Still waiting for Tetris Attack? Well, technically you don't have to wait any longer - Puzzle League is basically the exact same game, with a different name.
Tetris Attack, the SNES game, was a Westernized version of the Japanese game Panel de Pon, which starred its own cute cartoon characters. Tetris Attack removed all of these and replaced them with characters and enemies from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. This game is the first "Puzzle League" game, and uses characters from the Pokemon anime. Two more Puzzle Leagues have followed so far (For GBA and DS), but these aren't based on anything.
Like a lot of other puzzle games, this is another block puzzler. It's not a falling block puzzler though - The blocks slowly rise up from the bottom of the screen (But if you're really good and want to speed it up, you can command a number of rows to rise up at your will). The game is more like Columns than Tetris, as the objective is to line up a row or column of 3 identical blocks.
Because the blocks appear on their own, you can't turn or move them in mid-air or anything like that - Instead, you can switch the position of two blocks next to each other with a cursor you can move across the playing field. You cannot swap two blocks above each other, however, if you move a block over a ledge it will drop down.
If you can string together a combo, a large coloured block will be dropped in the opponent's field, sort of similar to Puyo Puyo's garbage beans. If you make a small block that touches the large block disappear, the large block will turn into a whole bunch of small blocks for you to use (If the large block is big enough then it might also split into small blocks plus a slightly smaller large block). If the blocks reach the top of the playing field, you lose!
It's not like that's all you can do though - This game's got a ton of modes. There's a standard one player mode, where you try to keep going as long as possible (There is also a 3D mode here - On this, you play on a field that looks sort of like a cilinder. Basically, the blocks wrap around!). There's also a one player mode where you play for 2 minutes and score as high as possible. There are two story modes - In one, you basically go through the events of Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow, battling the various gym leaders and Team Rocket. In the other, Team Rocket steals your Pokemon, and you must battle them numerous times in "challenge" levels, where you simply must get the blocks down under a certain line. In Puzzle University, you must try and clear a premade field within a limited amount of moves. Of course, you can also play against a friend.
As already said, the game is based on the Pokemon anime. Aside from the obvious use of characters like Ash, Brock and Misty, this also means that, yes, the game has a ton of voice acting and music from the series and movies. However, this game was first released in 2000 - Since then, all voice actors on the English show have been replaced. No worries though, the old voices have been kept. There are also actual cutscenes which are similar to the show, which is quite a feat for the N64.
Overall, Pokemon Puzzle League is really just Panel de Pon/Tetris Attack with a Pokemon makeover. That's not bad though, because it's still the same game, and it still rocks.
1. Adamant
03 May 2008, 08:52 GMT
Best puzzler on the VC yet. A must buy, people.
2. KeeperBvK
03 May 2008, 09:30 GMT
Definitely.
So many modes, so many stages, so greatly variing difficulty. Geez, took me ages to finally beat Giovanni in Line Attack mode. ^^
...and Mewto in the main mode.
3. Kawaiipikachu
03 May 2008, 13:37 GMT
It is a great game .
Pokémon Puzzle league is so great .
A must download title for those who don't own a copy .
4. slangman
03 May 2008, 14:18 GMT
Didn't expect this one but its a really nice suprise. I am starting to feel the pokemon magic all over again.
5. konkerdoodle
03 May 2008, 16:09 GMT
I rented this game once. It was good fun. I may pick it up eventually.
6. MrLopez
03 May 2008, 16:23 GMT
Got it on the N64 it's great! Still play it today xD
7. sparrow-1993
03 May 2008, 17:54 GMT
Wish they had picked something more exciting but what can you do. I've never played it before though so I don't know if its good.
8. Link79
03 May 2008, 23:30 GMT
I'm not really into the whole Pokemon thing but this does look like a decent puzzle game. The constant voices would get annoying though. Not sure if I should get this.
9. Tony
04 May 2008, 00:01 GMT
How many times is that video clip going to say "Awe poor baby"?
10. Kawaiipikachu
04 May 2008, 01:25 GMT
LT. Surge says that in the Anime dub (4Krap Version) but in the original Japanese version he speaks a lot of engrish .
I hate the midinoid music which is based on 4Kraps anime dubs music but other then that it's a good game .
11. Adamant
04 May 2008, 04:23 GMT
Surge's "baby" insult is straight from the Japanese original, it's not a dub invention.
I agree that he's a lot funnier in the original, though.
12. Serpent
04 May 2008, 04:23 GMT
Looks good, I might get this. It looks better then the other puzzle games.
13. Luigison
04 May 2008, 05:58 GMT
The video clip above is only a small glipse of the modes this game has to offer.
14. captain-banana
04 May 2008, 09:20 GMT
dear GAWD its ANOTHER tetris remake!!! It doesn't even use the 64s 3-d!! much rather use my beutiful, lovely, rare, precious points on tetrisphere
15. Phalyn
04 May 2008, 10:44 GMT
hmmm, I'll stick with Puzzle Quest on my DS
16. KeeperBvK
04 May 2008, 12:55 GMT
@ captain banana: Wow, you couldn't be further from the truth...
First: Where in the hell is this a Tetris remake?
Second: It has some 3D levels.
Third: Tetrisphere only comes in (great) second place of N64 puzzlers right behind PPL.
17. WiiGamer24 04 May 2008, 23:28 GMT
Heh, shame I was never that good at Tetris Attack:). I still like Tetris AHack games though, and am hoping this game comes out in Europe soon. This game somehow escaped me and my Pokemon obsession years ago, if it comes to EU VC I probably won't let it escape again;)
18. DarkMatter
05 May 2008, 06:27 GMT
WAY TO GO
WAY TO GO
I'M GONNA WIN
Tetris Attack/Panel De Pon is a great game so Puzzle League is great by default. I assume they're putting up Puzzle League over Tetris Attack to squeeze a few more bucks out for the same game.
