Pokemon Puzzle League

"It's a remake of a remake..."

Let's go with faeries. No, that won't work... how about Yoshi? Hmm... what about Pokemon? Yeah, that's the ticket!

This game is an interesting mix of two of my favorite video game genres: puzzle games and Pokemon. (Yes, I like Pokemon. Deal with it.) Most people don't remember when Panel De Pon (Panepon for short) was released for the Super Famicom... heck, most people have never even HEARD of it. But this little Japanese puzzle game was what we would later know as Tetris Attack. Of course, they replaced all the faeries of the original title with Yoshi characters, and the game had absolutely nothing to do with Tetris, but it was a nice game anyway. Later, NST (Nintendo of America's own little development studio) was poking around with ideas for a new game when they decided to make yet another remake of Panepon, slap the Pokemon license on it, and release it for the N64 (this was around the time that a similar game was being released for the GBC in Japan).

And it worked pretty well.

IT'S NOT TETRIS, DANGIT!!!

In Panepon/Tetris Attack/PPL, you don't control falling blocks--that's one thing that sets it apart from Tetris. The playfield is made up of little multicolored panels, and you control a little rectangular, horizontal white cursor, which highlights two panels that are next to each other. With a press of a button, you can make the two highlighted panels switch places. To score points and eliminate panels, you have to switch the colored panels so that you make a ''combo'' of three or more panels that are the same color. These combos can be horizontal or vertical, but not diagonal. After you make a combo, the panels that were above it will fall down into their place. By quickly rearranging the panels, you can make multiple combos in a row, which are known as ''chains''. Sounds simple, right? Well, of course not. The pile of panels is constantly rising, which reveals more panels to work with. If the stack reaches the top, it's game over. It's INCREDIBLY addictive, and I actually like it better than most other puzzle games.

In the two-player mode, both players are trying to make the other guy's pile reach the top. They do this by pulling off large combos and chains to drop garbage pieces on each other's piles. Again, it's a frustrating experience, but it's just plain fun, too. In addition, there are modes where you have to clear all the panels above a certain line to win (this is kind of hard to explain), as well as a puzzle mode where you need to clear a small stack of panels in a certain number of moves. Not to mention a super-easy practice mode in which everything is in slow motion, plus a mode with a two-minute time limit.

This particular incarnation of Panepon has a fresh new feature: the 3D mode. Instead of being restricted to a small 2D field, players have to take care of an entire CYLINDER of panels. This is a double-edged sword; it lets you pull off more chains, but you have to be extra-careful so that you won't get a Game Over.

And all of this is glued together by the Pokemon license. Although it reeks of the awful English dub of the Pokemon anime (the cutscenes look similar to the TV show, too!), it's not quite as annoying as you'd think. Ash and Pikachu are informed by Professor Oak that they've been selected to compete in the Puzzle League tournament. So Mr. Hyperactive and his chubby yellow rodent head off on this new adventure. I could go on and on about what happens here and there, but in a nutshell, it uses a lot of art inspired by the anime, as well as voice actors from the dub (such as Veronica Taylor for Ash and Ikue Ohtani for Pikachu). The thing that really bugs me is the music--all of the songs are the dumb ''Pikachu's Jukebox'' ones from the dub, with not a single ''Mezase'' to be found (or any of the superior Japanese songs, for that matter). And they're low quality MIDIs, too! The N64 can do better than this!

In the end, though, the dubbieness is kind of irrelevant, because it still has the Panepon gameplay we know and love.

Actually, I'm starting to think that faeries were a better choice...

Graphics: It has lots of colorful art in the style of the Pokemon anime, but cutscenes look rather choppy in the animation department. It really doesn't push the N64's abilities at all. Then again, the Super NES was pretty much out of the question at that point, but you'd think they could have given this game a better look. 6/10

Sound: The voices and sound effects are clear and audible, but the music... It might have been more of a challenge to get some songs from the Japanese version of the anime, but it would have been worth the effort. Scrawny MIDI tunes leave much to be desired. 7/10

Control/Design: A very strong point of this game is its gameplay. The menus are easy to navigate, and the game itself is simple once you get the hang of it. Players can use the cross-shaped Control Pad if the Control Stick doesn't feel right... and they probably will anyway. 9/10

Satisfaction/Fun: This is where the game shines. Although multiplayer is a lot of fun, the single-player experience has a ton of stuff to do and modes to try out. It's also one of the most addictive games I've seen in quite a while. 10/10

Improve: Better graphics, better music. That's about it.

Similar Games: Panel De Pon, Tetris Attack, Pokemon Puzzle Challenge (Game Boy Color).

Closing Words: Don't let the Pokemon license fool you. You're not required to have... well, ANY knowledge of Pokemon in order to enjoy this game. If you're a puzzle fan, a Pokemon fan, or just somebody who missed out on Tetris Attack, give this game a shot. You'll probably like it.

Score (not an average): 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/02, Updated 07/11/02