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Imagine this: You’re a kid in 1996 and you’ve been allowed to browse the electronics section of the store. You’ve got some money to spend on a new game for your Super Nintendo, a console you’re not quite ready to let go of for the shiny Nintendo 64. Suddenly a name catches your eye: Tetris Attack. Tetris? You love Tetris! You immediately pounce on the game, not even bothering to look at the back of the box; imagine your surprise when, in the comfort of your home, you discover that the game is, in fact, not Tetris, but also has Yoshi in it.
Tetris Attack was the start of one of Nintendo’s strangest localization efforts: adapting Panel de Pon for the West. The original game, released by Intelligent Systems in Japan on October 27, 1995, for the SNES, featured a cast of fairies with one fairy, Lip, as the main character. Perhaps Nintendo didn’t see the potential of such a game selling well in the West, so instead they decided to replace all of the characters with ones from Yoshi’s Island and slap the Tetris name on it–a gesture that the people behind Tetris didn’t appreciate. Slapping the Tetris name on the game may have boosted sales, but there was one major drawback to this: The move left the franchise without any concrete identity. If you have to explain to someone that the title of the game doesn’t actually correspond to its gameplay, then that’s a serious problem for longevity and marketability. Thus, in 2000, Nintendo decided to rebrand the series to stand on its own…sort of. It gained the name "Puzzle League,” which it proceeded to use in other entries, but it also got tied to yet another franchise: Pokémon.
Nintendo released two Puzzle League games under the Pokémon moniker, those being Pokémon Puzzle League (PPL) for the N64 and Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (PPC) for the Game Boy Color. Despite both being Pokémon games and having the same style of gameplay, they differ plenty in respect to their presentation and features, and it’s the latter that I want to focus on for this review, as I believe it to be the best Puzzle League game out there, even if I don’t see it mentioned as much.
The gameplay seems relatively simple, but it’s highly addictive. Pulling off multiple combos and chains is satisfying, especially seeing the carnage they can perform on your opponent. It’s at the point where I’m still seeing the blocks move around in my thoughts–maddening, but definitely a sign of a good gameplay loop.
Each game also consists of the same modes, which in PPC are named Marathon, Challenge, Time Zone, LineClear, and Puzzle. Marathon is similar to a classic game of Tetris in which you play until you lose. This mode is serviceable, but I don’t think it works nearly as well for Puzzle League since there’s not as huge an incentive for combos and chains. After a while, I just feel bored and want the game to end. I have similar feelings towards Time Zone, which involves working towards a high score in a limited amount of time. I don’t believe there’s anything fundamentally wrong with Time Zone, however; high scores just don’t incentivize me that much. If you do like them, then this mode may be a fun one for you.
PPC does have one additional mode separate from the usual five, known as Garbage. This mode is basically the same as Marathon but with the additional garbage blocks that you need to clear away. It makes Marathon mode a little more interesting since moving to clear the garbage blocks as well as combo and chain off of them makes for a more intense and fun experience. The mode’s not, well, garbage thankfully, but I don’t think it offers enough to be its own separate mode and should have been an option in Marathon mode.
Where I think this game really shines is in LineClear, Puzzle, and Challenge. LineClear is a mode in which you must clear enough blocks for all of them to be below a particular line with each level speeding up. It’s a simple concept but it works excellently. You’re oftentimes nearer towards the top, so there’s a better incentive for combos and chains, especially if the stack is moving fast. When it is moving fast, it’s exhilarating and tons of fun.
Puzzle, on the contrary, has no moving stacks and instead requires you to clear a patch of blocks in a certain number of moves. It gets challenging quickly and plenty of the puzzles required me to think outside the box or use one of the provided hints. It’s a great mode if you want your brain to think long and hard. One downside of these modes, however, is that there’s no difficulty selection. If you’re already skilled at the game, you have to work through all the easier levels to get to the more challenging ones, which can be a drag.
