Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

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For the 8-bit version of the video game, see Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (8-bit). For the boss in Sonic Mania, see Mean Bean Machine.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Development staff
Developer(s)	Compile
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Tetsuo Shinyu Takayuki Yanagihori M. Tsukamoto
Producer(s)	Yoji Ishii Noriyoshi Ohba Moo Niitani
Designer(s)	Takaya Segawa Saori Yamaguchi Hideaki Moriya Keisuke Saka
Composer(s)	Masanori Hikichi Masayuki Nagao
Video game overview
Series	Sonic the Hedgehog series
Release date(s)	Sega Mega Drive NA November 1993 EU December 1993 Virtual Console (Wii) NA 11 December 2006 EU 8 December 2006 Steam INT 13 September 2010
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E for Eveyone VRC: GA PEGI: 3+ CERO: A
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive, Wii (Virtual Console), PC (Steam) Compilations: GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360
Media	Cartridge, CD-ROM, digital download

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, also known as Dr. Robotnik and His Mean Bean Machine in European countries outside of United Kingdom, is a falling-block puzzle video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Compile and published by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive. Released in North America and Europe during the late 1993, the game is based on the Japanese puzzle game Puyo Puyo. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is also the only spin-off game in the Sonic franchise to take place in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog universe, which ran during the game's release.

The core gameplay of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is derived from the Japanese Mega Drive port of the original Puyo Puyo arcade game, but with altered visuals and rearranged music tracks. Here, the player takes the role of Has Bean, whose mission is to rescue the kidnapped citizens of Beanville and defeat Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine later received a separate 8-bit version for the Sega Game Gear in 1993 and Master System in 1994, which featured similar gameplay and additional modes. The game has also appeared in some compilations and was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console and Steam.

Concept and creation

See also: Puyo Puyo

The Japanese cover for the Mega Drive port of Puyo Puyo, featuring the main characters Arle Nadja and Carbuncle.

Back in October 1992, the arcade version of Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ, Puyo Puyo^?) was developed by Compile and Sega AM1 in Japan, which used characters from Compile's Madou Monogatari video game series. The Mega Drive port for the original arcade game was released exclusively in Japan on December 18, 1992. However, the game did not receive an international release until a year later, where it was released under the title Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine for the Sega Mega Drive.

The international version of the game was a conversion of the Mega Drive version of Puyo Puyo. The game was localized, but also completely overhauled in terms of graphics and setting, and had nearly the entire cast from Puyo Puyo replaced with characters from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series. Most of the music tracks in Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine are also reused tracks from Masanobu Tsukamoto's and Einosuke Nagao's original composition for Puyo Puyo. Many of these tracks were rearranged by Masanori Hikichi of Cube Corp. and Naofumi Hataya.

Plot

The title screen of the game.

Set on planet Mobius, Dr. Robotnik has hatched a new plan to menace the world and its inhabitants - by kidnapping the citizens of Beanville and turning them into devious robot slaves, the doctor will create an army that will help him rid the planet of music and fun forever. To this end, he has created a giant roboticizing machine called the "Mean Bean-Steaming Machine" to use on the jolly bean folk.

Putting his plan into motion, Robotnik sends out his henchbots to round up all the unfortunate bean folk and group them together in dark dungeons so they can be sent to the Mean Bean-Steaming Machine. Assuming the role of Has Bean, the player must now stand up against Robotnik's henchmen by breaking into the dungeons, freeing the bean folk before it is too late, and get through Robotnik's henchbots to the deranged doctor himself and foil his evil plans once and for all.

Gameplay

The player facing Sir Ffuzzy-Logik in Stage 10 of the Scenario Mode.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is a puzzle game reminiscent of the Tetris games. The main gameplay takes place across two grid-based boards. The left board is used by the player, while the right board is used either by the game's CPU or a second player. Otherwise, the right board will remain empty (depending on the mode).

