"Puzzled? You will be!"

Introduction: Nintendo Puzzle Collection compiles three of Nintendo's classic puzzle games with enhanced features. The games in the collection are Dr. Mario, Panel de Pon (Tetris Attack) and Yoshi's Cookie. The game also comes with a free GC-GBA link cable if bought new which allows for any of these games to be downloaded to the GBA. I'll come back to this later, on with the review!

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics follow the three Cs rule; clear, crisp and colourful. There are no flashy cut scenes or high resolution images here, but they are simply not necessary for a game such as this. The wafer thin animations of the characters in Dr. Mario are amusing and get the job done. In all three games, distinguishing between the various colours of megavitamins/panels/cookies is extremely important as matching them in correct colour/type groups is what makes each of the games tick. Thankfully, there are no problems here as the vibrant colours make it easy to tell the difference at a glance. Some of the character animations, such as Dr. Mario and the Panel de Pon cast moving around in the VS CPU mode, are a little shaky but nothing drastic enough to distract from the action.

Audio: 8/10
All of the tunes in the entire collection are catchy and have a very fun and boucy feel to them - ideal for the puzzle genre. Long-term fans will delight in the remixed versions of classic tunes such as the legendary Fever theme from Dr. Mario. The Yoshi's Cookie music also survived intact for this edition and it sounds far better than the bleepy Gameboy version, as you would expect. Fans of Tetris Attack may miss the Yoshi's Island characters in Panel de Pon as well as some of the music, but most of the music is identical to that of Tetris Attack anyway.

The Sound Effects are also of the highest quality and most of them really fit the mood of the game perfectly. Without even looking, your ears can soon detect whether you've eliminated a virus, cleared a row of cookies or lost a game. However, some sound effects have really shot themselves in the foot by keeping so close to the original ones. Hearing an irritating bleeping drone every time you clear a row of cookies in Yoshi's Cookie was all very well on the Gameboy, but here it really feels out of place next to the updated graphics and music. There are one of two other sounds like this, but this one stood out most to me. Not a major gripe, but worth noting.

Gameplay: 9/10
Since this is a collection, I'll go through each game's gameplay individually:

Dr. Mario - One of Nintendo's flagship puzzle titles, Dr. Mario is regarded by many to be the best game in this collection. The idea is to eliminate red, yellow and blue viruses from a jar (playing area) by tossing pills (or megavitamins as they are known) into it. Match three megavitimins of one colour adjacent to a virus of that colour to eliminate it. Once all of the viruses are eliminated, you move on to the next stage. However, if the mouth of the jar is blocked, it's game over.

In multiplayer mode, you can play with up to three friends or up to three CPU opponents. The VS game follows the same mechanic as the 1P mode except that you are now striving to eliminate all of the viruses before your friends do. You can also create combos which then serve to drop waste megavitamins on your opponents, hindering their progress.

I don't think that Dr. Mario is the most addictive game of this collection (Panel de Pon wins that award) but it is certainly lots of fun and offers many hours of gameplay on its own.

Panel de Pon - As I said above, the most addictive game of the three in my view. You start with a play area filled with an amount of tiles (the actual amount differs with each mode) and you must strategically switch any two of the around horizontally in order to form rows or columns of three of more panels of the same colour. Once you do, that row or column disappears. This mechanic is used in every mode, but the objective of the game changes from mode to mode. For example, one mode has you clearing tiles until you reduce the stack to under a certain point known as the 'clear line'. Another mode provides you with a selection of tiles which you have to eliminate using only a limited number of switches. The diversity of the modes are impressive in all of the games in Nintendo Puzzle Collection, but Panel de Pon tops the lot.

It's Panel de Pon's multiplayer mode that will make it really last though. As you create chains and combos from cascading tiles, you send 'garbage' tiles to your opponents play area. This can make their game much more difficult, improving your chances of pulling off a victory. Nintendo have been kind enough to include CPU opposition for this mode too so that you can still play it when none of your friends are around.

Perhaps the shining star of the collection, Panel de Pon really should come with a health warning regarding its addictive gameplay. It may not have classic Nintendo characters adorning it, but what it does have the most addictive gameplay mechanic of the collection; and that's what really counts.

Yoshi's Cookie - This game may well have the least modes of play, but it still proves to be a very fun and interesting game. In 1P mode, you are presented with a grid of cookies and must form rows and columns of the same variety to make that row or column disappear. Once you completely clear the grid, you can move on to the next stage. There are 100 stages in this mode in total, which should keep anyone going for a fair while.

Like the other two games before it, Yoshi's Cookie is a dish best served in multiplayer. In this mode, each player (either human or CPU) is given a 5X5 grid of cookies and must form rows and columns of the same variety; just like in one player. But here there's more. Every time you clear a row or column of regular cookies, you earn a yoshi cookie. Line up five of these and the event currently displayed above your character will take place. This could be anything from gaining points (you need twenty to win), shuffling all of the cookies on an opponent's grid or temporarily covering the centre of an opponent's grid to spice things up a little.

This is probably the game I've spent the most time with since buying the collection and for good reason. It's addictive, full of charm and most importantly of all fun.

Length: 10/10
Nintendo Puzzle Collection really is a game that you can come back to time after time. Not only are there three games to choose from, each is so full of modes that it can take quite a long time just to play them all. All three games support play from 1-4 players and CPU opponents are available for each game if you are lonely. To extend the length even further, portable versions of each game can be downloaded to the GBA for play on the move by selecting the fourth option on the main menu. All of this without even mentioning the unlockable characters and extras...

Mastery: 7/10
Just to clarify, by 'mastery' I am referring to what COULD have been done with this game compared with the final product. Nintendo Puzzle Collection is by no means a complete collection. Various other Nintendo Puzzle games added to those already here, such as Wario's Woods and Mario & Yoshi, would have made the whole package feel more complete. However, what IS done is done flawlessly and there are more than enough modes and enhancements to keep you occupied for a long time. What Nintendo have really done here is create a 'best of' collection of its puzzle games rather than a complete one, a decision that was probably a wise one all things considered as we might have still been waiting for this games release now. Nintendo also chose to release this game in Japan only meaning that American and European puzzle enthusiasts had to import and buy a freeloader device just to play the game. For this reason, many gamers may never be able to play this game, which really is a great shame.

The Verdict:

Pros
+ Three games to choose from.
+ Vast selection of modes for each game.
+ Extensive multiplayer support.
+ GBA download feature.
+ Free cable included in the box.

Cons
- Some graphics and sounds a little outdated despite enhancements.
- Perhaps missing some other puzzle games such as Wario's Woods.
- Hard to get hold of as it's a Japan only title.

Bottom Line: A very addictive collection that would benefit from just a little more spit and polish in places. A fun and fair effort nonetheless.

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/05