Pokemon Puzzle League

It may not be the sexiest, most dramatic game to cover, but this is my nostalgia month. For me, Pokemon Puzzle League brings back memories from the summer of 2001. A neighborhood friend got this game for his birthday. It was a ton of fun to play...until his mother got addicted to it. After that, it took some effort to get the game away from her for very long. Luckily it was a hot summer and they had a pool, which kept everyone happy. When I play this game today, it reminds me of those more innocent times. Now that I've gotten my nostalgia story out the way, let's talk about the game itself.

Basics Pokemon Puzzle League is a match three style puzzle game for the N64 and Wii Virtual Console. It was released on September 25 2000 for the US, alongside Pokemon Puzzle Challenge for the Game Boy Color. I was unable to find any dates pertaining to PAL or Japan's release. PPL is based off the Japanese puzzle series called Panel de Pon.

Puzzle League was published by Nintendo and developed by Intelligent Systems. While they have worked on several Mario games, they are most well known for developing the Fire Emblem games. Including the new, and very good, Three Houses. Development Speaking of development, I couldn't find much on the process for this game. I did take a peak at the credits, though, and wanted to give a little spotlight to the concept creators. Hitoshi Yamagami was in charge of the concepts for Pokemon Puzzle League and Pokemon Puzzle Challenge for the GBC. He has helped produce an insane number of other recognizable titles. These include: Kirby series, Fire Emblem series, Pokemon main entries and side games, Xenoblade Chronicles, and strangest of all, Devil's Third (which is a whole article in of itself).

Toshitaka Muramatsu also worked on the concept for this game. Additionally, he did graphic design for Pokemon Puzzle Challenge as well as several Fire Emblem games. The rest of the crew are veterans in the industry as well, working on many of the same games.

Previews The first preview I have for Pokemon Puzzle League is an American TV advertisement. It begins with a gladiator suiting up for a battle. His armor is covered in Pokemon, as it should be. The narrator asks if you have the coordination and skill it takes to be a Pokemon master. Then, the gladiator steps onto the field and looks into the stands, which are filled with cheering Pokemon. Suddenly, a wall of blocks appears and he is handed an N64 controller. It's all wonderfully cheesy and late 90s. I recommend giving it a view for nostalgia's sake. IGN released a preview of the game a couple of days before reviewing it. They start by saying "...good old Tetris probably doesn't stand a chance." They do note that the "trash delivery" component and multiplayer were influenced by The New Tetris. Due to the Pokemon brand they expected the game to be a success, whether it was good or mediocre. Reviews Reviews from the time were pretty slim pickings. It's a spin-off puzzle game from nearly 20 years ago, so the internet hasn't been kind to sources. The first review we have is by IGN. They start by comparing Pokemon Puzzle League to Tetris Attack, due to the "attacks" you can make with combos. While the Pokemon license is nice and incorporated well, it has no effect on the gameplay.

The reviewer felt the art and graphics in the game were really well done and the characters looked hand-drawn. Of the graphics they state: "Definitely some of the better 2-D stuff done on the N64 as a matter of fact." The game also sounds good, although they found the music itself to be slightly unappealing. Luckily, they felt the game had enough songs that it didn't get redundant. Overall they gave PPL an 8.9 out of 10, saying if you love Tetris Attack, you'll enjoy this game.

GamePro's review is super short, but positive. They felt that the "simple but challenging" gameplay made the game one of the better puzzle games for the N64. Like everyone else, they call it a take on Tetris. Welcome to personal opinion corner: comparing it to Tetris Attack is somewhat understandable for the time. Just outright comparing it to regular Tetris, however, doesn't make sense. The only similarities the two share are the genre. GameSpot also gave Pokemon Puzzle League a positive review. They state that while at first this seems to be a "continued exploitation of the popular Pokemon property, there's actually a decent puzzle game to be found here as well." Like the other reviewers, they also reference Tetris Attack and its similarities.

The graphics look like they were taken from the anime and are "crisp" and "brightly colored." Overall, they liked the sounds and music as well. That said, the trainer's exclamations do get old. The author felt that there are better puzzle games out there, but this game is still fun with a lot of variety. Overall, they gave PPL a 7 out of 10.

Modern Reception The "modern" reviews I found were both from 2008. I'm imagining that is when the virtual console version of the game was released. Nintendo Life called the game Tetris Attack and Panel de Pon with a different skin. That said, they still found the game fun.

Cubed 3 gave the game a 9 out of 10. They state that no matter what theme the game has, its formula would still work and the charm of Pokemon compliments the gameplay. In conclusion, they felt the game was worth the 1,000 Wii Points.

Pokemon Puzzle Challenge As stated earlier, PPL has a sister game on the Game Boy Color named Pokemon Puzzle Challenge. It was also developed by Intelligent Systems, although a different internal team worked on it. It was released on September 21 2000 for the Game Boy Color. It was later released digitally for the 3DS. The game is a basically a scaled down version of the N64 game. That said, I think it stands out on its own and is a solid portable game. IGN reviewed PPC when it was released. They, like everyone else, compared it to Tetris Attack. The reviewer also felt that the Pokemon license was being used to sell copies, although they note that it is well integrated in the game. The game was found to be enjoyably challenging and addictive. Overall, IGN gave it a 9 out of 10. GameSpot reviewed the game as well, although the publish date is listed as 2006. Since they make no mention of being 6 years too late with their review, I'm imagining there was a mistake here. My theory is supported by the fact that I have seen that same 2006 date for other, older articles on GameSpot. Anyhoo, they note the comparisons to Tetris Attack that everyone seemed to be making. That said, they felt that the similarities ended at the "attack" part as the gameplay is sufficiently different. With all the fun challenge and features, they felt the game was worthy of an 8.9 out of 10. Conclusion While at first this seems to be just another puzzle game, it is anything but. It is a fun, addictive game with at lot of gameplay features to keep players busy for a long time. It's also has a fun multiplayer component. If you haven't yet played this game, I would recommend either version of the game.

Basics - https://www.mobygames.com/game/pokmon-puzzle-league - https://web.archive.org/web/20010107200300/http://www.pokemonpuzzleleague.com /low/faq_info_03.htm - https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/26/pokemon-puzzle-league-2 Development - https://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/pokmon-puzzle-league/credits Previews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWkOr4q8LUI - https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/26/pokemon-puzzle-league-2 Reviews - https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/27/pokemon-puzzle-league - https://web.archive.org/web/20050209104708/http://gamepro.com/nintendo/n64/ games/reviews/6937.shtml - https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pokemon-puzzle-league-review/1900-2635287/ Modern Reception - https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2008/05/pokemon_puzzle_league_virtual_console - http://www.cubed3.com/review/620/1/pokemon-puzzle-league-nintendo-64.html Pokemon Puzzle Challenge - https://www.mobygames.com/game/pokmon-puzzle-challenge - https://www.mobygames.com/game/gameboy-color/pokmon-puzzle-challenge/credits - https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/08/pokemon-puzzle-challenge (2000 review) - https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pokmon-puzzle-challenge/1900-2669699/ (2006)