#sukiyapodes

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-