The objective in Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is to obtain as many points as possible by grouping certain Beans together as they fall down on the board from the top in groups of two. One pair of Beans will fall each "turn". The Beans themselves come in five different colors: red, green, blue, yellow, and violet. The player must attempt to arrange the Beans into groups of at least four Beans in the same color; should they do this, the Beans in the group will disappear. Both boards are six Beans wide and thirteen Beans tall, meaning a board can hold a total of seventy-eight Beans. If the board gets filled up with Beans and the player becomes unable to move the next incoming pair of Beans, the game ends. In a match between two contenders, the first to get a game over loses.

Different-colored Beans in one group. When the player drops down the light Bean block, the single Bean on the upper right will fall down separately.

While Bean blocks fall down, the player can move them left or right, rotate their block formation and speed up the Bean block's descend. If a Bean block is placed on a Bean formation so one Bean protrudes over an edge, said Bean will split off and continue its descend. Also, next to the boards on the center of the screen, players can see the next Bean block that will be deposited on their boards next. Occasional, the Bean blocks' dropping speed will suddenly increase temporarily. Even so, as the players work their way up, Beans will fall progressively faster.

When making a group of Beans disappear, other Beans stacked on top of them drop a level. The player can organize these Beans by placing Bean blocks conveniently close to each other, so when one group disappears, other similarly-colored Beans drop down together, thus triggering a chain reaction that cause another set of Beans to group and disappear, and so on. This will produce large chunks of points. When the player squares off another opponent (either another player or the CPU in Scenario Mode), each link in a chain reaction will cause transparent Refugee Beans to be deposited in random places on the rival's board. These Beans cannot be connected like normal Beans and can only be eliminated by having them touch a cluster of disappearing colored Beans. The amount of Refugee Beans dumped depends on the length of the combo that created them; one group of Beans disappearing as a result of a chain reaction creates a single Refugee Bean, while multiple chain reactions produce large rows of Refugee Beans, hence the importance of planning large chain reactions. A player can attempt to send Refugee Beans to their opponent in order to frustrate their attempts to remove Beans.

Controls

Tutorial showcasing controls for the player in the demo mode of the game.

Button formation	Movement
	Has Bean
left/right	Move Beans horizontally.
down	Speed up Beans' descend.
//	Rotate Bean blocks.
START button	Pauses the game.

Scenario Mode

Scenario Mode ("Hitori de Puyo Puyo" in Puyo Puyo) is the basic arcade mode of the game. The mode consists of thirteen Stages, each with a different CPU-controlled opponent. Here, the difficulty and falling speed of Beans increase with each Stage. Also, before each Stage, the opponent is given an introduction cutscene (which can be skipped by pressing START). Failing to beat the opponent will transport the player to the Continue screen where they have to decide on whether or not to try again within ten seconds. Refusing to try again results in a Game Over. In return, the Scenario Mode has an infinite amount of Continues.

To continue from a previously-cleared Stage, the Scenario Mode features a password system. Upon the completion of a Stage, the game gives the player a password consisting of four characters on the results screen, enabling them to start from that point in the game next time they play. Clearing all Stages makes the end credits roll. After that, the game will list all High Scores where the player can rack up their total score after clearing the Scenario Mode.

Opponent list

Stage no.	Opponent	Image	Puyo Puyo counterpart	Passwords
Stage 1	Arms		Draco Centauros	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stage 2	Frankly		Suketoudara/ Zoh Daimaoh
Stage 3	Humpty		Sukiyapodes
Stage 4	Coconuts		Harpy
Stage 5	Davy Sprocket		Sasoriman
Stage 6	Skweel		Panotty
Stage 7	Dynamight		Zombie
Stage 8	Grounder		Witch
Stage 9	Spike		Zoh Daimaoh
Stage 10	Sir Ffuzzy-Logik		Schezo Wegey
Stage 11	Dragon Breath		Minotaur/ Zoh Daimaoh
Stage 12	Scratch		Rulue
Stage 13	Dr. Robotnik		Satan

Characters

Dr. Robotnik and his henchbots Scratch and Grounder.

