Time for me to head out for the night, but before I do, a review for a game that sort of fell through the cracks, I think. Having been a lifelong Picross fan and having played ALL of the iterations on Nintendo platforms, including the myriad of import versions back in the SNES days, I was glad to see the concept given a bit of new life instead of just new puzzles. But what does our reader, Iridium007, think? Read on to find out.
Thanks for the support this week (my busiest since taking over Wednesdays!)... see you next time! —cortjezter
At some point during April of 2011, the lifespan of the DS was beginning to wind down. I had decided to pick up several titles I had missed- games like The World Ends With You, The Legendary Starfy, and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Among these games, I didn't expect that the one that would hold my attention the longest would be a simple, value-priced spinoff of a puzzle game I'd never before played.
So imagine my shock when it was.
Picross 3D is a very basic puzzle game. The player is given a cube with numbers and shapes engraved into it- these represent the number of blocks in a given row. The goal is to unearth the object hidden within each puzzle without breaking any blocks that compose the object.
You do this 369 times.
There are no drugs more addicting.*
The game isn't necessarily very difficult, but between the game's subtle rewards like animations and the player's mental drive to beat just one more level, there's certainly going to be little reason to want to put it down. It becomes an obsession- by the end, I was literally dreaming about the game and would see blocks with numbers everywhere. Until playing this game, I had always denounced the Tetris effect as lunacy- but I can guarantee that it exists and is torturously trippy.
So we've established that it's not easy to put down, right? That isn't even the half of it. This game is packed with content. And by packed, I don't mean they just lined the walls with boxes- there is no square centimeter of this room that is not box or in a box. There are 369 puzzles that will take, on average, about 15-25 minutes to complete each. This alone will net a whole week's worth of game time, clocking at a solid ~125 hours.
But that's only the beginning. The game is capable of storing 240 custom puzzles at a time, and the last time I checked, there are about twice that many available by connecting this game to Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Most of the puzzles are larger and more challenging than those in the main game, so it's not unreasonable to expect 300 hours of gameplay from this one cartridge if you're determined to clear everything. That's not even counting the possibility of becoming entranced by the level editor.
Still not convinced at just how long this game was? I had just finished the easy third of the game before I began to take this seriously at the beginning of June. I would play for an hour or two each night, and did not beat it until the end of July. This was just the main game. If I were determined enough to go through the custom puzzles, it would probably have carried me over until the release of Professor Layton and the Last Specter**. Again, recall that I got the game in April.
So we've established the game's longevity, correct? And that it's going to hold the player's attention? That it's quietly rewarding and amazingly addicting?
There's a little more to talk about.
First, this game is a bit unique among DS games- it's a part of the Touch Generations series, and Nintendo was kind enough to offer it at a discounted price of $20. So finding the game cheaply should be a task with a lower failure rate than Aerial Ace***, so there's almost no reason to not purchase it.
Secondly, the game has up to four files, so if you wish, you have the power to drive your entire family into a spiral of numerical madness if you so wish.
Finally, the game is really relaxing. If you can break the one-more-level urges, it's not a bad game to fall asleep to- it even includes ambient sounds like rain as an alternative to the music, how convenient!
But much as I'd like to say otherwise, this game isn't perfect. There are a few flaws that, depending on what sort of person you are, could range from minor to vaguely large. First of all, the gameplay is extremely repetitive, and playing it for long periods of time can be difficult as a result. The game also has a somewhat uninteresting soundtrack that can become a bit grating after a few hundred puzzles. Finally, the game's system of unlocking difficulty levels can become really disappointing if you're in the mood to do some harder levels.
My Score: 8 - Fantastic
(An 8 from me represents a game that anyone who owns the system should look into, it being definitely worth the time it would take to play it. There might be issues, but it's very, very good.)
Whether you're looking for a great sendoff to the DS, something new to play on your 3DS, or a means of extending the DS' lifespan as long as possible, Picross 3D is there for you, and I can give it only the strongest of recommendations. This game is one that anyone interested in puzzle games should own immediately, and one that anyone with a DS should at least give some serious thought toward purchasing. It's one of the most criminally overlooked first-party titles on the system.
*I take no responsibility for any actions done as a result of this claim. Don't do drugs, kids.
**Released October 17, 2011, six months from purchase of the game.
***Pokemon attack. It doesn't miss.
Source: GN Game DB
