POP 'N POP PS1 (RETRO) IN SOUTH AFRICA

Title: Pop 'n Pop Region: PAL Platform: PS1 Condition: Very Good, Missing Book At its heart, Pop n' Pop is a fusion of Space Invaders and Puyo Puyo- the game's designer was Space Invaders creator Tomohiro Nishikado, no less. You control a little creature at the bottom of the screen (what creature depends on who you're playing as- the selectable characters are from other Taito games, like Bubblun from Bubble Bobble and Sayo from Kiki Kaikai, with their own movement and balloon-firing speeds)  that can fire two coloured balloons at a time into the air, arranged vertically or horizontally. Above you, there's a bunch of clouds with balloons hanging from them that drift slowly from side to side before changing direction as they hit the side of the screen, like Space Invaders. They move pretty slowly, but they'll speed up temporarily if your fired balloons float off-screen, and permanently after a set time. Naturally, the only way to destroy the balloons is to match three of the same colour, and if they ever pass the deadline, the game's over. As you advance through the main Story Mode, you'll encounter other obstacles like thunder balloons (popping them spawns demons that try to nail you with a projectile) and red bubbles (which defy gravity and must be destroyed), and every fourth round is a boss fight, where you have to clear the stage while an enemy is shunting the clouds down and firing projectiles at you. Beat them and you get to choose the next level set on a world map, like Puzzle Bobble 2.