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Baku Baku

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The Minister approaches the King to tell him that his only daughter, the Princess, wants a new pet. But the King says she already has too many, and she can't take care of so many animals. Thus the Minister purposes a contest of skill and daring to select the Royal Zookeeper. Master Piggy then sen...

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Developer
Minato Giken

Released on
1996

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Game Gear

Requirements
Sega Game Gear

Downloads
Puzzle

Publisher
Sega Enterprises

ESRB Rating
E - Everyone

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Description

The Minister approaches the King to tell him that his only daughter, the Princess, wants a new pet. But the King says she already has too many, and she can’t take care of so many animals. Thus the Minister purposes a contest of skill and daring to select the Royal Zookeeper. Master Piggy then sends his pupil, Polly, to participate in the contest.

Baku Baku Animal/Baku Baku is a variation on the very often copied Tetris type of game. The game has three different play modes: practice, normal and hard. It also can be played by two players against each other (except for the Master System version).

The objective is to pair animal heads with their respective food. If a rabbit head comes falling, you must make it fall on a pile of carrot tiles, dog heads with bones, panda heads with bamboos and monkey heads with bananas. There is a bonus item, the “BB coin”, which will appear from times to times, and remove piled tiles from the playfield. Removed tiles will be sent to the opponent’s playfield all at once, increasing the difficulty of the task. Polly will face several contestants, and she’ll win when her opponents get their playfield piled to the top.

Baku Baku

Overview & History

Developed by Sega AM7 and released in 1995 for the Sega Game Gear—with a concurrent arcade and Sega Saturn launch—*Baku Baku* (fully titled *Baku Baku Animal*) is a charming yet fiercely competitive puzzle game with an eccentric environmental storyline. In a world where hungry animals constantly forage for their favorite treats, players must step into the role of a zookeeper tasked with feeding an endless avalanche of falling blocks before the screen fills to the brim. Translating this vibrant arcade experience to the handheld Game Gear was no small feat, but the developers successfully retained the game's addictive arcade rhythm, whimsical sprite animations, and catchy chiptune soundtrack, making it a standout puzzle title in the system’s late-era library.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay loop combines falling-block mechanics reminiscent of *Columns* or *Puyo Puyo* with a unique food-chain twist. Pairs of blocks—consisting of various animals (monsters, rabbits, monkeys, and pandas) and their corresponding foods (meat, carrots, bananas, and bamboo)—drop from the top of the grid. Players must strategically stack these items, but animals will only disappear if they are matched with their specific food block. Clearing blocks triggers a cascading combo system where leftover food items drop further down, occasionally crushing rival animals on your opponent's screen in versus mode. The frantic pace is dictated by a rising danger meter; if your stack touches the top, it is game over. The game features a solo puzzle mode, a time-attack trial, and a frantic head-to-head mode that shines brightest when orchestrating massive chain-reaction feasts.

Keyboard Controls

Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Move falling block pairs left and right, or press down to soft drop.
Action Keys: Rotate the falling animal and food pair clockwise and counter-clockwise.
Enter: Start / Pause