<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
NEC	B-Device
PC-8801	I-Device
home	O
computer	O
in	O
1991	O
and	O
the	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
in	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
later	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PC	O
Engine	O
CD-ROM	O
by	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
by	O
Sega	O
,	O
to	O
DoJa	B-Language
mobile	O
phones	O
by	O
Bothtec	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
by	O
Falcom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
failed	O
attempt	O
to	O
bring	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
the	O
west	O
by	O
reworking	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
part	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
localized	O
by	O
Working	O
Designs	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
in	O
late	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
versions	O
of	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
are	O
for	O
the	O
most	O
part	O
similar	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
and	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
versions	O
differ	O
significantly	O
both	O
from	O
each	O
other	O
and	O
from	O
the	O
previous	O
releases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
is	O
a	O
2D	O
platform	O
game	O
with	O
several	O
RPG	O
elements	O
-	O
excluding	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
level-up	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weapons	O
include	O
a	O
sword	O
,	O
dagger	O
,	O
boomerang	B-General_Concept
,	O
staff	O
,	O
fireball	B-Application
,	O
and	O
claw	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
present	O
day	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
character	O
and	O
local	O
bounty	O
hunter	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
makes	O
her	O
rounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
playable	O
character	O
is	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
(	O
usually	O
called	O
"	O
Mail	O
"	O
by	O
other	O
characters	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
female	O
elf	O
bounty	O
hunter	O
who	O
has	O
not	O
had	O
much	O
luck	O
lately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Her	O
main	O
and	O
starting	O
weapon	O
is	O
a	O
sword	O
,	O
though	O
she	O
can	O
acquire	O
a	O
dagger	O
and	O
boomerang	B-General_Concept
as	O
the	O
game	O
progresses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gaw	O
's	O
first	O
main	O
attack	O
is	O
a	O
fireball	B-Application
;	O
subsequent	O
attacks	O
include	O
a	O
tail	O
swipe	O
and	O
clawing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
often	O
causes	O
more	O
trouble	O
than	O
he	O
solves	O
and	O
is	O
especially	O
infamous	O
for	O
his	O
use	O
of	O
homemade	O
bombs	B-Device
,	O
which	O
his	O
grandfather	O
taught	O
him	O
how	O
to	O
make	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Falcom	O
developed	O
the	O
NEC	O
PC	O
versions	O
of	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
with	O
features	O
used	O
in	O
previous	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
Dragon	O
Slayer	O
and	O
Ys	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
use	O
the	O
battle	O
system	O
of	O
Ys	O
,	O
magic	O
attacks	O
like	O
those	O
of	O
Ys	O
II	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
side-scrolling	O
view	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Ys	B-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Characters	O
react	O
with	O
pain	O
when	O
they	O
fall	O
from	O
high	O
places	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
Dragon	B-Application
Slayer	I-Application
IV	I-Application
(	O
released	O
as	O
Legacy	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Wizard	I-Application
in	O
North	O
America	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
releases	O
incorporate	O
features	O
from	O
the	O
popular	O
game	O
Xanadu	B-Application
(	O
Dragon	B-Application
Slayer	I-Application
II	I-Application
)	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
of	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
was	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
Metroid	B-Device
series	O
by	O
some	O
critics	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
retroactively	O
considered	O
part	O
of	O
metroidvania	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
NEC	B-Device
PC-8801	I-Device
computer	O
on	O
December	O
20	O
,	O
1991	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
the	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
in	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
by	O
SIMS	O
Co.	O
,	O
Ltd	O
.	O
and	O
"	O
Sega	O
Falcom	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
partnership	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
developer	O
Nihon	O
Falcom	O
and	O
Sega	O
,	O
in	O
April	O
1994	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
PC	O
Engine	O
CD	O
by	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
and	O
its	O
subsidiary	O
HuneX	O
in	O
