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Columns was SEGA's flagship Genesis puzzle franchise. Like most puzzlers of the era, it cloned Tetris's "falling block" style of gameplay, but here, the blocks were jewels. Precious gems and glimmering stones, cascading into a well, being shuffled, shoved and set in place on an ever-growing stack.
Three's the magic number in Columns, as gems descend into the field in vertical trios. You can shift their position in the triple-tier totem pole as it falls, and then line it up with jewels already settled below. Three in a row is the way to go, as lining up three of the same kind of stone either vertically, horizontally or diagonally eliminates them from play.
At first, Columns doesn't seem to be as engaging or intuitive as other falling block puzzlers -- but given time, it grows on you. Gravity affects the stack after placing each piece, adding the possibility of chains and combos as gems still in play settle into the spots vacated by their freshly eliminated fellows. This was a pretty novel concept for the genre back in 1990, when Columns first arrived --Tetris didn't have that aspect, and Nintendo's first-party effort at the same type of gameplay, Dr. Mario, didn't arrive on the NES until later that same year.
Columns found a fairly large following on SEGA's 16-bit system, and earned several sequels in subsequent years. Installments in the series appeared on the Genesis, Game Gear, Saturn, Dreamcast, and there were even a few coin-op versions. The game's also been used as a roster member in several compilation releases, including the SEGA Genesis Collection that just recently hit the PlayStation 2.
The value for puzzle players will come with each offering's variety and Columns does well in that regard. An Arcade mode emulates the game's first quarter-munching cabinet version, and is playable by one or two players. Difficulty and height settings allow you to customize challenges for yourself, and an extra mode called Flash Columns tasks you to dig down through a pre-set stack to eliminate a targeted, blinking piece (Later puzzle titles, including Tetris sequels, would copy that approach).
Verdict
Columns isn't quite as classic as Tetris, but it offers a unique take on the falling block puzzle style. SEGA supporters have had plenty of chances to experience this design over the years, and may not feel motivated to repurchase it again, but longtime Nintendo loyalists may have missed out. For them, it's a solid selection.
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Columns Mediatonic
Initial Release: Jun 30, 1990
ESRB: Everyone Nintendo Switch Linux Macintosh Nintendo 3DS +15
Columns Review
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