The best mode in this game is, in my opinion, Challenge. This mode is essentially the game’s story mode in which you must defeat all of the Johto gym leaders, the Elite Four, and the champion. You start with the three Johto starters (Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile) and can choose whoever you want to battle with. They act as the number of retries you can have for battles, and you can obtain additional Pokémon, like Pikachu and Marill, through completing certain challenges such as getting specific chains or combos. This is a great way to add additional challenge to the game and incentivize players to improve their skills, the only problem being that these requirements are never specified in the game.
Outside of that, this mode is fantastic. Each opponent gets progressively more competent, to the point where you’re being buried in garbage blocks, and it’s an amazing challenge. Outside of a few moments, the difficulty doesn’t become too overbearing. If you want to play this game, you should absolutely try the Challenge mode.
The UI in this game, especially during battles, is great too. Due to the limitations of the hardware, the developers couldn’t pit your and your opponent’s boards side by side like in PPL. Instead, they decided to create a health bar for the opponent’s Pokémon with each combo or chain damaging that Pokémon until it faints. I think this system is better than what’s in those two previous games: It makes it feel like it’s an actual Pokémon battle and also helps the game feel more compact.
The sound direction is a joy to listen to as well. The game features original songs and remixed songs from Pokémon Gold and Silver and they’re all a great listen (the Elite Four’s theme is my favorite). The music also appropriately becomes more panicked as you come closer to the top, heightening the tension. However, the music, as well as each Pokémon’s cries, can become very irritating once you hear it enough times in a row, and in some parts of this game, you’re going to hear the same track and cries aplenty.
Tetris Attack was the start of one of Nintendo’s strangest localization efforts: adapting Panel de Pon for the West. The original game, released by Intelligent Systems in Japan on October 27, 1995, for the SNES, featured a cast of fairies with one fairy, Lip, as the main character. Perhaps Nintendo didn’t see the potential of such a game selling well in the West, so instead they decided to replace all of the characters with ones from Yoshi’s Island and slap the Tetris name on it–a gesture that the people behind Tetris didn’t appreciate. Slapping the Tetris name on the game may have boosted sales, but there was one major drawback to this: The move left the franchise without any concrete identity. If you have to explain to someone that the title of the game doesn’t actually correspond to its gameplay, then that’s a serious problem for longevity and marketability. Thus, in 2000, Nintendo decided to rebrand the series to stand on its own…sort of. It gained the name "Puzzle League,” which it proceeded to use in other entries, but it also got tied to yet another franchise: Pokémon.
Nintendo released two Puzzle League games under the Pokémon moniker, those being Pokémon Puzzle League (PPL) for the N64 and Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (PPC) for the Game Boy Color. Despite both being Pokémon games and having the same style of gameplay, they differ plenty in respect to their presentation and features, and it’s the latter that I want to focus on for this review, as I believe it to be the best Puzzle League game out there, even if I don’t see it mentioned as much.
Gameplay
If these games aren’t technically Tetris, then what are they? The gameplay consists of an array of multi-colored blocks, requiring the player to arrange them into vertical or horizontal rows of three or more blocks to eliminate them. If these rows consist of four or more blocks, then it’s a combo. Furthermore, eliminating these blocks can sometimes lead to a chain reaction of more blocks being eliminated. Combos and chains are essential for mastering the game, as not only can they lead to higher scores, but when battling against an opponent, they spawn “garbage” blocks that hinder them. Eliminating a row near the garbage block destroys it and spawns a line of regular blocks. The blocks are continuously moving up towards the screen, and if they hit it, it’s game over. One unique aspect of this game is that you can manually raise the stack of blocks to get more blocks on the screen. This may seem counterintuitive, but in a battle against a formidable opponent, it is an invaluable tool for more combos and chains.The gameplay seems relatively simple, but it’s highly addictive. Pulling off multiple combos and chains is satisfying, especially seeing the carnage they can perform on your opponent. It’s at the point where I’m still seeing the blocks move around in my thoughts–maddening, but definitely a sign of a good gameplay loop.
