Mean Bean Tsuu - SHC 2025 Demo
By Team Tsuu
Mean Bean Tsuu returns for SHC2025! This demo of Mean Bean Tsuu gives a sneak preview to some of the new character roster with a three-stage demo and features a BRAND NEW randomised opponent system where each playthrough will see you battling your opponents in a different order or even different opponents entirely! With more new board designs, character artwork, and brand new cutscenes, we hope you enjoy what's to come with this Mean Bean hack.
Mean Bean Tsuu is a hack which aims to be a sequel to the original game, featuring new mechanics from Puyo Puyo Tsuu, as well as a story more in line with that of Japanese Classic Sonic canon. It still follows Mean Bean's original mechanics, though research is being done to get those Tsuu mechanics in!
The new features in this year's demo include:
- Restored Lesson Mode Stages
- 5 Stage Boards - 2 returning from last year
- New Arrangement of the Main Menu music by Aburtos
- 8 New Characters (including a returning Coconuts)
- Random Opponent System for Scenario Mode (2 stages featuring more friendly characters, and a final stage against one of Robotnik's goons)
- New backdrop for cutscenes
- New Title Screen and Game Over Screen
We hope you enjoy what we have to show for this demo, so lets blend those beans!
TEAM TSUU
- ArcaniaCQ - Director, Programmer, Art Design, Research
- DaxKatter - Co-Director, Programmer, Art Design, Sound Design, Scriptwriter, Research
- E-122 Psi - Art Design
- TomatoWave_0 - Art Design, Programmer
- Malachi - Programmer
- CPU_the_Artist - Art Design
- RadioTails - Programmer, Research
- Aburtos - Sound Design
- Sabry - Art Design
- Playtesters - Arrietty, Celerity910, Velvetbun, Ace9921, DeltaWooloo
Special Thanks
- Naoto - SHC Splash Screen Implementation Assistance
- LJ - Spritework Assistance
- Team Tsuu's Former Members - Aciross, Pieniondz
- MDTravis, D.A. Garden, KGL, ReFrag, Undying_Star, Rhomin
File Type: rom/mega-drive
File Size: 2 MB
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G ᵍʳᵃᵖʰⁱᶜᵃ Because Gameplay is the same, but i will play too much this :3
its pretty cool i think its a bit difficult
شكرا محمد ياسر That's great
Yeah I'm going to enjoy Mean Beaing my opponents for sure later next week
0/10 beans are too means I beat it second try lmao
Comment deleted by Mildanner @ 2025-10-04 12:41:51
Coconuts is SO CUTE!!!!!!~ 101/10
I've been following this project since it started, and I'm really surprised by the changes it's undergoing: numerous animated backgrounds, completely new music, and sprites. I hope they continue like this; I really enjoy it.
I want to like it, I really do, but... This is clearly made by and catered towards people who care more about Sonic than the proper Puyo/Mean Bean aspects of this game.
To start, I should clarify that by no means am I a "great" Puyo player. I can't plow through the entirety of the first or second Puyo game with ease, but I still thoroughly love and enjoy them and their mechanics. But here, when it comes to gameplay, everything feels dumbed down to me.
A good example of this is the inclusion of color match indicators on the first stage. It just seems like unnecessary training wheels. The AI barely put up a fight on extreme difficulty, to the extent of it killing itself on the second stage faster than I could even make chains to make garbage.
Something else I feel the need to bring up is the "new mechanics from Puyo Puyo Tsuu" mentioned in the description. Currently, none of the impactful Tsu features are here like the tower scenario, offset rule, margin time, and most importantly, double rotation. How does this warrant the "Tsuu" title? Just the removal of a random Puyo color? Some more details as to what was ported over would be much appreciated, and I hope everything important can be implemented later down the line.
I want something like this to exist so bad, but I just wish it was more unique and had its own identity, akin to Dr. Robotnik's Mean Machine. The original's charm is completely gone, stripping out so much of its identity and shaping it from a proper "Mean Bean Machine 2" into "Puyo Puyo 1.5 but JP Sonic". Everything's now the same old bland vanilla Sonic flavor you see everywhere. It's not Mean. What's leftover of the MBM identity clashes with the new replacements and added content, such as the music.
For example, the stage 1 GHZ music mash-up. It's cute, sure! But it's trying to stay close to something that doesn't exist or belong anymore with everything else around it completely different and changed, and I'm glad it only plays for one stage. On a related note, the new remixed menu music is extremely over the top, it fits with nothing else in the hack. Better off as a standalone music remix YouTube upload than an actual in-game inclusion.
I'm definitely ranting at this point, but again, I really want to love this. I've been eagerly awaiting a full-blown Mean Bean hack for so long. I've kept tabs on this ever since I first heard about it a year (or two?) ago. But the direction this has gone down bums me out. Despite that, I'll continue to see how this evolves and improves over time. Also, apologies for the dumb amount of replies, the 512 character limit is lame.
Mean Bean Machine has never looked so clean!
I have been following this project for a while and there is so much I could write about, but what I love the most here is the inclusion of new characters and the amazing music! Please give my regards to Aburtos for there amazing job on the soundtrack!
Aburtos has done quite a good job with what they've made so for the hack so far. I would've loved to port over the Danger remix they did, but complicatations and time constraints led to it being scrapped for the demo. But we do have his awesome menu remix! Glad you enjoyed the hack!
It's Sonic, but it's Puyo. But it's Sonic, but it's Puyo... but it's Sonic but it's Puyo!!!
Digging the changes on this one, from the music remixes to the stage art. And of course anything that backports Tsuu upgrades here is a bonus on my book.
It's a fine line to balance both franchises in one game, but you guys are keeping it balanced. Good job!
It's OFFSETTING time!!
Seems I gotta mention this, when it comes to the Puyo Puyo Tsuu mechanics, Mean Bean isn't very well documented yet and as such, getting such features in is a lot more tricky to get in than we'd like them to be. Thankfully Puyo Puyo Tsuu's code is currently being researched as we speak with a new disassembly being made and hopefully by our next showing, we'll have some of the Tsuu mechanics in like double rotation, All-Clears and offsetting. Until then, please do enjoy what we have to show this year!
It's Mean Bean Machine, which is just Puyo Puyo. The new graphics looked really good (I loved the Quartz Quadrant tiles!) and the lil' Sonic looks really cute. Good job! Nothing much to say.
My playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPiXi6z1zCQ
Whoops, Dr. Robotnik has left a diabolical trap for a returning Sonic on the title screen. A game crash occurs upon trying to load the tutorial/demo after playing Scenario Mode... thankfully the game resets so you'll be able to get back to blending beans in no time.