I've always prefered a game in its original form. So I always play this version over Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Kirby's Avalanche. Not to hate on the AoStH cast (well, half of them are one hit wonders who only appear on the first ep of that cartoon), but the cast here are far more colorful. And Mean Bean Machine doesn't even seem to have a protagonist. Unlike in Puyo Puyo where we're obviously using Arle for the puzzle matches. The game itself is a fun color matching combo making puzzle game. Might take time getting used to if you're more used to games like Tetris or Dr Mario. One other thing I must mention is the music in Puyo Puyo alone are all bangers.

visuals are very charming and cute-looking, and it is very exciting to play to this day.. until puyos falling speed becomes uncontrollable and you find yourself unable to rotate puyos once they're in-between the columns. it is rather sad you cannot toggle it. maybe on keyboard it would be easier to control, but on gamepad i've had a hard time with this annoyance.
as for the music, satan's banger of a theme really helped me to keep my sanity while trying to beat his stage.
of course there's some major issues that have been fixed in later games, but this one started the formula and established it instantly and greatly, so i think it totally deserved a 3.5 :D

The best falling block concept since Tetris. The ability to attack your opponent with your performance added such a level of chaos to this genre that would be replicated by numerous other games in future years. It forces you to play faster to outdo your opponent and in turn it basically makes the entire concept more challenging because the better your opponent is, the more it forces you to play even faster to outperform them. I like the art style, and the silly voice acting, but I love the gameplay, it's just pure catnip to me.