"One of the most worthy buys for the ngpc"

To begin with, I highly recommend both the other review of this game and the original faq. The FAQ should give you a much better idea of the game play than I will here, esp. if you've never played a Picross game. I have the Japanese version of the game, but since it is completely in English... it shouldn’t matter.

Probably the thing that makes this game truly a must have is the fact that as of this writing, you cannot find another game like it for the game boy or other portable system. If you like puzzling games this will be a welcome addition to your collection - esp. since it has nothing to do with Tetris or the myriad of Tetris clones.

Game play (10/10)
The game has 220 total puzzles, 200 are initially unlockable, additional puzzles are unlocked once you complete the originals. At first you start off on a 10x10 grid but eventually you will work your way up to a 20x 20 grid. Obviously, the larger the grid becomes the more detailed and complex the puzzle. The game is played sort of like a cross words number puzzle... you are given hints and asked to fill in boxes in either a line or a column. For example on the 10x 10 grid you might see a line that says 10 next to it. This means all 10 boxes in the line are filled in. Also you might see a 5, 4 - this means fill 5 boxes, leave one, and fill the last 4. It gets trickier when the clue does not total 10. Then the only way to solve is by using logic and cross-referencing with nearby columns and lines to find a solution. There are several ways to make the process easier. For example, looking for symmetric clues can some times help you solve the puzzle from the middle out. Also locking down and edge gives you a sort of ''anchor'' from which to build. It’s definitely a battle of wits. When the puzzle is completed, it should look like some kind of picture. The game rewards you after each completion by coloring the puzzle and telling you what it is. The puzzles are often animals, objects, letters, numbers, zodiac symbols, etc. At first the puzzles take a minute or two to complete, but eventually the difficulty ramps up to 10-15 minutes per puzzle. Some of the tougher puzzles (With no easy to use anchors, or apparent symmetry) take multiple tries and have a large element of trial and error.

Graphics (6/10)
The graphics are workable though not spectacular by any means. There are many other more visually pleasing ngpc titles out there. This would not make a good showcase for the technical merits of the system. Some of the pictures are just plain silly - or worse look very little like what they are supposed to be (''cloudy night'' jumps to mind). Still overall, they are serviceable.

Sound (4/10)
Again who really cares? The game would be best played while listening to the radio or some nice music on a stereo. It really has little to offer in this category.

Control (10/10)
You will NEVER have an issue with the control. It is perfect. Mind you there really isn’t a precision issue, but the inclusion of both negative and question markers to the control makes it less difficult to solve puzzles than if these features had not been included.

Features (7/10)
The extra puzzles are a nice unlockable. The game also has several save slots without the need for passwords - thank god. Overall though pretty scaled back stuff. The game should take 40-60 hours to complete, which I view as quite a lot of game play. Very few of these hours will be spent in any kind of frustration. The extra unlockables add another 5-10 hours and are slightly harder as a group (as you might expect).

Collectable value (9/10)
The game is really quite different from anything else available for a portable system, and thus has its share of a cult following. Cult games = ebay $$$. To avoid that bag try to find a kart only copy and then read the first part of a faq to get some pointers. If you have a games collection or don’t mind spending 40-60$ on a rare game then by all means get yourself a full version.... It should retain its value reasonably well should you wish to sell it back. The game was never made in the US, and thus has a fairly limited production run. Again the Japanese version is the same as the UK one and language will not be an issue.

Overall (9/10)
This game is a really high quality addition to one's ngpc collection. Certainly one of the top 10-15 games on the system, Picture Puzzle's original game play and addictive, non-frustrating puzzles make for hours of enjoyable play. Plus it’s a collectable to boot. If you find it cheap it’s a definite buy.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/03, Updated 07/05/03