Senkyu

Senkyu^[a], known as 'Battle Balls' in English, is an arcade puzzle game created by Seibu Kaihatsu and released on October 24, 1995. A version for the Sony PlayStation titled Mezase! Senkyu-Ou^[b] was later released in April 19, 1996 as limited quantities for the Japanese market and the reprint version released on August 5, 1999. A demo version of the game was also included in the PlayStation release of Raiden DX. On March 20, 2025, the game got ported as part of the Arcade Archives series.^[1]

Senkyu
Developer(s)	Seibu Kaihatsu
Publisher(s)	Nihon System
Designer(s)	Takayuki Saito
Engine	SPI System
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Release	October 24, 1995
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Gameplay

In Senkyu, balls are affected by gravity, causing them to fall if there's open space, such as when balls are cleared

The game consists of three colored balls that can be rotated clockwise or anti-clockwise falling from the top of the screen. When they collect with four or more like-colored balls on the pile at the bottom of the screen they disappear and the surrounding balls fall to fill in the space. Bonus points are awarded for completing combos, chain-reactions caused by the falling balls. The game ends when the pile reaches the top of the screen.

Game modes

The game features Single Player, Puzzle, Vs. CPU, and Vs. Player modes.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Senkyu on their December 1, 1995 issue as being the ninth most-successful arcade game of the month.^[2]

Sequels

In 2001, Seibu Kaihatsu released two new versions of Senkyu named Gravure Collection and Pakkun Ball TV respectively. Both are strictly single player games and feature live-action video clips. The gameplay remains the same, but the background is a display of a static video image. When balls are matched and disappear the background video is advanced. A timer counts down the length until the end of the level and once a level is completed the player is rewarded with a short video before the next level begins.

Notes

1. Japanese: 戦球
2. Japanese: めざせ！戦球王