• Has Bean
• Dr. Robotnik
• Robotnik's henchbots
  • Arms
  • Frankly
  • Humpty
  • Coconuts
  • Davy Sprocket
  • Skweel
  • Dynamight
  • Grounder
  • Spike
  • Sir Ffuzzy-Logik
  • Dragon Breath
  • Scratch
• Beans
  • Refugee Bean
  • Big Bean (Excercise Mode only)

Other modes

1P VS. 2P Mode

Difficulty levels in the 1P VS. 2P Mode.

1P VS. 2P Mode ("Futari de Puyo Puyo" in Puyo Puyo) is the multiplayer component of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine which two players can participate in. To play, both players must have their controllers connected to the Sega Mega Drive. From the start, players are given the choice between five difficulty levels: easiest, easy, normal, hard and hardest. Players can also challenge each other for multiple matches (the number of which can be set in the Options menu).

In gameplay, player one (1P) controls the left board while player two (2P) controls the right board. 1P's score is shown above the Score font on the middle of the screen while 2P's is displayed below it. The matches here are much like those in Scenario Mode; when one of the players get a Game Over, the match ends and the losing player has to press START in ten seconds to begin new match. The star ranks on the left and right side of the screen show the number of victories the respective player have.

Exercise Mode

Exercise Mode ("Tokoton Puyo Puyo" in Puyo Puyo) is a separate mode for up to two players to participate in. Another player can join by pressing the START button. Here, players can practice their skills by choosing one of three difficult settings which include a score goal: easiest (no bonus), normal (40,000 extra points) and hardest (90,000 extra points). For this mode, the player has to rank up enough points to be rewarded with certain bonus points for the chosen difficulty setting.

As the player receives points in Exercise Mode, the Beans' falling speed increases. Additionally, this mode does not feature any Refugee Beans. When the player is about to loose the game, two exclusive characters will appear on the board:

• Has Bean: Hops across the player's board in random patterns, converting all the Beans he touches to one certain color.
• Big Bean: A large green bean that falls straight to the bottom of the Board, erasing the two columns of Beans that are in its way.

When one of players loses, the player has to press START for a new match. If the player has gotten a recordable High Score, they can mark said score with three initials on the High Score Screen. This screen will appear if the player waits for ten seconds without pressing any buttons after losing.

Options

Options is the settings menu for Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. It holds the following options:

• Key Assignment: The players can customize three different button functions (, and ). Both player one and two have to use their own controllers to make these adjustments for themselves.
• VS COM Level: The player can select one of four difficulty settings for the CPU opponents in Scenario Mode: Easy, Normal, Hard and Hardest.
• 1P VS. 2P Mode: The match count for the 1P VS. 2P Mode can be set here (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 or 15).
• Sampling: The player can turn the sound effects during the gameplay on or off here.
• Imput Test: All the button settings on the player's controller can be tested here.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	75%
Review scores
Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	7.5/10
GameSpot	6.3/10
IGN	7.5/10
Mega	90%
Nintendolife	6/10
Sega Magazine	91%
Awards Entity Award Mega 9th best game of all time

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine received generally positive reviews during its release. Gaming magazine Mega gave it a 90% score, calling it a "devilish addictive game which even haters of all things Sonic-related will love". Sega Magazine also praised the game's multiplayer modes for being "excellent fun" and called it one of the best puzzle games available for the Mega Drive.

In numerous re-releases and compilations, the game has received positive scores as well. Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer described the game in Sonic Mega Collection Plus as "pretty superfluous when the Mega Drive version's already in amongst the 16-bit Greatest Hits brigade." Fran Mirabella from IGN describes Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine in Sonic Mega Collection as a little diversity in the collection, while Lucas M. Thomas said the game had aged well, especially in the audio department, during the review of the game's re-release for the Wii's Virtual Console. Thomas also stated that "the differences between [Kirby's Avalanche] and Dr. Robotnik's Genesis edition aren't major or important enough that fans should skip this."

