6] Each game has a time limit, and if the player runs out of time or makes a mistake during the game, a life is lost. The player begins with three lives. Occasionally, one of the games will become a "Lucky!" icon. Selecting this gives the player a piece of a heart and begins a random game. Collecting all three pieces of a heart will reward the player with an extra life.[5](p12) The games increase in difficulty as the game progresses. At the end of each stage, there is a bonus round where the player flies an aeroplane attempting to pop balloons, while avoiding missiles. If all the balloons are popped, the player is rewarded with an extra life.[5](p60) At the end of the fourth stage, the player must apprehend the criminal in a final challenge. In the Mega Drive version, this involves locating his hideout on a map.[5](p61) In the Game Gear version, it is a car chase.[7][8][9]

The Mega Drive version includes a "free" mode, in which the player can practise any of the mini-games.[7](p11)[10](p226)

The PlayStation 2 versions include games from the sequel, Ichidant-R.[11][12]

Reception

Puzzle & Action: Tant-R received mixed reviews. Sega-16 praised the Mega Drive version's graphics, saying "The colours are vibrant and varied", and its gameplay, remarking "Puzzle & Action: Tant-R may not have put a milestone in gaming history for its technical aspects, but as a family party game it was way ahead of its time".[9]

Reviewing the Sega Classics Collection version, Eurogamer remarked that it's "an amusingly weird party minigame thing. Not amazing, but it'll certainly provide some entertainment".[13] Sci-fi Online said this is the best game in the Sega Classics Collection, and commented that it's "almost worth buying for Tant R alone".[14] PSX Extreme called the game "very simple and repetitive".[15] VideoGamer.com described the game as "a collection of pretty poor mini-games".[16]

References

  1. ↑ "セガハード大百科 メガドライブ対応ソフトウェア（セガ発売）". Sega (in Japanese). Sega. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "セガハード大百科] ゲームギア対応ソフトウェア（セガ発売）". Sega (in Japanese). Sega. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "SEGA AGES 2500シリーズ Vol.6 イチニのタントアールとボナンザブラザーズ". Sega (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "System 16 - Sega System C-2 Hardware (Sega)". System 16. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 タントアール必勝攻略法 メガドライブ完璧攻略シリーズ 7 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Futabasha. 25 April 1994. ISBN 978-4-5752-8316-7.
  6. ↑ Kalata, Kurt (24 February 2013). "Bonanza Bros.". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 Puzzle & Action: タントアール取扱説明書 [Puzzle & Action: Tant-R Instruction Manual] (in Japanese) (Mega Drive ed.). Sega. 1994.
  8. ↑ タントアール取扱説明書 [Tant-R Instruction Manual] (in Japanese) (Game Gear ed.). Sega. 1994.
  9. 1 2 "Puzzle and Action: Tant-R". Sega-16. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  10. ↑ メガドライブ大全 増補改訂版 (in Japanese). Tokyo. 2015. ISBN 978-4-7783-1442-2.
  11. ↑ "イチニのタントアールとボナンザブラザーズ。』PS2アーカイブスで本日配信開始！". Famitsu (in Japanese). 17 July 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Game Review: Sega Classics Collection". Nay's Game Reviews. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  13. ↑ Swann, Graham (7 February 2006). "SEGA Classics Collection Some old rope if you're particularly desperate.". Eurogamer. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  14. ↑ Smithson, Nick. "Sega Classics Collection". Sci-fi Online. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Sega Classics Collection". PSX Extreme. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Orry, Tom (14 February 2006). "Sega Classics Collection Review". VideoGamer. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

External links

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