And why they didn't. Massive speculation admittedly on my part. Making it a rule to not include characters strictly MadouMono exclusives, because we know they have copyright shenanigans going on.
I put these in the order of appearance, so it starts from OPP, Tsu, Nazo Puyo, and then Box.
Zombie
Probably the most talked about one with English speaking fans in terms of non-returners. It's simply because he was the least popular amongst Japanese fans, ranking extremely low. It's a case of a character being more appealing for overseas fans thanks to Tsu's demo stages.
Honestly, all they have to do to make him more palatable beyond "the stinky guy who spills his guts" is to play up the death metal thing. Make him a musician, but one that's actually successful (unlike Harpy), there's even an old 4koma where he proves to be better at playing the flute than Panotty, lol. That would make him a bit more cute and less creepy/gross.
Edit: Huh… actually, a zombie that plays guitar and likes death metal… that would just be Puyo Puyo's answer to Lord Raptor, wouldn't it?
Sukiyapodes
Unlike Zombie, I actually cannot find a reason as to why this character was excluded. Maybe the current Puyo artists don't know how to draw feet? Up to you to speculate on this one.
Nomi
I'm thinking SEGA had no idea what his alts would be if he got into Puyo Quest. Kinda hard to do anything beyond zooming in on the little guy like ARS did. A shame, because he's a funny lil' guy.
Mini Zombie
Same reasons as zombie, unpopular and gross, but has more "cute appeal" than his older counterpart and speaks with some honorifics in a couple of games.
He doesn't have the death metal interest that Zombie has, so there's less to do with his personality besides speech quirks and being stinky. Funnily enough though, the suwa3 website hosting all the character info actually does have the Mini Zombie x Merigu (Banshee Trio member) ship listed! I think it's the only mook/small fry pairing?
It's a cute interaction based entirely on old art… I think expanding on Mini Zombie having a friendship with the Banshee Trio would be a fun idea.
Dragon
I have no idea why this character didn't return. They are cute, marketable, etc. Without this character, Chico feels rather empty.
Chico was a character that already suffered from being introduced way too late into Compile's run and appearing late/not very helpful in Puyo Puyo~n (her abilities can only be used for two stages…) By bringing Dragon back into Quest, there could have been more flavor text.
It's possible that the character was redundant due to other dragon themed cast members with similar names, like Draco and Kodomo Dragon.
In fact, maybe just Kodomo Dragon by himself, creating a child and dragon duo, was enough for Chico and Dragon to not be one…
Choppun (content warning)
Okay so, first and foremost, Choppun is based on a Compile staff member. But so is Nasu Grave, so we all know that connection isn't enough to keep him out.
But… the bigger Zoh in the room (lol) is the fact that uh, Choppun is just… straight up a lolicon? Like, besides the skirt flipping shenanigans in the GameGear games, he is a grown man with a child but actively prefers girls with "flat chests" and hates large boobs according to various other pieces of media.
That's not gonna fly, no matter what. Sure, SEGA in theory could just… make him a silly bisexual cosplayer like he is in some of the manga (where he seems to like Satan and Incubus' attention) but it may not go over well either.
On a semi-related note, Compile had an eroge division and the artist for the GameGear version of Madou 3 (Choppun's debut) left Compile to make adult games, lmao.
Wraith
Much like Dragon, this may simply be a case of redundancy. Why add another ghost character when we have Yu, Rei, and Will-O-Wisp? Especially since she's another "sheet ghost" character.
There was a solution in the form of the alternate character designs, where Wraith, without her sheet, appears to be a beautiful ghost girl.
Water Element
Like Succubus, this character would be "too sexy" and there's possibly copyright issues with the Playboy bunny uniform. On top of that, she's an alcoholic…
I do wish this character came back, at least maybe with a hefty redesign and no rabbit suit if it was a problem. (they overhauled Succubus, perhaps a little too much imo) It'd be nice to keep her as another rival character for Rulue-
Or Ragnus, if one wants to go by the Shin Madou novels they were enemies there. (with Water Element trying to seduce him)
Barry de Babine
Compile copyright for this one. He's definitely not coming back.
For the better honestly, I don't care for this character at all. He's a cheeky reference to JUMP HERO but it never really worked imo. Phased out in favor of Ragnus and I wouldn't have it any other way. (sorry Barry fans)
Vampire
I think Puyo Quest putting in their own original pretty boy vampire character sadly put a stop to Demon Servant reuniting with this guy (as well as the previously mentioned Water Element).
It's unfortunate, because I actually adore his design. Super adorable.
