Picross DS
Encyclopedia
is a puzzle video game developed by Jupiter
and published by Nintendo
for the Nintendo DS
handheld
video game console
. It is the second Picross game to be released by Nintendo in Europe and North America after Mario's Picross
suffered a commercial failure in regions outside Japan, where many Picross games have been released for several Nintendo consoles. Like other Picross games, it presents the player with a series of nonogram logic puzzles to solve. It was first released in Japan
, and was later released in Europe
and North America
.
, download classic Picross puzzles from previous titles and complete up to five timed daily challenges.
In all modes except Daily and Online Challenge, the player is given the opportunity to receive a "hint" which reveals one randomly selected row and column, which does not impact the player's time. Also, three types of background music can be selected (except for Classic puzzles and the unlockable level 11 "extra" puzzles), or the music can be turned off.
Initially, the player can choose from an "easy mode" of 5×5 and 10×10 puzzles, and Levels 1–4 of 10×10 and 15×15 puzzles. As the player completes puzzles in the standard levels, levels 5–10 and an extra level can be unlocked, with puzzles up to 25×20 in size. To unlock the extra level, the puzzles in all ten levels must be completed with a time of less than one hour for each, including penalties.
Each level contains 15 puzzles. After completing five puzzles in each level, one of three timed mini-games is unlocked:
Minigame
s can be played multiple times to improve score, but do not have any bearing on unlocking new levels. They become more difficult in higher levels.
The three types of music available in Normal mode are jazz
, reggae
and bossa nova
.
In Free mode, the player is not informed of mistakes, and the puzzles are generally more difficult to complete. To offset this, a Try it Out mode is available in which an overlay can be constructed to test various solutions. When finished with this mode, the player can delete it or apply the overlay.
The Free mode minigames are the same as in Normal Mode but are generally more difficult.
The three types of music available in Free Mode are rock
, house
and ambient
.
My Picross
contains Original and Classic puzzles. Original puzzles are those that are created by the player or downloaded from friends in local or online wireless modes. Original puzzles can be classified as Normal or Free mode, and are given an automatically generated one to four star rating based on the puzzle's difficulty as assessed by the game. When these puzzles are played, the music selections are the same as in the regular Normal and Free modes depending on how the Original puzzle is classified.
Classic puzzles are downloaded from the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
. Downloadable puzzle packs will contain a variety of puzzles from classic Nintendo Picross titles; currently, puzzle packs from Mario's Picross, and Nintendo Power, are available in Europe and North America. As of November 21, 2007, twelve puzzle packs are currently available in North America, with two packs having been released biweekly starting on September 3, 2007. In Europe, only two packs have been released so far. In the classic mode, there is only one choice of music, which is not the same as any of the other modes but is different for Classic Normal mode and a Classic Free mode puzzles. The classic mode puzzles can be deleted at any time to make room for additional puzzles (ten packs can be held in memory at a time).
Daily Picross contains up to five challenges, all on a 7×7 board with Normal mode rules. Mistakes in this mode incur a five-second penalty. Once a challenge is completed, the game time is recorded, graphed and assigned a letter grade, with A being an average time under 30 seconds. When other modes are unlocked, the grades are averaged together to obtain an overall grade, with five A grades resulting in the highest overall grade of S.
The five challenges available in Daily Picross mode:
Online challenges consist of two 10×10 puzzles in a row. If a mistake is made, the game grid is frozen for five seconds while the other player is allowed to continue. Players cannot see the other player's screen, but are shown a progress bar that estimates how close the other player is to completing the puzzles. The bar quivers when the opponent has been penalized for making a mistake. The first player to complete both puzzles wins. This mode may be played against friends with a friend code, or with a randomly selected challenger.
Jupiter (company)
Jupiter Corporation is a Japanese video game and hardware development studio that focuses on handheld consoles. It is based in Kyoto, though they have a secondary branch in Tokyo...
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
handheld
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. It is the second Picross game to be released by Nintendo in Europe and North America after Mario's Picross
Mario's Picross
is the first in a series of Mario themed Picross titles released in the 1990s. It is a collection of nonogram logic puzzles involving a grid with numbers for every row and column, which refer to the amount of marked squares within the grid. The game features Mario as an archaeologist who chisels...
suffered a commercial failure in regions outside Japan, where many Picross games have been released for several Nintendo consoles. Like other Picross games, it presents the player with a series of nonogram logic puzzles to solve. It was first released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and was later released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Gameplay
Gameplay follows traditional Picross rules, where players use logic to mark each square as full or empty, eventually revealing an unknown picture. Additional modes allow players to create their own puzzles and send them to friends, download classic puzzles and compete in speed competitions with friends or random rivals via the Nintendo Wi-Fi ConnectionNintendo Wi-Fi Connection
The is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii games. The service includes the company's Wii Shop Channel, DSi Shop, and Nintendo eShop game download services...
, download classic Picross puzzles from previous titles and complete up to five timed daily challenges.
In all modes except Daily and Online Challenge, the player is given the opportunity to receive a "hint" which reveals one randomly selected row and column, which does not impact the player's time. Also, three types of background music can be selected (except for Classic puzzles and the unlockable level 11 "extra" puzzles), or the music can be turned off.