On the negative side, Jeremy Parish of 1UP claimed the game was a strange choice in the collection since its original incarnation, Puyo Puyo, had been introduced in America during that time. Damien McFerran of Nintendolife stated the CPU in Scenario Mode was a "decent challenge but it's only fun for a while", while Aaron Thomas of GameSpot claimed the game mechanics were easy, but also that the game quickly got difficult after two levels.

Re-releases

Image	Platform	Description
	Sega Mega Drive	In South Korea, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine was published by Samsung under the name Dong Gu Ri Te Chi Jak Jeon. However, for unknown reasons, a number of early cartridges were in fact copies of the Japanese release of Puyo Puyo with the Dong Gu Ri label.
	Sega Mega Drive	Repackaged along with Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 into the Sonic Compilation for the Mega Drive in 1995.
	PC	Included in the PC compilation pack Sega Puzzle Pack in 1999.
	PC	Released in Japan as a part of an import collection for the PC in 2000, titled Sega Archives From USA Vol.2.
	Gamecube	Sonic Mega Collection (2002)
	PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC	Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004)
	Handheld TV game	A series of RCA jack "Mega Drive-on-a-chip" units called the Legends series produced by Radica Games included releases of Arcade Legends Sega Mega Drive (2004), and Arcade Legends Sega Mega Drive Volume 3 - Super Sonic Gold (2005) which feature Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine as one of the playable games.
	Wii	On December 11, 2006, Sega released the Sega Mega Drive version of the game on the Wii's Virtual Console where it could be purchased for 800 Wii Points.
	Handheld TV game	Included in the "console on a chip" unit titled Mega Drive Twin Pads which was released in 2008.
	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3	Included in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 in 2009.
	PC	Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection - Volume 4 (2010)
	PC	Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection Gold Edition (2011)
	PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch	Included in Sega Mega Drive Classics, a compilation from 2018 which includes over fifty Sega Mega Drive games.
	Handheld TV game	Included in the North American and European versions of Sega's Mega Drive Mini (2019).

Game Gear and Master System versions

Screenshot from the Master System version of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.

After the release of the Sega Mega Drive version of the game, the 8-bit version of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine was released for Game Gear in December 1993 and the Master System in 1994. While the Game Gear version was only released in the United States and Europe, the Master System version was released in Europe, Australia and Brazil.

The 8-bit version of the game is based on the Game Gear port of Puyo Puyo which was released on March 19, 1993. While the core gameplay is much like the Mega Drive version's, certain additional features were replaced with the Puzzle Mode ("Nazo Nazo Puyo Puyo" in Puyo Puyo) that consists of a series of thirty challenges.

Staff

• Producers: Yoji Ishii, Noriyoshi Oba ("Noriyoshi Ohba"), Moo Niitani
• Directors: Tetsuo Shinyu, Takayuki Yanagihori, M. Tsukamoto
• Graphic designers: Takaya Segawa, Saori Yamaguchi, Hideaki Moriya, Keisuke Saka, Compile's Designer
• Programmers: Manabu Ishihara, Tsukasa Aoki, Compile's Programmer
• Music and FX: Masanori Hikichi -CUBE-, Masayuki Nagao
• Special thanks to: Shinbou Yokoyama

Sega of America

• Producer: Max Taylor
• Designers: Max Taylor, Brian Ransom, Dave Albert
• Sound: David Javelosa

© 1993 Sega
© 1993 Compile

Trivia

• Along with Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine marks the first video game in the Sonic series to not take place in the main series' universe. Instead, it is set in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series. References from the television show include:
  • All of the opponents in the Scenario Mode, along with Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts, appeared in the first episode of the television series, "Super Special Sonic Search & Smash Squad", where they were taken down by Sonic the Hedgehog one at the time.
  • In each oppoment's cutsecene, Doctor Robotnik's Fortress (without the golden Robotnik statue) can be seen in the background. It is also seen during the game's ending.
  • The Continue screen is based on a shot from the television series' unaired pilot.
• This is one of the first spin-off games in the Sonic franchise that Sonic the Hedgehog does not appear, nor was he mentioned.
• The Beginner's course from Puyo Puyo was removed in Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine; however, the three stages can be accessed via hacking. When doing so, the Puyo Puyo characters Skeleton T, Nasu Grave, and Mummy are all visually replaced by a character with Coconuts' intro and Scratch's mugshots.
  • Similarly, Puyo Puyo's Sound Test option was omitted, but it can still be accessed via hacking or by setting the game's region to Japanese.