Each game also consists of the same modes, which in PPC are named Marathon, Challenge, Time Zone, LineClear, and Puzzle. Marathon is similar to a classic game of Tetris in which you play until you lose. This mode is serviceable, but I don’t think it works nearly as well for Puzzle League since there’s not as huge an incentive for combos and chains. After a while, I just feel bored and want the game to end. I have similar feelings towards Time Zone, which involves working towards a high score in a limited amount of time. I don’t believe there’s anything fundamentally wrong with Time Zone, however; high scores just don’t incentivize me that much. If you do like them, then this mode may be a fun one for you.
PPC does have one additional mode separate from the usual five, known as Garbage. This mode is basically the same as Marathon but with the additional garbage blocks that you need to clear away. It makes Marathon mode a little more interesting since moving to clear the garbage blocks as well as combo and chain off of them makes for a more intense and fun experience. The mode’s not, well, garbage thankfully, but I don’t think it offers enough to be its own separate mode and should have been an option in Marathon mode.
Where I think this game really shines is in LineClear, Puzzle, and Challenge. LineClear is a mode in which you must clear enough blocks for all of them to be below a particular line with each level speeding up. It’s a simple concept but it works excellently. You’re oftentimes nearer towards the top, so there’s a better incentive for combos and chains, especially if the stack is moving fast. When it is moving fast, it’s exhilarating and tons of fun.
Puzzle, on the contrary, has no moving stacks and instead requires you to clear a patch of blocks in a certain number of moves. It gets challenging quickly and plenty of the puzzles required me to think outside the box or use one of the provided hints. It’s a great mode if you want your brain to think long and hard. One downside of these modes, however, is that there’s no difficulty selection. If you’re already skilled at the game, you have to work through all the easier levels to get to the more challenging ones, which can be a drag.
The best mode in this game is, in my opinion, Challenge. This mode is essentially the game’s story mode in which you must defeat all of the Johto gym leaders, the Elite Four, and the champion. You start with the three Johto starters (Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile) and can choose whoever you want to battle with. They act as the number of retries you can have for battles, and you can obtain additional Pokémon, like Pikachu and Marill, through completing certain challenges such as getting specific chains or combos. This is a great way to add additional challenge to the game and incentivize players to improve their skills, the only problem being that these requirements are never specified in the game.
Outside of that, this mode is fantastic. Each opponent gets progressively more competent, to the point where you’re being buried in garbage blocks, and it’s an amazing challenge. Outside of a few moments, the difficulty doesn’t become too overbearing. If you want to play this game, you should absolutely try the Challenge mode.
Presentation
PPC is one of the most beautiful Game Boy games out there. The sprite work and animations are absolutely gorgeous, and you can tell that the developers put tons of care into the game. The LineClear mode is exemplary of this; each gym leader has their own custom-made artwork with them and their city, and they’re incredibly impressive for the hardware. Each Pokémon, yours or the opponent’s, also has multiple different animations for whether you’re winning or losing (my favorite being Totodile crying in the background when you lose). It’s details like these that add so much to the experience.The UI in this game, especially during battles, is great too. Due to the limitations of the hardware, the developers couldn’t pit your and your opponent’s boards side by side like in PPL. Instead, they decided to create a health bar for the opponent’s Pokémon with each combo or chain damaging that Pokémon until it faints. I think this system is better than what’s in those two previous games: It makes it feel like it’s an actual Pokémon battle and also helps the game feel more compact.
The sound direction is a joy to listen to as well. The game features original songs and remixed songs from Pokémon Gold and Silver and they’re all a great listen (the Elite Four’s theme is my favorite). The music also appropriately becomes more panicked as you come closer to the top, heightening the tension. However, the music, as well as each Pokémon’s cries, can become very irritating once you hear it enough times in a row, and in some parts of this game, you’re going to hear the same track and cries aplenty.
