Yoshi's Cookie (Game Boy)

The Game Boy really was a puzzle game heaven in the early 1990's. Whether you were old or young at least one puzzle game appealed to you...sadly however for every Mole Mania you had a Hatris and for every game that made you think and act on your toes you had one that put you to sleep. Yoshis' Cookie, featuring both Yoshi and Mario sadly falls into the second category.

The game, in the screen shots, may look like a typical falling block game (think Tetris) though it's not your normal falling block game. Rather than maneuvering falling blocks your maneuver the blocks on the bottom of the screen with an arrow type system that allows you to scroll a single line either vertically or horizontally. You need to make a single line all with the same style of cookie to delete them from the screen.

Although the game seems to merge both Tetris and Rubix cube it sadly lacks the challenge of a Rubix Cube and it lacks the charm and addictiveness of Tetris. What you are left with is a slow puzzle game that seems to be based solely at children who need a lot of time to think of their next move. Whilst I'm sure the game does eventually get hard it gets there so slowly that it's hard to keep yourself interested and find the challenge. It's game play at times seems almost sleep inducing rather than challenging and as a result it's hard to really enjoy.

Despite the game featuring Mario and a nice cheerful tune the game just feels a bit like a flop, a rarity for a Bullet-Proof Software. If you want a puzzle game that you can let your 6 year old play this is acceptable enough (even though it's in monochrome) though if you want to challenge yourself avoid it.


55%

Details:
Console-Game Boy
Release-1993
Developer-Bullet-Proof Software, Inc.
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1 or 2 (Link Cable Required)

Trivia:
A version of this was released on the SNES with much better graphics and much more to the game.

Hatris

We've all heard of "Tetris" the video game that really helped the Game Boy become the dominant handheld of the 1990's (and late 1980's) though what few know is that the game had a spiritual successor of sorts in Hatris. Created by Alexey Pajitnov (the man behind Tetris) Hatris was released on the Game Boy at the start of the 1990's and tried to replicate the success of Tetris with a similar sort of concept.

As the name suggests this game features hats, lots and lots of hats. The players job is simple, they need to stack the hats as they fall from the top of the screen into piles to remove them (as opposed to making a solid line across the screen like in Tetris.

Hats fall in sets of 2 and come in a variety of styles (such as novelty Christmas hats, top hats, caps and Mexican hats) with each stacking in their own way. The player needs to place 5 hats of the same type on top of each other to remove them from the screen as the game slowly gets quicker and more complex. After the player stacks a set amount of hats they will go to the "shop" and get to add another type of hat which further complicates matters and makes the stacking more and more difficult.

Whilst the game may seem a lot like a Tetris based game it's more complex and adds several new ideas, including a flame (which can burn through some hats) and the shop function, sadly however it over complicates it's self and lacks the magic of Tetris. Whilst it's certainly different it's impossible not to compare the two and when you do, this seems to lack the charm and heart of Tetris.

68%

Details:
Console-Game Boy, NES, Arcade, TurboGrafx-16
Release-1990 (Game Boy)
Developer-Bullet-Proof Software, Inc.

Genre-Puzzle
Players-1 or 2 (Link Cable Required)

Trivia:
The arcade version of Hatris features heads at the bottom of the screen include one that looks like Elvis.

Mr Driller (Game Boy Colour)

 In 1999 Arcade legends Namco brought out Mr Driller for the arcade and it was soon ported to a number of home systems (including the Playstation, Wonderswan Colour, PC, Dreamcast and Game Boy Colour). Sadly however it seems the Game Boy Colour, due to it's limitations got a very limited game compared to it's brothers and sisters.

The game (in all it's forms) is simple, you need to dig a hole though a bunch of coloured blocks to try either try to get to a set depth (25,000 ft or 50,000 ft) or get as deep as you can (Survival mode). All three game methods play identically though as the player digs through the blocks and collects are capsules. The player needs to avoid running out of air and prevent themselves from being

 squished beneath falling blocks whilst digging to the target. The blocks can be stuck together (if you connect 3 of the same colour) or can be made to disappear if the player connects 4 or more (giving the game some technique).

Whilst the game is simple and rather limited in all honesty it does have some odd addictive quality to it that it probably shouldn't actually have. The game has nothing that blows you away, it has nothing that makes you think wow, yet you find yourself coming back just for a quick game that then becomes 3 or 4 games. Maybe that's the games secret, be simply but addictive, it'd explain the arcade success I guess.

Despite being a game that can you hook you for a good half hour you do finally ask yourself what you're doing playing it so much and you can't actually explain it. It's not something that really stands out just relatively addictive. It's a bit of a weird one that made the most of the Game Boy Colour's colour but didn't really do anything outstanding. Probably worth a purchase if you can find it cheaply but don't make a conscious effort to hunt it down.

73%

Console-Game Boy Colour (version reviewed), PC, Arcade, Dreamcast, Playstation, Mobile Phone, Wonderswan
Release-1999
Developer-Namco
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1

Trivia:
The game has had a number of sequels which have added to the original game and helped develop a fuller game from the same basic idea
The game was originally going to be part of the Dig Dug series until re-inventing it's self as Mr Driller.

