is a puzzle video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It is the fifth main installment in the Puyo Puyo puzzle game series and the second Puyo Puyo game to be programmed by Sonic Team after Puyo Pop (which was released just after the series' original developer, Compile, went bankrupt). This was the start of the what can be considered a reboot of the Puyo Puyo franchise, with this entry's plot revolving around Professor Accord losing her flying cane. Sega, which acquired the series' rights from Compile in 1998, published all the Japanese releases of the game, and also published the arcade and GameCube versions internationally. The game was scarcely released internationally, and certain versions were released by other publishers in those areas. Only the arcade, GameCube, and Nintendo DS versions were released in North America. Europe received all three versions plus the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation Portable versions. The Dreamcast version, released exclusively in Japan, was the last Dreamcast game developed by Sonic Team, as well as the last first-party title released on the platform. It was ported from the arcade version. The Dreamcast version is the only console version to use sprites in place of 3D models. Gameplay The basic game mechanics are mainly similar to those of Puyo Puyo: the player has a 6x12 board, and must decide where to place incoming groups of variously-colored blobs, or puyo. After placing each set of puyo, any groups of four or more of the same colored adjacent puyo will pop. Any above will fall down and can form more groups for a chain reaction. Each time groups of puyo pop, the player will score points and send "trash" (aka "garbage" and "nuisance") to their opponent. Garbage temporarily gets stored in a bar above the playfield, represented by symbols and warning the player of an incoming amount of garbage. These trash puyo are colorless and will only pop when puyo next to them do so, rather than in groups as normal. These will only fall if the player fails to make a chain, and trash falls in groups of 30 (one rock) at a time. When a player's board fills up, either if they cannot make groups or if they are sent a large amount of trash (usually the latter), they lose and the other player will win. A new addition to the