August	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
also	O
received	O
a	O
remake	O
by	O
Falcom	O
themselves	O
for	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
in	O
June	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mobile	O
phone	O
version	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
NEC	B-Device
PC-8801	I-Device
release	O
for	O
DoJa-supported	O
systems	O
was	O
published	O
in	O
five	O
parts	O
from	O
2003	O
to	O
2004	O
by	O
Bothtec	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
the	O
unchanged	O
port	O
to	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
released	O
on	O
December	O
28	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plans	O
to	O
localize	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
for	O
an	O
English	O
release	O
were	O
first	O
made	O
by	O
Sega	O
,	O
which	O
wanted	O
to	O
replace	O
the	O
characters	O
with	O
characters	O
from	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
franchise	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
project	O
,	O
called	O
Sister	O
Sonic	B-Application
,	O
was	O
to	O
star	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
's	O
long	O
lost	O
sister	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sister	O
Sonic	B-Application
was	O
announced	O
as	O
a	O
role-playing	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
series	I-Application
with	O
no	O
mention	O
of	O
it	O
being	O
a	O
rework	O
of	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
hearing	O
reports	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
rework	O
of	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
,	O
fans	O
launched	O
a	O
campaign	O
,	O
sending	O
letters	O
to	O
Sega	O
urging	O
them	O
to	O
release	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
in	O
its	O
original	O
,	O
Japanese	O
state	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
negative	O
feedback	O
,	O
Sister	O
Sonic	B-Application
was	O
delayed	O
and	O
eventually	O
cancelled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
localization	O
of	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
was	O
later	O
handed	O
to	O
Working	O
Designs	O
,	O
which	O
made	O
several	O
changes	O
and	O
adjustments	O
for	O
its	O
North	O
American	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enemies	O
were	O
made	O
more	O
difficult	O
,	O
downsampling	B-Algorithm
and	O
variable	B-General_Concept
bitrates	I-General_Concept
were	O
used	O
to	O
compress	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
sounds	O
from	O
full	O
44.1	O
kHz	O
CD	O
quality	O
to	O
fit	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
disc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
animated	O
sequences	O
,	O
waveform	B-Algorithm
analysis	I-Algorithm
was	O
used	O
to	O
make	O
characters	O
 '	O
mouths	O
match	O
their	O
dialogue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Famitsu	O
gave	O
the	O
SFC	O
version	O
24/40	O
,	O
the	O
PCE	O
version	O
23/40	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
version	O
22/40	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
version	O
received	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
31	O
out	O
of	O
40	O
(	O
average	O
7.75	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
)	O
from	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retro	O
Gamer	O
included	O
it	O
on	O
their	O
list	O
of	O
top	O
ten	O
Mega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
CD	I-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
three	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
If	O
your	O
sense	O
of	O
humor	O
is	O
off-kilter	O
enough	O
,	O
it	O
should	O
n't	O
matter	O
how	O
old	O
you	O
are.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Falcom	O
used	O
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
and	O
its	O
characters	O
in	O
various	O
other	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popful	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
was	O
adapted	O
into	O
a	O
manga	O
that	O
was	O
a	O
part	O
Mediaworks	O
and	O
Dengeki	O
Comic	O
Gao	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
Ys	B-Application
IV	I-Application
,	O
an	O
attempt	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
pitch	O
an	O
anime	O
OVA	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
various	O
anime	O
studios	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
pilot	O
failed	O
to	O
garner	O
interest	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mail	O
and	O
Gaw	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
other	O
Falcom	O
characters	O
,	O
would	O
return	O
as	O
secret	O
"	O
Masters	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
1997	O
Falcom	O
game	O
Vantage	B-Application
Master	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mail	O
's	O
outfit	O
was	O
featured	O
as	O
a	O
downloadable	O
costume	O
for	O
Tina	O
Armstrong	O
in	O
Tecmo	O
Koei	O
's	O
Dead	B-Application
or	I-Application
Alive	I-Application
5	I-Application
:	I-Application
Last	I-Application
Round	I-Application
.	O
</s>