Mole Mania

If you see a hardcore gamer and mention the name "Shigeru Miyamoto" you'll make them think of Mario, Donkey Kong, the Zelda series and Pikmin, though one of his most forgotten works was the excellent and charming Mole Mania. The god of video games designed this excellent Game Boy puzzler back in the mid 1990's and you can see his touches of genius through out the game.

You control a mole (named Muddy Mole) who needs to rescue his family from an evil farmer called Jinbe by completing a number of puzzles. The player can walk up, down, left or right, as well pushing, pulling and throwing various items and digging underground to defeat enemies and get around obstacles and clear the stage. Each stage is cleared when the player places a big black ball on the gate at the end, though this is often easier said than done as digging in the wrong place may see you needing to start the puzzle again.

Although on the basis of it all the game seems simple it becomes really challenging and you need to think about what your doing before you start the screen. For a game that looks quite cute it become a real case of planning before you start digging random holes in the level...and later on it becomes ridiculously complex and mind boggling as you get more and more obstacles thrown your way. Oddly despite the fact you'll find yourself thinking an awful lot you'll soon find yourself addicted to the game and wasting hours away trying to complete it.

Whilst the gameplay is excellent and the puzzles are wonderful the game also features bright and exciting music that adds to the games charm and sounds incredible for a Game Boy game. Though perhaps this points us to the games biggest issue, it's a Game Boy game. It wasn't given the DX treatment or even the "Advance" treatment of some other games and as a result it's lacking in any real colour  which some players will find off putting. If however you can ignore the dated looks you will find your self falling in love with yet another Miyamoto creation. It's a game that oozes charm, has wonderful gameplay and lots to explore as well as testing your brain, what more could you ask for?

88%

Console-Game Boy
Release-1996 (Japan), 1997 (US, EU)
Developer-Nintendo and Pax Softnica
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1

Trivia:
The game was known as Mogura~Nya in Japan
The game was directed by Masayuki Kameyama, the man behind Donkey Kong '94 which shares a number of similar gameplay ideas with Mole Mania.

Mario's Picross

Puzzle games have become a somewhat forgotten genre in the current video game market which is filled with sports titles, FPS' and driving games. It's a shame that if you ask a teenage what puzzle games they can think of they often reply with "Tetris, that's the only one I can think of" (my own well educated gaming sister). With the original Game Boy however puzzle games were a norm, not only with Tetris but a host of others. One of the most interesting of those games was "Mario Picross", a game that brought Picross to the video game console and managed to make the Game Boy another time waster.

The idea of Mario Picross is rather similar in someways to Minesweeper in that the player is given onscreen clues and needs to select certain boxes that correspond to the clues. If the player uses the clues well and completes the puzzle they will have drawn a picture which will be shown to the player afterwards.

Although the concept seems rather simple and monotonous it's actually incredibly challenging (especially the later levels) and oddly addictive. Whilst the pictures may not be anything great the game is genuinely enjoyable and has the same sort of charm as Sudoku, in fact in many ways it feels like the love child of Minesweeper and Sudoku.

With well over 200 levels to complete (including a hidden Time Trial mode) the game has genuine longevity that will take even the most devout of puzzle gamers a long time. While the main game is huge the Time Trial adds even more replay value to the game which really gives it a huge lifespan.

Whilst the game is huge it does have it's issues, most notably some god awful music (seriously I decided to mute it pretty swiftly as it was that awful) and a lack of commercial success outside of Japan. Oddly, despite carrying the Mario name the games sales in the US and EU were disappointing (despite the game doing very well in Japan). The game is genuinely a really good puzzle game that sadly, it seems, only Japan ever really enjoyed. Despite this I loved it and think it's a great addition to anyone's Game Boy Library.

86%

Details:
Console-Game Boy
Release-1995
Developer-Jupiter
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1

Trivia:
A sequel was released (Picross 2) in Japan that featured puzzles which were much larger than the 15x15 tiled puzzles found in Mario Picross
Another sequel was released, again just in Japan, called Mario's Super Picross and was released for the Super Famicom

Dr Mario

While Nintendo had Tetris as their lead puzzle game you could have assume they would rely on their laurels, surprisingly however they actually complimented Tetris with a number of other top puzzle games including Dr. Mario. The game which has been released on the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and most recently the Virtual Console which has helped it to have an enduring fan base.

Like most puzzle games of the time the player needs to manipulate falling blocks, this time however the blocks act as "capsules" and are 2-toned. The capsules need to be used carefully to get rid of the virus' that are shown on screen. Like a number of games of the time this is done by matching the coloured segments of the capsules to the corresponding virus'. Each virus needs to be put in a line
with 3 matching capsule segments to get rid of it and the player needs to do this before the stage (a "capsule box" type of design) become full.

As the player progresses through the levels they will notice a growing number of virus' making the game more difficult and also the pills will fall quicker. It's not long before the game becomes incredibly challenging and the game starts to rush you causing your mind to panic and oddly, for such a simple game, it gets your blood pumping.