19. Atlantis1982
05 May 2008, 12:37 GMT
No thanks, even with the option to turn off the damn voices.
20. Angelic Lapras King
05 May 2008, 16:14 GMT
Does this have the same voices from the original (The 4Kids Voices) or does in have the new voices (Pokemon USA voices, from Season 9 onwards)? Dunno why, just feels like something Nintendo would do (Since Pokemon USA is a part of Nintendo anyways.)
21. Stuffgamer1
05 May 2008, 19:33 GMT
This was a great game. If you get good, a two-player match can run on forever, especially in 3-D mode (my brother and I kept one going for at least 20 minutes once). If you've ever played any version of Puzzle League, this one is worth the points, even if you don't really like Pokemon so much (due to the 3-D mode that isn't in any other version, not even on DS). I guess this release is to make up for the fact that they can't give us Tetris Attack due to title issues, huh?
22. Bass X0
05 May 2008, 21:03 GMT
Title issues? Then why was Tetris DS developed and published by Nintendo?
23. ThirdMarioBro
05 May 2008, 21:57 GMT
Because they were willing to fork up the fees for a full retail release, but seem unwilling to relicense the name for a budget retro download release.
24. Bass X0
05 May 2008, 22:41 GMT
well who does own the rights to the Tetris name at the moment? and i'm surprised they don't just change all appearances of the word "Tetris" to "Yoshi" or whatever. they did something similar with Wave Race 64.
25. ATRUEZELDAFAN
06 May 2008, 01:34 GMT
Hmm. This game looks like it could be fun. However i am probably going to save my precous points and even more precous memory for wiiware games launching in a week.
26. Stuffgamer1
06 May 2008, 20:03 GMT
THQ owns the rights to Tetris. I was surprised to look at the Tetris DS box and find no mention of THQ at all, but whatever. Nintendo must have paid big for that one. They probably decided it was easier to put out Pokemon Puzzle League than re-obtain rights for Tetris Attack or even re-title the game. I kind of wish they'd import-title Panel de Pon, but that's mostly because of Lip's Stick in Smash Bros. PPL is a great game anyway, and if you like Tetris Attack, it's well worth the 200 point price difference.
27. KeeperBvK
06 May 2008, 20:34 GMT
Actually The Tetris Company has the rights for Tetris...
28. GameGod3008
06 May 2008, 21:54 GMT
i really can't decide whether to get this if/when it gets released in the UK
29. DDR Paladin356
07 May 2008, 00:04 GMT
I like this game. The scary part is, I recognize all the songs in the game. They're catchy and I actually know the words...wow. I feel old now.
Good game though. Kinda wish there were an online version of this game on WiiWare...hmmm
30. Stuffgamer1
07 May 2008, 00:44 GMT
@KeeperBVK: You're right, my bad. I had thought it was THQ because they published Tetris Worlds and Tetris Evolution, but further research on Tetris.com proves that there is, in fact, a "The Tetris Company." Stupid name for a company, though...
Either way, Nintendo doesn't own the rights to the name and wouldn't want to pay for them for a VC game. Not when the easiest way to do things is to release PPL, anyway.
31. Kawaiipikachu
07 May 2008, 02:08 GMT
From what i researched this game got all the features of tetris attack plus more .
So fans os Tetris attack need not to worry
btw Tetrisphere itself is also a great game for which i got it for $10.00au as compared to vc's n64 titles for $15.00au=1000 points .
But still i find vc's priceses a great deal .
32. Bass X0
07 May 2008, 12:25 GMT
I'm thinking we will see it tomorrow. N64 releases are very close together.
33. Big=Sexy
08 May 2008, 02:29 GMT
For those wanting to know, this VC version is exactly the same as the N64 original. Voices, music - right down to the jaggies in the anime sequences.
34. Raichu06
08 May 2008, 04:56 GMT
I bought it and the graphics on the N64 one were WAY better, what gives? It looks blocky and weird o.O Did I just download a bad version? I don't know but the quality doesn't seem the same as the original =[
35. Starwolf_UK
10 May 2008, 11:10 GMT
@Raichu06. Better video output and no lame filter mean you're actually seeing the pixels now rather than them being a blur.
Interesting thing about the emulation. Nintendo didn't emulate the FMV. They devised a workaround instead. Put the FMV as files seperate to the game and jump out of the game to play these when needed. I think the reason for doing this was codec liscences (the N64 games uses the softdec codec and its quite possible Nintendo didn't want to renew this liscence say, wonder if the credits have been changed to reflect this)
36. Jonny
10 May 2008, 13:35 GMT
Can someone tell me if aside from the pokemon everywhere (which i don't mind at all) how does this compare to tetris attack which i loved (just say as good as or better and i'm there). Need a good puzzle game on the wii and this will go great along side dr. mario.
37. Raichu06
10 May 2008, 19:33 GMT
To Starwolf-Well idk I have an HD TV in which all my games look good and even have the component cables but this games doesn't look good... idk I guess the N64 is showing it's age now lol I am going to redownload the game and see if there is a difference.
38. sparrow-1993
13 May 2008, 16:56 GMT
This is the one pokemon game I never got on n64 when I was younger.
39. Jogurt the Yogurt
14 May 2008, 20:51 GMT
@Jonny: Identical.
EDIT: I mean, the core gameplay is identical. There are more game modes (3D) and options (records, save slots) to flesh out the main puzzle play. I think the extra features are worth the extra $2 if you can stomach the pokeymans.
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