Barbegazi
Very unpopular, gross, and kind of "ugly". Not at all appealing for Japanese fans. His schtick was sneezing on the other characters (Arle and Rulue).
I think he's neat, but man is he a pain in the ass to fight in Madou Monogatari when he gives you a cold! Asshole. I don't say "good riddance" like I do with Barry but I don't particularly mourn him like I do with Zombie, Vampire, and Dragon.
I'm sure there are old man/oji-san enjoyers who may like him, maybe…?
Edit: When I read the suwa3 website, the Japanese fans seem to find this character annoying and they hate fighting him. WOW. 😭 That's a first!
Leviathan
Very obscure, only appears in two games as a Lord of the Dragons. Although mostly a larger version of Dragon in Hanamaru, he has a totally distinct design in Nazo Puyo Tsu!
I think he's kind of neat and adorable… yes, he should come back if possible.
Goddess of Spacetime
I think this one is potentially stuck under Compile's copyright thumb. She appears in the manual of Puyo Puyo, but appears in the GBC version of SUN and as a statue in Nazo Puyo Tsu.
Bringing this character back might ruin her mystique unfortunately. It seems Marle and Squares from Puyo Tetris 2 kinda succeeded her position.
Merrow & Muhoho
I'm putting these two together because you both encounter them in Puyo Box as reskins of the more popular Tsu characters. (Serilly and Nohoho respectively)
Merrow is very redundant, she has the same color scheme as Ocean Prince/Salde and is an angrier/arrogant Serilly.
Muhoho (pardon me, it may not be correct/ambiguous, but I will use feminine pronouns for this character) could have been a neat alt skin for Nohoho though. She's different enough in personality compared to him. More of a sweetheart who likes cute things such as flowers, and less of a con artist.
And finally…
Dark Witch
There may be a copyright issue with this one, I heard that was the reason for Doppelganger Schezo's name being changed to Dark Schezo in Quest…
Perhaps they could bring her back the way they did for Doppel Schezo and rename her "Wicked Witch" or "Nightmare Witch", since she came from Witch's dreams! Lemme know which witch rename you like more, lol.
Anyway, this is all the obscure Puyo Puyo exclusive characters that haven't appeared in Quest I could find. Lemme know if I missed any, and also-
Justice for Zombie, 2025, let my man be free and stinky.
Here's another one of these appearence compilation posts, this time with Choppun, though this one is a bit of a special occasion, since a good buddy of mine is working on a fanfic starring Choppun and I wanna give his proto-prologue a plug, because I'm sure he would appreciate constructive feedback and support.
Puyo Puyo/Darkwing Duck AU fic “proto-prolouge” chapter
Alright, I’ve got a sort of “prototype-prologue” to my Puyo Puyo/Darkwing Duck AU fanfic up. I’d like to remind everyone that this isn’t exactly final, but I’d like to hear what you all think. Please remember that I’d appreciate it if there was NO flaming and/or harsh criticisms. I spent almost the whole day working on this, you know.
Welcome to Pwurp City. A quaint and relatively peaceful metropolis. However, like all metropolis…metropolises? Metropoli…? Meh…like any other CITY, that’s only what you see on the surface. The truth is, it unfortunately has a bit of a…” problem” with the criminal element…
As the moon lights up the night sky, we see what appears to be a pair of imp-like creatures currently in the process of stealing from a store filled to the brim with all kinds of doodads on the outskirts of Pwurp City.
“Hurry up, will ya?! Ugh…I KNEW this was a bad idea…!” exclaimed a Kosatan, a little blue imp normally seen guarding the depths of Lyla’s Ruins. A massive plot of property owned by none other than the Dark Prince himself, Satan. This particular one was carrying an unusually large bag of golden accessories.
“Hey, hey! Don’t rush me! With our small size, do you wanna try carrying 60 pounds of gold back and forth? Sheesh!” retorted yet another Kosatan.
“I’m just saying, I’d rather we get the heck out of here before someone contacts the authorities. Honestly, why are we even doing this again?”
“Do I really need to go over this again? Lord Satan’s one stingy fella...and hecka powerful. If we asked him to give us a raise, I can’t imagine that conversation would go over so well, could you?”
“…Good point. So now what?”
“Well, we’ve already gotten all this loot, right? I imagine this’ll hold us over for, what? 15-20 years? Heh-heheheh…”
“Well, come on. Let’s move before we get into bigger trouble. Huh…?”
“Hmm? Hey, what are ya standing around for?! Weren’t you the one who was just squawking at me to get a move on? What’s the matter?”
“It’s just…Look, I’m sure this is going to sound REALLY cliché, but…have you ever gotten the feeling you’re being watched?”