Whilst the game doesn't look amazing and the music won't blast you away (mainly due to it now sounding aged) you will find this is a solid puzzle game in it's own right. It's not got the magic feeling of Tetris or quite the same addictiveness but it's a solid and challenging game that you can burn time with and enjoy. Though perhaps the best part of the game is the excellent multiplayer mode which sees the two players competing with each other. Whilst it may seem like a little bonus the multiplayer really brings even more life into an excellent and deep puzzler.

86%

Details:
Console-SNES/NES/Game Boy/Game Boy Advance
Release-1990 (NES version)
Developer-Nintendo
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1 or 2

Trivia:
An N64 version was released on the obscure iQue in China in 2003
Dr Mario was a hidden character in Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube

The Great Waldo Search

Licensed games were all the rage in the 1990's whether it was an iconic cartoon character such as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, a sports star like Wayne Gretzsky or Brian Lara every other game seemed to be licensed at one point. Whilst some licensed games were amazing ("Aladdin" on the Mega Drive for example) other were simply atrocious and "The Great Waldo Search" certainly sits in the second category.

 If you are in your late teens or early 20's you will almost certainly remember the "Where's Wally?" or "Where's Waldo?" (In the US and Canada) books that most primary schools were littered with. The books were full of colour images and you have to find items in the book (most obviously the title character). They were the sort of colorful and interesting things that would keep a small child busy for a lunch time when it's raining and they were pretty cheap and good fun...sadly someone from Radiance thought it was a great idea for a game. The folks from Radiance however were wrong, very, very wrong.

When you start playing 1 of the 5 levels (which can be played in almost any order) you notice a lot of things. Firstly the graphics, they look like a 12 year old has been told to draw and scene and just stick in the Waldo/Wally character, they look garish and completely lack the charm of the books. The music is a further off putting feature and sounds incredibly naff.

The gameplay however is exactly what you would expect, you need to take a magnifying glass and click it over the items you are searching for (such as Waldo). It's simple but a bit too simple, in fact you can play through the whole game in little more than 10 minutes, which in a way is a relief as you're unlikely to want to spend much longer having your eyes abused by the graphics.

To call this a simple cash in is to state the obvious. It must be avoided like the plague, it's garish, cheap and has the life span of a may fly.

17%

Details:
Console-Sega Mega Drive, SNES and NES
Release-1992
Developer-Radiance
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1

Trivia:
The game was only released in north America (thankfully)
The game is based on the 3rd book in the series created by Martin Handford

Tetris

When it comes to immortal video games there are few that challenge "Tetris", a game almost 30 years after it was created still spawns clones, spin offs and is still as addictive as it ever was.

The game was first released in 1984 though it wasn't until the Game Boy version some 5 years later that the game become the sensation we all know and love over 20 years later.

The basis for Tetris (all the versions) is incredibly simple, you need to manipulate falling blocks (as seen in the

The game uses naive gravity
to stop lines being
automatically completed

 screen shot on the right) into complete lines across the screen by using A and B to spin them as the game slowly gets faster and the blocks fall quicker. Whilst the premise of the game is straight forward and on paper actually reads as if it should be boring the game manages to weave it's spell over you and an hour after you start playing you wonder what happened to your time. It's this addictive time consuming aspect of Tetris that helped it become an iconic game. In fact when Game And Watch was first thought of by Gunpei Yokoi it's purpose was to kill time, and that's what made Tetris such a great game for the Game Boy. The graphics were dull and monochrome (the Game Boy was only monochrome at the time), all the action was kept on a screen but yet it killed time...and then killed more time and has been killing time for years. Though away from the graphics the presentation is excellent, the music is iconic, the controls work perfectly and the tiles are all distinguishable.

Whilst Tetris has been cloned more times than anyone wants to count it's still the Game Boy one that stands out as the biggest hit. Sure the graphics are unimpressive, sure it looks a bit simple (and IS simple) but it has it's own charm as a result. The later versions of the game may have tried adding to the formula though it was never going to be easy to add anything to make the game better. In fact the additions that have been made have generally just complicated the game rather than improved it.

No one will say Tetris is the greatest game ever because lets be honest it's not, but it is almost certainly one of the most addictive, one of the most simple and yet, 22 years after it was put on the Game Boy it's still one of the must have mobile game titles. Amazingly "modern" takes on Tetris such as "Tetriss" on Android seem to a step backwards from the original, not only lacking the heart of the original but lacking everything that made the original so addictive.

If we score games on a criteria basis (such as Graphics, Sound, Lifespan) then Tetris doesn't score massively (despite brilliant music) though sometimes you need to ignore traditional criteria and just admit a great game is great...and this is great! If you want video gaming crack then this is ideal for you.

91%

Details:
Console-Game Boy
Release-1989 (Game Boy)
Developer-Bullet-Proof Software, Inc.
Composer-Hirokazu Tanaka
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1 or 2 (Link Cable Required)

Trivia:
Tetris was sold as the bundled game with the original Game Boy
The pieces are called "tetrominos"