Review AllurinGirl 5/5 · Apr 18, 2020
A very solid match-three in which you use BUTTONS
This is a short review of Puzzle League only (surprisingly this one doesn't seem to have been released on the GBA outside this package). Wow, this is a very addicting game. It doesn't have the (literal) character(s) of the previous Tetris Attack / Panel de Pon releases or Pokémon Puzzle League, but this plays incredibly tight. What it lacks …
This is a short review of Puzzle League only (surprisingly this one doesn't seem to have been released on the GBA outside this package). Wow, this is a very addicting game. It doesn't have the (literal) character(s) of the previous Tetris Attack / Panel de Pon releases or Pokémon Puzzle League, but this plays incredibly tight. What it lacks in fluff it has in a pleasant aesthetic and suitable music. And, very importantly, it's portable!
First of all, this and the previous installments are nothing like Tetris (that was just a marketing stunt). In the traditional marathon mode, the playfield starts with the colored blocks already there. Then more block rise from the bottom like some sort of infinite tower - if it hits the top, you're done (this part is like Tetris).
You have to navigate a two-blocks' cursor using buttons in order to select the ones you want to swap - only horizontally (although the matches can be made vertically as well). This may sounds clunky and archaic after eons of match-three games on touchscreens, but trust me: it's refreshing if you never got into it and can be very precise with a little practice.
Besides Marathon mode, you can also play Garbage mode (garbage falls block fall from above), Timed (play until the timer ends), Line (in which you have to clear all block above a certain line) and Puzzle (structured levels, that act as sort of a tutorial in the beginning). Garbage, Timed and Line are also available against the CPU (and presumably in 2P mode as well).
The basics are simple enough to master and it's already so much fun just to see how long you can last in Marathon mode as the speed ramps up. But if you want to beat the CPU opponent in Garbage mode (akin to Puyo Puyo versus mode) you're gonna have to learn how to combo your matches in order to send any garbage pieces at all to them! And that's where it starts to get tricky, in case you wanna get advanced.
All in all, a wonderful little game that sits right up there with Tetris and Puyo Puyo in my book. Don't let the overwhelming amount of match-three games throughout the years put you away from trying what is one of the more unique and challenging takes on the genre, that is still simple and intuitive. A lost gem forgotten in the Candy Crush era.