Review: Planet Puzzle League (Nintendo DS)

Wow, its been awhile since I started this blog that I've actually posted anything. Its all in the timing of it really, as I created this blog right in the middle of moving, and that's pretty much consumed all of my time since then (everything is basically still in boxes, even now 13 days after moving in- everything except the gaming systems that is, something that my wife finds 'very interesting', she says ). On top of that, I haven't connected my internet yet (doing everything online on the Wii for now), so this is really the first chance I've had to post anything, anywhere.

The only gaming I've done in the past couple weeks has been in quick, short bursts for the most part, as that's all I've ever really had time for lately. After getting the big move done, I turned my attention to the Nintendo ShortCuts short film contest that I had hoped to enter, which consumed a great deal of my spare (and not-so-spare) time , but before even finishing it I found in the rules that I couldn't even enter (I live in Canada, eh), which was pretty deflating, as I thought I had a great idea. I still hope to finish it and post it on YouTube, and of course here, just for kicks, but the motivation isn't really there right now, y'know? Anyways, when I wasn't doing all that, and spending time with my family of course, I got little game time in here & there.

Sure, the Halo 3 beta got quite a few run-throughs, of course, and ActRaiser got released for VC, so I played a wee bit of that, but it was mostly handheld gaming for me, with Final Fantasy 1 for GBA satisfying each gaming craving I had for the most part, which was fine. Then, right at a good part in FF1 mind you (just got the airship, and was able to class change, finally!), this little game quietly comes out for DS. A little game called Planet Puzzle League, to be exact. My DS has pretty much been with me wherever I go ever since.


Now you may know this game by one of its many other names; Panel de Pon (Japan), Pokemon Puzzle League (N64), or simply Puzzle League (w/Dr. Mario GBA). Or, like me, you remember this game as Tetris Attack for SNES. I used to love playing Tetris Attack, and as soon as I read that it was coming out in a NDS incarnation I began eagerly anticipating its arrival, calling around looking for its availability. Not too much fanfare for this release, and I can't say I understand why, as Nintendo and Intelligent Systems have created one hell of a package with PPL.

Now regardless of what you know this game as, if you know it at all, you must know how addicting, frantic, fun, and deep this game is. This is of course very true for the DS version as well, but everything has been cranked to 11 with the addition of touch screen control here. You've never had speed or control like this before. Sure, if you're a hardcore purist the option to control everything via the d-pad and buttons is there, but there really is no going back once you've played w/touch controls. Now, if you are new to the world of Panel de Pon, you are no doubt wondering what it is exactly that I am talking about moving around here! This is not a 'clear the falling blocks' puzzle game, a-la-tetris, this is more of a 'clear the rising blocks' puzzle game.

The blocks rise from the bottom (it slowly rises up, but you can touch a panel to make it rise a row at a time), and you use the stylus to drag them left or right, to make 3 or more of them link together, vertical or horizontal, and thus clear a line. This is the basic premise, and taken only at that level its an enjoyable little puzzler on its own, but then there's the chaining. As soon as you link the 3 or more blocks, they are highlighted for a second as they are cleared one at a time, left to right or top to bottom, and you can continue to shuffle blocks around while they are, so that pieces on top of them or to the sides fall down to connect to other like-colored blocks, thus creating a combo that you can continue for as long as you have the available pieces on the board (you can't move the rows up in the middle of a chain combo). These combos are not only immensely satisfying to pull off, but in multiplayer games the more you can chain together, the more garbage you send over to dump on top of your opponent. This is really where the meat of the game lies. But more about the multiplayer in a minute, as there are many features to mention about this robust little package.

As a solo affair, you've got choices with PPL. The modes included are: Clear - you go stage by stage of increasing speed and difficulty, trying clear up to a certain line; Time Attack - 3 choices here with Score, Garbage, or Lift Attack to see how well you can do in two minutes; Endless - you can just keep clearing lines to your hearts content, with no real goal but a higher score, and practice; Puzzle - the requisite puzzle challenge, where you have a set number of moves to figure out how to clear the entire screen, early puzzles are ridiculously easy, but later ones are a real swear-at-your-DS-level challenge (unless you cheat and use the hint button. You don't do that kinda thing, do you?); Garbage Challenge - like Endless, with the added bonus of Garbage to clear too. Again, good for high scores and practice; Vs. Com - exactly what is says it is, a battle against the AI , in either Clear, Score, or Garbage Battle, and the mode you'll most likely find yourself playing solo, as you better prepare to take on the world.

That's right baby, the world! Via Nintendo's WiFi Connection you can now battle online, in addition to local wireless multiplayer (single or multi-cart). While online, if you exchange friend codes with another player, you can then have voice chat during your battles. But don't worry, finding a random match has always been pretty quick and easy as far as I've played. The only downside here is the lack of any tangible stat tracking or leaderboards for bragging rights over the internets (the game hasn't even shown up on nintendowifi.com's gaming hub yet). There is the strange-but-I-like-it Birthday Battle that, from what I can tell so far, does rank you, however it ranks you only in comparison to all other players who share your birthday (me: Oct. 23), and the rankings are reset after a few days. Weird, but like I said, I think its great.

It would be even better coupled with actual leaderboards or rankings, but whatever, it really takes nothing away from the game without it in my opinion. If you fear the elite panel masters out there that prey on the noobs jumping online for the first time, don't worry, as there's a Novice mode while online that'll only pair you up with someone else who's selected Novice as well. Of course once you start to get better and win consistently or convincingly, the Novice option is greyed-out and you are left to fend for yourself amongst some really great players. After my very first Novice battle, the option became greyed-out, and so that had me thinking I was just awesome, so I took on all comers, and had my ass handed to me twice in a row. Fast. You'll want to practice, a whole lot.

A good way to do that is through Daily Play, the Brain Age/Wii Sports Fitness style inclusion that gives you three short challenges that you can do only once each day, and are awarded a score for each day, much in the same Brain Training-like tradition. This kind of feature has been finding its way into more and more of the Nintendo-made games I've been playing lately, and I think its great. It encourages you to play at least once everyday, and you really want to beat your previous best scores. Well, I do anyways, but I love this game, can you tell? I would recommend it to anyone with a DS, as it can be enjoyed on so many different levels, and the deeper you dig, and the better you get (at spotting chains ahead of time, setting up massive combos, and the speed required to pull it off sometimes), the more rewarding, and addicting, it gets. Not to mention its just an incredible overall first-party release, as there are many well polished modes to occupy your time in between the aforementioned rocking multiplayer. The graphics are nothing too over the top, but fit the slick presentation perfectly, it really is a well-designed game aesthetically. No complaints there as far as I'm concerned, but then again this game isn't about graphics at all, its the gameplay that keeps you coming back for more, and its definitely first rate.

Another thing to note, this game joins the growing ranks of DS games played book-style, ala-Brain Age. I love this choice (the option is there to switch it to the more standard DS presentation, but book-style is the default), it fits this game perfectly, and I hope that more and more developers include this option in games where gameplay would allow for it (ie; don't need to use the buttons). Personally I think it just feels more comfortable to hold the DS like that, for certain games. I think Ninja Gaiden will really set an example there when its finally released. Bottom line on Planet Puzzle League: Unless you absolutely hate puzzle games, get this game. It has something for just about everybody, is a truly polished title, and if you happen to be a puzzle game fan, this is a no-brainer. See you all online.

- Kimo