“Well, no…but if we stay here any longer, I’m sure I WILL feel it. Which why we should be hightailing it out of here!"
“Huh?…Oh, yeah! Right, right!”
Not too far from the Kosatans, we see a dark shadow watching from afar. It appears that the Kosatan that felt like there was a third party to their little gathering may have been a bit justified in his suspicions feelings after all…
In a large puff of red smoke, the Kosatan reel back in shock.
“Wh—What the heck?! What’s going on?! I—I can’t see worth a darn! Hey, where are you?” exclaimed the more nervous Kosatan.
“Agh! You’re stepping on my foot, idiot! Get off me!” yelled the braver Kosatan “Urgh! Where’d all this red smoke come from??”
“I am the terror that prowls in the night!” shouts a booming voice.
“What—what the heck?! What was that?! Is someone there? No…Lord Satan?!”
“I am the dark shadow that haunts your nightmares!”
“Huh? Wait a minute…that voice…that’s not…’OY! Who’s out there?! Show yourself, punk! Hey, be on your guard, man. I don’t know what we’re dealing with, but we should be fine as long as we hold our ground, and don’t show this jerk that we’re scared.”
“Are you scared right now?”
“W—What? Of course not! What’s there to be scared of? Aside from whoever this is trying to steal the gold we so rightfully stole, this is nothing! That doesn’t sound like Lord Satan, and it’s obvious this isn’t that blue-armored magical chick with the weird pet bunny-thing, so who else is there?”
“So…just WHY are you vibrating like a massage chair...” asked the timid Kosatan in a deadpan manner.
“What? I’m not…” the braver Kosatan notices that his body really IS shaking at an unusually high speed. “Wh--?! Oh, shut up! Heck, I’m more surprised you haven’t wet yourself 10 times over already!”
“Hey! I told you that’s a condition that runs in my family!!” cried the timid Kosatan. “AND I told you that in complete secrecy, you jerk!” he hissed.
“HEY!!!” exclaimed the voice, still hidden in the red smoke and startling the two Kosatan. “If you little trolls are done? I was in the middle of my introduction, thank you very much! Now, as I was saying, I am the terror that prowls in the night! I am the dark shadow that haunts your nightmares! I…am Darkbag Chop!!!”
As the dark shadow finally reveals his true form, we see that this paragon of the dark doesn’t have white hair. He wasn’t even drooling. No, this particular shadow wore a paper bag on his head, wearing slightly oversized black-framed glasses on top of THAT.
In terms of his clothing, he appears to be wearing a blue fedora on top of the paper bag, along with a blue t-shirt with a white tank top over that. He also wore what appears to be blue and red shoulder pads over his left shoulder and torso. It all seem to come together with the help of a blue cape with a red trim. If one didn’t know any better, one would think this mysterious entity resembled that of…
“What the h--- Arle Nadja?! Quick! Run for your—wait, wait. Hold on now. Di---Did you say…DARKBAG CHOP??? Pppfftt…BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! What are you supposed to be? Some otaku grocery clerk who got lost on the way to the supermarket?” asked the brave Kosatan. “Dude, do you see this chump? Man, and here I thought that perverted Dark Wizard could make himself look like a fool just from opening HIS big mouth! Hey…Hey, did you hear m--Uh…buddy?”
Unfortunately, the timid Kosatan, unlike his comrade, is frozen in fear. Losing the ability to bolt away, there’s only one thing he can do now…
“Waaaagghh!!!! Please don’t hurt us!” cried the timid Kosatan. “Look, we’ll give you whatever you want! I beg of you, please don’t hurt me! I bruise as easy as a Puyo!!”
“Oh, boy…” said the brave Kosatan.
“Please, we only did this to get some extra cash! We didn’t want to do it, but we didn’t have much of a choice! That stingy miser Satan barely pays us anything, and we guard Lyla’s Ruins 24/7!”
Darkbag Chop could only look on surprise at the timid Kosatan who suddenly blew up in a panic in front of him. To say that this was NOT how he pictured fighting some of Satan’s minions…was an understatement.
“Heck, there’s been times where he’s given our paychecks to OTHER Kosatans! We all look the same! We can’t help that!”
“Well,” declared Darkbag Chop. “It still doesn’t change the fact that you little imps were trying to steal all this gold! Sorry boys, but it looks like someone’s going be put away for a while.”
“Like heck we are!” shouted the brave Kosatan. “Come on, bud! Let’s mess him up good!”
“Right! Let’s do this thing!” the timid Kosatan agreed.
“Alright, so we’re doing this the hard way, huh? OK then…come at me!”
