Columns III: Revenge of Columns

Overview

Columns III (known in-game as Columns III: Revenge of Columns, and known in Japan as Columns III: Taiketsu! Columns World) is a falling-block tile-matching puzzle game developed by Minato Giken and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis in Japan (on October 15, 1993) and North America (by Vic Tokai on March 1994).

The third entry in the Columns series (and the first not initially released in arcades), Columns III focuses solely on the competitive versus-style variant introduced in Columns II: The Voyage Through Time, including a new single-player component (where players face-off against a series of computer-controlled opponents, similar to Puyo Puyo) and multiplayer for up to five simultaneous players (using the Team Player multiplayer adapter).

The game's automatic attacking system from Columns II has been replaced with a system where players can bank points from clearing jewels (with additional points for combos) and use them to attack at any time (one row per 10 points, with the maximum held points at 30) using a dedicated attack button. In addition, players can hinder opponents by "flash jewels" (which deal a random detriment to them, such as making the pieces monochrome or reversing the player's joy-pad).

The game's single-player mode, also known as Pyramid Columns, has players delving deep into an ancient pyramid for treasure, facing off against numerous creatures. Along the way, they can earn items to help them defeat their opponent (which can be activated by pausing the game).

It also includes free-for-all multiplayer supporting up to five players, where two attack buttons are used: one to attack the player on their left and one to attack the player on their right. The game also includes a 2-on-1 mode and a Japanese-exclusive 2-on-2 mode (the latter relegating the second player on each team to playing rock-paper-scissors for power-ups).

While the game did not initially release in arcades, it did receive a limited arcade release in Europe (using Genesis-based Sega Mega Play hardware). It was also ported to the PC as part of the 1999 compilation Sega Puzzle Pack.

It later received a digital re-release for the Wii (as a Virtual Console title) in Japan (on December 11, 2007), North America (on February 4, 2008), Europe (on May 2, 2008). It was also digitally re-released for the PC, Mac, and Linux on October 26, 2010, which was later included in the Sega Genesis Classics compilation (for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC).