Forgotten Gaming- Columns

Name- Columns

Platforms- Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Game Gear

Developer- Sega

Released- 1990/1991

It’s not uncommon for certain video games to become the hottest craze of their era. Look at Pong, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog… even more modern games such as Bejeweled, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and Angry Birds. All found a way to transcend their medium and become the latest trend, spawning countless imitators. One of the biggest gaming revolutions in the late 1980s was the Russian-born Tetris, the first ‘falling block’ style puzzle game that helped put the Game Boy on the map, create an entire new genre of video games, and single-handedly thaw the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union. (…ok, maybe not that last one.) Tetris was ported to virtually every computer, console, and graphing calculator ever since, with new releases to this day. It’s hard to find any device that doesn’t have a version of Tetris available in some way!

But with every phenomenon game come the many ‘me-too’s: games heavily inspired by the original but with just barely enough of a difference to not consider them completely plagiarized. Enter Sega with their ‘brand new’ game: Columns. Instead of tetronimos falling into a playfield, we have multicolored jewels in stacks of three. (The eponymous ‘columns,’ if you will.) As these columns fall the jewels can be rearranged, and our goal is not to create horizontal lines but rather to align same-color jewels in rows of three or more. (This may be the first instance of match-three gameplay ever to appear in gaming.) These lines can be horizontal, vertical, but also diagonal. As matching jewels disappear, jewels above them fall into place, allowing chain combo opportunities. Continue to do well, and point values increase, the game gets faster, and like Tetris, the game ends when jewels reach the top and no new columns can fall in.

Originally released in the arcades, Columns quickly became a hit. The game’s tight mechanics, pleasing Greek theming, and hauntingly beautiful music earned it a rightful spot next to Tetris, and was soon also ported to the many computers and consoles of its time. Columns’ most popular home port was as an early title for the Sega Genesis, the version we will cover here today.

Arcade mode, Genesis version. A perfect translation.

In a time where arcade-to-console conversions were notoriously butchered due to inferior hardware, the Genesis version of Columns was a rare instance of an arcade-perfect port. Through ‘Arcade’ mode, the game looks and sounds exactly like the original, and one or two players can enjoy playing completely separately from each other. (Later games such as Puyo Puyo would copy this screen layout but have the two players playing directly against each other.) If Sega really wanted to, they could have stopped right at this arcade mode and release the game as is, and it would have done wonderfully as a perfect arcade port. Luckily they did not, and decided to include extra modes exclusive to this home version.

Besides the ‘Arcade’ mode there is also the cryptic ‘Menu’ mode. (A menu option for a menu?) Here, the game can be played in its original form but with various customization options. Difficulty can be changed by adding more different jewels to the mix, or starting at faster speeds. Games can be played with one player, two independent players, or a special co-op ‘doubles’ mode where players alternate turns in a single well. All variations can either be played in an untimed score attack or a three-minute time attack, with best scores recorded and saved (that is, until you turn the power off). Lastly, players now have their choice of music. Besides the original track, ‘Clotho,’ one can choose either ‘Lathesis’ or ‘Atropos.’ 

The Genesis was always hounded for its sound capabilities compared to its contemporaries, with its music and sound effects sounding too artificial or ‘game-y.’ But anyone looking to showcase how beautiful the Genesis can sound must look no further than Columns. Its three tracks manage this beautiful harpsichord and organ instrumentation that, coupled with genius melodies, sound mysterious, beautiful and catchy. Each track is spectacular in its own right, and while Clotho overwhelmingly gets the most recognition, I personally feel Atropos is overlooked. It is any Sega fan’s dying wish to one day hear renditions of Clotho, Lathesis and Atropos on a church organ in a cathedral.

Flash Columns. The flashing animation (bottom violet jewel) is much more obvious in motion.

Back to the game itself, there is one more option hiding in the Menu mode, and that is for an entirely new game variation called Flash Columns. Those tired of matching three until their eyes bleed will welcome this new mode, which calls upon the player to match a certain flashing jewel in a preset field. This involves a new layer of strategy to not only work down through the preset jewels, but to also not block out the flashing one. Moves now need to be made in advance as chain combos are the best method to quickly get down to the bottom of the well and include the flashing jewel in those combos. Also playable in co-op doubles mode, Flash Columns could very well have been turned into its own game.

Looking briefly at the Sega Master System version, this port of Columns obviously had to be downgraded to accommodate the weaker hardware. Despite the limitations in sprite size, Original and Flash Columns are included in their one and two player modes, as well as doubles. Time Trial and alternate music tracks have been cut, however the option to change the jewel appearances has been added, allowing you to play with jewels that look like blocks, card suits, domino faces, etc. Dynamic backgrounds have also been added, with an animated starfield in the background of Original mode and oddly, a racing track in the background of Flash mode. (Possibly a reference to Hang-On?) Overall the Master System version of Columns gets the job done, but is unfortunately hindered by a proportionally small play area and even smaller jewels. Even with a large TV you’ll be squinting at which jewels are which, and through an RF connection, good luck trying to make anything out!

Master System version. Look at all that wasted real estate...

Lastly, there’s the Game Gear version of Columns, released as a launch title for Sega’s new handheld system. The Game Gear was everything that Nintendo’s Game Boy was not, especially with its full-color backlit screen. Packing the colorful Columns in with Game Gear was a direct attack against Nintendo, which packed the monochrome Tetris in with the Game Boy. Yet the Game Boy succeeded with its lower price and better battery life, with Tetris seen as the better game over Columns. As the Game Gear was essentially a portable Master System (with a richer color palette), the handheld version of Columns was a shrunken-down port of the Master System version. Animated backgrounds were traded in exchange for a static picture of an ancient city, and the Game Gear’s smaller screen resulted in a more zoomed-in picture. Interestingly, where this zooming in usually made Master System-to-Game Gear ports harder to play due to the smaller screen, this actually fixes the main flaw of the Master System version and makes the Game Gear version easier to look at! Lathesis and Atropos have also been restored, making the handheld version the superior of the 8-bit variants. Multiplayer options are still available, however this requires a second Game Gear and copy of Columns, connected via the Gear-to-Gear cable, but this is understandable. 

The Game Gear port is admittedly more claustrophobic but easier to play.

All in all, those looking for an old-school puzzle fix will find a lot to like in Columns. Obviously the Genesis version reigns supreme with its arcade perfection and bonus modes. Doubles mode also proves very interesting, as at the time multiplayer games focused more on competition rather than cooperation. Today, one could argue the opposite rings true, so Columns stands almost ahead of its time. The game is easy to pick up and hard to master, a golden rule for timeless video games. Plus, chain combos in any game are always satisfying, especially when they’re unintentional. Find a few moments in your day, get comfortable, and allow Columns to relax, intrigue, and excite you.