The brave Kosatan led the charge, swinging a large wooden club at Darkchop.
Darkchop hops over the club, and lands on it, taunting the Kosatan all the while. He performs a flying backflip off of it…only to get a face full of thrown wooden club, courtesy of the timid Kosatan.
Darkchop, realizing these imps won’t be pushovers, decides to get them separated from each other, to avoid any more team attacks.
Darkchop gets the brave Kosatan to follow him into an alley, and as it attempts to track the paper-bag wearing hero, it doesn’t realize that he’s right behind him preparing to karate chop him into submission.
That is, until Darkchop clumsily trips over a rock, alerting the imp to his presence. It swings its club at him once again, leading to D.C. just barely avoiding getting his head knocked off his body. D.C. decides to stop playing around, and whips out a pistol-like weapon.
The weapon releases a canister containing of orange powder which lands on the brave Kosatan.
“Huh? Orange powder? Ha! What’s this? Are you gonna paint me to death? You’re mine, ya paper-bag wearing dork!” shouts the brave Kosatan.
‘
The Kosatan rushes at D.C., but starts to scratch the arm holding his club. And more. And more. Until he can’t stop!
“What the---? My body…My skin feels tingly…Why am I so…? Ah…ah…. Ahhh!! Oh, jeez! Oh, my…What the heck is going on?! Why do I feel so…” inquires the brave Kosatan
“Itchy? Tell me, imp boy. You ever heard something called, Oh, I don’t know…ITCHING POWDER?” Darkchop asks in a taunting manner.
“Itching pow…ITCHING POWDER?!?! Oof…Ahh!! I can’t stop!” cried the brave Kosatan.
Darkchop knocks the brave Kosatan out with a timed chop to the neck, and tosses him in the sidecar of his custom-made Vespa-like vehicle, the ‘Mystical King’.
The brave Kosatan was sprawled out along the ground. The timid Kosatan, who had been watching the entire exchange from a distance was shocked to see how D.C. was handling his comrade. He decides to bolt from all the action before Darkchop figures out that he’s disappeared. All the while, panicking over what to do.
“Oh, man! I gotta get the heck out of dodge before this jerk comes after me too! But where can I hide? Puyo Hell is WAY too far to make the trip. Besides, I doubt Lord Satan will be all too happy that we even caused all this commotion and brought it to his domain.”
Suddenly, the ‘Mystical King’ comes racing down the same path that the timid Kosatan is on, with Darkchop preparing to scoop the little Kosatan up in a net.
“Time to go-a-hunting!” yells Darkchop as he grabs the Kosatan just as it notices it’s being chased.
“Waahh!! Wha—What are you gonna do to us?” the timid Kosatan asked, although it was practically dreading the answer.
“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little horn. Besides, I already I have an idea as to how I’ll be handling that...” Darkchop explains, in a cryptic manner.
Next thing the Kosatan knows, the ‘Mystical King’ seem to go into overdrive, speeding off into the night.
(Not even 15 minutes later, at Lyla’s Ruins)
Now at Lyla’s Ruins, Darkchop talks to a rather large demon guarding Satan’s castle after handing off the two Kosatan to it.
“Here’s the pair of dastardly little delinquents! Delivered on your doorstep, courtesy of Darkbag Chop! I found them trying to steal some gold from Mr. Oshare’s store.” says Darkchop.
“Thanks, pal. It’s a good thing you took care of this before Lord Satan found out.” said the guard. I’m pretty sure he’s busy in his Carbuncle shrine, and believe you me, he does NOT like to be disturbed when he’s in there, and I don’t want to have to be the poor soul who tells him about all this nonsense.”
“Say, speaking of which...” inquired Darkchop. “While I don’t condone what those imps were doing, have any of you demons ever thought of asking Satan for a raise? As lovestruck as that guy may be more often than not, he never came off as the type to be all stingy and whatnot. Arle and her pet rabbit-thing notwithstanding...”
“Well...would YOU ask Lord Satan, or any demon for that matter, such a question?” asked the guard in a deadpan manner.
Rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, Darkchop sheepishly replies, “Heh-heh...uh, g---good point there.”
Darkchop,prepares to leave, but remembers something he should mention to the guard.
“Oh, hold up! Heh, almost forgot. Soooo…. In the event that any, I don’t know…news stations just HAPPEN to come by here and ask about tonight, just tell ‘em who sent these troublemakers packing…Darkbag Chop!”
“Uh, wha—"
“Oh, and that's two words, not three; the D AND the C ARE capitalized. Here's my photo. If the papers need more glossies, my numbers on the card.” Darkchop chuckled.