The Mean Bean-Steaming Machine cameo in Archie Comics.

• In Scenario Mode, holding left or right on a second controller disables the CPU's ability to manually drop Beans; the effect is most pronounced against Frankly and Coconuts. This is a bug originating from the earliest version of the arcade Puyo Puyo that, despite being fixed in the more widespread version of the game, persisted in its English release and Mega Drive port.
• The game was given a subtle reference in Archie Sonic the Hedgehog #251, when the motherboard titled "M.B.M." was sabotaged by Dr. Wily. Also, the Mean Bean-Steaming Machine can be seen in one panel in Mega Man #27.
• The gameplay of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine appears in Sonic Mania and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus as both the boss of Chemical Plant Zone Act 2 and as a mini-game unlocked by obtaining Gold Medallions in the Bonus Stages. The mini-game version can be played either against the CPU or another player.

External links

• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine at official minisite of Wii re-release
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine at The GHZ
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine at MobyGames
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine at GameFAQs

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

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Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off games

Sega Master System	Sonic Spinball (1994) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1994)
Sega Mega Drive	Sonic Eraser (1991) · Sonic Spinball (1993) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993) · Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio (1994) · Knuckles' Chaotix (1995, 32X) · Sonic 3D Blast (1996)
Sega Saturn	Sonic 3D Blast (1996) · Sonic R (1997)
Sega All-Stars	Sega Superstars (2004, PS2) · Sega Superstars Tennis (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010, multi-platform) · Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012, multi-platform)
Sonic Riders	Sonic Riders (2006, multi-platform) · Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic Free Riders (2010, Xbox 360)
Sonic Storybook Series	Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007, Wii) · Sonic and the Black Knight (2009, Wii)
Mario & Sonic	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2011, Wii) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2012, 3DS) · Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013, Wii U) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (2019, Switch)
Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) · Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (2014, 3DS) · Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014, Wii U) · Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Switch)
Sonic Boom	Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (2014, Wii U) · Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (2014, 3DS) · Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom (2015, mobile) · Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (2016, 3DS)
Arcade and redemption machines	Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car (1991) · UFO SegaSonic (1992) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · SegaSonic Popcorn Shop (1993) · SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter (1993) · SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Air Circus (1994) · Curling Holiday (1994) · Sonic's Space Tours (1994/1999) · Sonic the Fighters (1996) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1997) · Sonic & Tails Spinner (2002) · CR Sonic (2003) · Sonic Spinner (2007) · Sonic Live! (2008) · Sonic Sports Basketball (2010) · Sonic Sports Air Hockey (2010) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Arcade (2011) · Sonic Athletics (2013) · Sonic Ghost Shooting (2013) · Sonic Brain Ranking (2013) · Sonic Dash Extreme (2015) · Sonic Blast Ball (2015) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition (2016) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition (2020)
Other	Puzzle Construction (1991, TeraDrive) · Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld (1994, Pico) · Tails and the Music Maker (1994, Pico) · Sonic's Schoolhouse (1996, PC) · Sonic Shuffle (2000, Dreamcast) · Shadow the Hedgehog (2005, multi-platform) · Sega Splash! Golf (2008, PC) · Sonic the Hedgehog (2008, Didj) · Team Sonic Racing (2019, multi-platform) · Sega Streaming Theater Sonic Edition (2021, PC) · Sonic Speed Simulator (2022, multi-platform) · The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2023, PC)
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