Game modes
In Normal mode, the player is informed if he or she marks a square that should be unmarked. The first mistake incurs a time penalty of two minutes, the second mistake four minutes, and each following mistake eight minutes.Initially, the player can choose from an "easy mode" of 5×5 and 10×10 puzzles, and Levels 1–4 of 10×10 and 15×15 puzzles. As the player completes puzzles in the standard levels, levels 5–10 and an extra level can be unlocked, with puzzles up to 25×20 in size. To unlock the extra level, the puzzles in all ten levels must be completed with a time of less than one hour for each, including penalties.
Each level contains 15 puzzles. After completing five puzzles in each level, one of three timed mini-games is unlocked:
- Catch: 1×1 squares float around the grid. Tapping them all with the stylus clears this mode.
- Sketch: The top screen displays a picture, which must be copied into the grid on the bottom screen.
- Hit: Many squares appear and disappear quickly. Once a certain number are tapped, this mode is cleared.
Minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s can be played multiple times to improve score, but do not have any bearing on unlocking new levels. They become more difficult in higher levels.
The three types of music available in Normal mode are jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
.
In Free mode, the player is not informed of mistakes, and the puzzles are generally more difficult to complete. To offset this, a Try it Out mode is available in which an overlay can be constructed to test various solutions. When finished with this mode, the player can delete it or apply the overlay.
The Free mode minigames are the same as in Normal Mode but are generally more difficult.
The three types of music available in Free Mode are rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
.
My Picross
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
contains Original and Classic puzzles. Original puzzles are those that are created by the player or downloaded from friends in local or online wireless modes. Original puzzles can be classified as Normal or Free mode, and are given an automatically generated one to four star rating based on the puzzle's difficulty as assessed by the game. When these puzzles are played, the music selections are the same as in the regular Normal and Free modes depending on how the Original puzzle is classified.
Classic puzzles are downloaded from the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
The is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii games. The service includes the company's Wii Shop Channel, DSi Shop, and Nintendo eShop game download services...
. Downloadable puzzle packs will contain a variety of puzzles from classic Nintendo Picross titles; currently, puzzle packs from Mario's Picross, and Nintendo Power, are available in Europe and North America. As of November 21, 2007, twelve puzzle packs are currently available in North America, with two packs having been released biweekly starting on September 3, 2007. In Europe, only two packs have been released so far. In the classic mode, there is only one choice of music, which is not the same as any of the other modes but is different for Classic Normal mode and a Classic Free mode puzzles. The classic mode puzzles can be deleted at any time to make room for additional puzzles (ten packs can be held in memory at a time).
Daily Picross contains up to five challenges, all on a 7×7 board with Normal mode rules. Mistakes in this mode incur a five-second penalty. Once a challenge is completed, the game time is recorded, graphed and assigned a letter grade, with A being an average time under 30 seconds. When other modes are unlocked, the grades are averaged together to obtain an overall grade, with five A grades resulting in the highest overall grade of S.
The five challenges available in Daily Picross mode:
- Nonstop Time Attack mode is initially available, which is a fast-paced series of five puzzles in rapid succession.
- No X Marks mode is identical to Nonstop Time Attack, but the X mark, which is used to mark squares that the player thinks cannot contain a filled mark, cannot be used. This mode is available after playing Daily Picross for three (not necessarily consecutive) days.
- Error Search mode shows the player five partially completed puzzles, with some squares needing a fill and some of the filled squares erroneously filled. On the top screen, the player is shown how many squares must be filled and how many erroneous squares need to be cleared before the puzzle is complete. If a filled square is cleared that should not be, no penalty is incurred, but if a square is filled that should not be, it incurs a time penalty similar to the Nonstop Time Attack mode. This mode is available after playing Daily Picross for seven days.
- Memory mode gives the player one puzzle to solve. For 20 seconds, the numerical clues on the edges of the grid are shown. After these disappear, the player is free to complete the puzzle. After various time intervals, one clue in one row or column is revealed until all of them are shown or the puzzle is complete. This mode is available after playing Daily Picross for twelve days.
- Secret mode is similar to Nonstop Time Attack in that a 7×7 grid must be completed and time penalties are possible; however, three of the numerical clues are replaced with an X mark. Three numbers are placed on the top screen; one of each of these are the true clue, and must be determined by the player by filling out the rest of the puzzle. Only one puzzle needs to be completed to finish this challenge. This mode is available after playing Daily Picross for twenty days.
Online challenges consist of two 10×10 puzzles in a row. If a mistake is made, the game grid is frozen for five seconds while the other player is allowed to continue. Players cannot see the other player's screen, but are shown a progress bar that estimates how close the other player is to completing the puzzles. The bar quivers when the opponent has been penalized for making a mistake. The first player to complete both puzzles wins. This mode may be played against friends with a friend code, or with a randomly selected challenger.
See also
- Mario's PicrossMario's Picrossis the first in a series of Mario themed Picross titles released in the 1990s. It is a collection of nonogram logic puzzles involving a grid with numbers for every row and column, which refer to the amount of marked squares within the grid. The game features Mario as an archaeologist who chisels...
, another Picross game made by Nintendo and Jupiter. - Picross 3D, another similar Picross game made by HAL LaboratoryHAL Laboratoryis a Japanese video game developer that was founded on February 21, 1980. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its name comes from the HAL 9000 computer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The company is most famous for its character Kirby, the protagonist of the eponymous game series, as well as...
but is put in 3D. - Essential Sudoku DSEssential Sudoku DSEssential Sudoku DS is a puzzle video game developed by Essential Games and published by D3 for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It contains two types of puzzle: "picture", which are nonograms, and "number", which are sudoku puzzles....
, another Picross game available on the DS. - Nonogram