“Oh…well, O…K? So, again…thanks for bringing these guys in.” inquired the guard.
With a billow of his cape, Darkchop dramatically spun around and faced the guard.
“Don’t mention it, my good demon! Now, I must go! The despicable odor of crime and general evil-doing…is in the air!!” yelled Darkchop.
“What a self-promoting weirdo…I mean, DARKBAG CHOP? What kind of a stupid name…?” said the guard.
Darkbag left the premises of Satan’s castle, trying to make himself look presentable for the news cameras, only to find…
“What the---So, where the heck’s the press? The news reporters, the journalists, the Twatters?? I THOUGHT this was the new age of high-octane media!
Where’s the action news when you actually need ‘em? Sheesh…and just after I spent all morning to ironing out my cape and cleaning up my shoulder pads…”
Darkchop boards the ‘Mystical King’, and rides off into the night. Eventually, he makes his way to his hideout, Darkchop Tower. A tall tower located in an uncharted portion of the woods. He flips a small switch on the M.K., causing a long ramp-like structure to shoot out the side of the tower wall, allowing the ‘Mystical King’ access to the tower’s interior.
As he rides in, Darkchop makes his way to the top of the tower, and rides into a large room that appears to be the hangar where he parks the M.K. He leaves the hangar, and enters a corridor leading to the kitchen of the tower.
“Honey, I’m home!” shouts Darkchop. The room is deathly silent, not another soul to be found. Honestly, it’s a little depressing.
“Woof…yet another night cleansed of the criminal element, thanks to…Darkbag Chop! Oh, man…I swear, one look at my Puyo pillow, and I’ll be out like a light. But FIRST!...Some breakfast. I’m starving here…”
Darkchop heads over to his kitchen, which looks somewhat unkempt, but mostly because of all the gadgets he has lying in the tower.
“Alrighty then, let’s see what we got here…Sunny-C, some pink stuff, leftover sake from that little get-together at the Skeleton Bros.’ place, but where is—ah, here it is! Chocolate-chip pancakes, buttered toast, and to top it all off, eggs and bacon! It might mean indulging a bit, but after all that craziness last night, treating myself wouldn’t too much of an issue...”
After making breakfast, Darkchop reads the newspaper to see if he made any headlines recently. Unfortunately, what he sees doesn’t exactly delight him, to say the least.
“Aw, what?! Still nothing?! ‘Arle Nadja foils schemes of Dark Prince yet again’? Foil evil schemes, my aunt Fanny! Unbelievable! You know, I put my neck out to keep these towns safe from any harm from REAL monsters almost every night!”
Darkchop starts up from his chair, marching around angrily while clutching the newspaper.
“What kind of evil scheme is this newspaper even talking about? Knowing the song-and-dance between Arle and Satan, that lovestruck imbecile probably tried to do something to impress her, only for it to end up endangering the planet, and I’ll bet they played Puyo, with her winning yet again!”
Annoyed, Darkchop starts to chug down some orange juice, skip breakfast due to his sour mood and heads to bed. He starts to feel a little bit down in the dumps and goes to change into his pajamas, preparing for a couple hours of deep sleep.
“Arle and that blonde girl and the redhead, they usually seem to have the big stuff handled, and that’s just from popping a bunch of blobs from time to time! Heck, they even seem to have some pretty interesting adventures. Traveling between dimensions, going into space, fighting demon kings and space creatures alike.
“But still, it’s not like I haven’t done anything special! I mean, I kept tabs on that kid with the red arm for almost 3 months…although I DID end up getting flack for it when his teacher reported me to the authorities for bugging her classroom… I just can’t believe it. Me, a superhero getting upstaged by a bunch of Puyo-popping teenage girls! I mean, what the heck?!”
“Hmm…there’s times where I wonder if what I’m doing really matters in the long run. I mean, I fight monsters, spirits, and the occasional mischievous demon every now and then, but does it ever really amount to anything if no one’s aware of my good deeds? I’d like it if I got a chance to take on a big-time baddie like Satan or the Count.”
Darkchop gets up with a start, surprised at himself.
“What am I saying?! Just because I don’t get a headline in a newspaper, or even a short section about my exploits on the news, it doesn’t mean I should just quit the hero business! This town needs a protector, and I’m it! For I am the terror that prowls in the night! I am the I am the cholesterol that clogs your arteries! I…am Darkbag Chop!”
“Besides, it’d be a real shame to have all this cool stuff go to waste. Not to mention, how it was so nice for Wish and her husband to let me rent out their tower. They really are good people. I should probably send them a gift basket. I wonder what they’d like…”
