Puchi Carat is a 1997 puzzle game by Taito. It plays very similar to Breakout and Taito's previous arcade title Arkanoid. Your goal will be to destroy gem blocks using a ball and paddle, with gems falling in one line at a time at the top of the area. Gems hit by the ball will be destroyed, and if the destroyed gem causes other gems to disconnect, bonus points will be scored. There will also be special flashing gems that can be destroyed, which can destroy gems of the same color. Metallic blocks will also be present and will take more than one hit to destroy. Similar to Breakout and Arkanoid, the paddle is controlled left to right, bouncing the ball upward. Unlike those games, however, missing the ball will not lose the game, but adds more gems to the playfield. If the gems cross the line, the game is over.
In the world of Puchi Carat, the setting is the kingdom of GemStone, where science and magic now coexist. Twelve gemstones were once stored in a sanctuary, and their presence was what brought peace and prosperity to the kingdom. Legend has it that they were also capable of granting wishes. However, five centuries ago, a bandit named Grossular had stolen the gems and went missing for several hundred years, and they are now in the possession of new hands. Twelve individuals: Garnet, Thyst, Aqua, C-Mond, Rald, Pearl and Dearl, By, Peridot, Sapphire, Opa, Paz, and Rquo are now on the hunt for these gems in order to fulfill their wishes.
Despite the name, this game has nothing to do with Di Gi Charat.
This game contains examples of:
- Amnesia Missed a Spot: Sapphire cast a spell to wipe her parents' memories. Unfortunately for her, seeing Sapphire is enough to make Peridot remember her.
- Apologises a Lot: Thyst often apologizes after beating an enemy and taking their Magic Gem.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Rquo, who usually insults people right after demanding they hand over their magic stone.
- Breaking Out: Your objective is breaking gems by bouncing a ball with a paddle. Missing the ball causes the play area to fill with gems and the goal is making the opponent's gems cross a certain line.
- Company Cross References: Patrako is from another Taito game, Cleopatra Fortune.
- De-power: Opa was once a very powerful magician, but lost most of his power over the years, starting around the time when he lost his eye.
- Dirty Old Man: Opa is a pervert who is willing to hit on almost anybody.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Patrako performs the ending theme of the PlayStation port, "Chasing Smiles"
. - Forced Transformation: By was changed into his current form by magic, and he wishes to use the gemstones become human again. Peridot was also transformed, but since her memories were erased, she doesn't seem to care.
- Fountain of Youth:
- In Peridot's Gameboy Color ending, she wishes to become young. She becomes much, much younger than she expected, however. This also occurred when Sapphire originally turned her into a beast, turning her from 39 to 26.
- In one of Opa's Original Mode endings, he also wishes to become younger. Aside from a thinner mustache, he doesn't look too different.
- Gonk: All of the characters are absolutely adorable beyond words... Except Opa.
- Mad Eye: Opa's a strange old man with a right eye with an iris that's about twice as large as the left one which is also always open. According to Thyst, it may be an eyepatch.
- Magic Versus Science: Rald loves science, and can't bear to hear it insulted. He particularly dislikes Sapphire and Paz, who are prominent magic users.
- Ms. Fanservice: Peridot wears an outfit that covers very little, has large breasts, tends to strike sexy poses during gameplay, and has a sensual voice.
- Overnight Age-Up: In one of Rquo's Original Mode endings, she wishes to become an adult.
- Shrinking Violet: Thyst is very shy and withdrawn, partly due to her parents and sister.
- Third-Person Person: In Japanese, C-Mond speaks entirely in third-person.
- Verbal Tic: C-Mond and Patrako tend to say all their lines with "desu".
- Rock Theme Naming: Just about all characters are named after precious rocks, though some connections may be obscure, like Thyst instead of Amethyst, and Opa and Paz instead of Topaz.
