"Poké Puzzle Power!"

I only played the ROM version of this. Sure, ROMs these days don't have good quality like the original. Most of the graphics were a bit scrambled up, so I could hardly tell what was what. But the game was fun nonetheless. Even though my feelings toward Nintendo were so-so, I jumped right into the Pokémon craze and may I say I'm proud of it.

I don't think there's a story, so I'll skip that part and head to info. There are several blocks with different shapes: hearts, triangles, squares, stars, exclamation points (challenge mode only), upside down triangles, and diamonds. You need to get 3 or more vertically or horizontally. Chains and combos really boost up your score (and they help a LOT in Challenge mode). Here's a list of the modes I've experienced:

Marathon: Keep playing till your stack reaches the top.
Challenge: Battle the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four (Normal and Hard only), and Lance (Hard only)
Stages: Clear all blocks on top of the line
Puzzle: You have a certain number of moves and some panels you need to get rid of
Time: Get a high score in a certain amount of time
Garbage: Same as marathon, but ''garbage'' will be falling

I don't know anything about the two-player mode.

Next, my opinions.

GRAPHICS: ?
Like I said, most of the graphics were messed up so I can't be sure if they're even part of the game. But it was colorful and pleasing to the eye.

SOUND: 10
The music's great! I usually go to the sound test and listen to the music before I start playing. I could easily tell that there were a lot of remixed tunes from Gold/Silver and Red/Blue.

GAMEPLAY: 10
This game was easy to get into. At first I was pretty confused, but now I'm unbeatable...almost. I already got Igglybuff, Pichu, and Pikachu. I'm still trying to get the other Pokémon. My favorite mode was Challenge because it's really fun.

REPLAY VALUE: 9.9
You'll be stuck with it. ROM or cartridge, you be playing for hours. It's enough to put your fingers to the max!

OVERALL: 10
An awesome game. I just wish they put Meowth somewhere in the game. (I'm a big Meowth fan!) I was also surprised that you don't get to battle Team Rocket or the Kanto Gym Leaders. But then again I never expect too much from puzzle games. If you're too lazy to buy the cartridge, get an emulator and the ROM and join the fun. And for all those Pokémon haters: You're REALLY missing out big time!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/01, Updated 12/26/02