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Puzzle League (series)
Encyclopedia
Puzzle League is a series of video games published by Nintendo
for its various video game console
s. The series began with Panel de Pon
in Japan and Tetris Attack
in North America, and has since been adapted to many other consoles. The core gameplay of each version is the same in each game, but branding, presentation details and console-specific features have varied.
In each game in the series, square blocks (or panels) of various colors are stacked in a well. The blocks align to an invisible grid, such that the blocks occupy distinct rows and columns. In most game modes, new blocks appear at the bottom of the stack, slowly pushing the stack upward. The player typically loses the game when any column of blocks touches the top of the well.
The player controls a cursor that covers two squares horizontally in the invisible game grid. Blocks within this cursor can be swapped, or a block can be swapped with an empty space. If a block is moved into a gap with no blocks underneath it, the block falls as though affected by gravity. Players cannot directly move blocks vertically or diagonally, though in most game modes, they can raise the entire puzzle more quickly.
To clear blocks, the player must align them in rows or columns of three or more identically colored blocks (for example, three red blocks in a contiguous horizontal row). The blocks then disappear from the playfield, and any blocks above them fall into the cleared space. Clearing more than three blocks in a single move scores a "combo", worth extra points. If a clear causes other blocks to fall and cause additional clears, the player scores a "chain", also worth extra points. With skill and planning, the player can cause multiple contiguous clears to occur one after another, scoring a higher chain count and progressively larger bonuses, and above a certain chain count, the game plays a celebratory fanfare when the chain is completed. Clearing blocks also causes the stack to stop rising temporarily, and scoring chains and combos causes the stack to remain stopped for a variable amount of time (determined by the size of the combo or chain).
In versus modes, players can send garbage to their opponents' playfields by scoring chains and combos. This sends garbage blocks according to the player's color (arbitrarily assigned in some games, or based on the player's character selection in others). Combos send varying numbers and sizes of blocks according to the size of the combo, while chains send garbage blocks that span the width of the playfield and vary in thickness depending on the size of the chain. Players can also clear "shock blocks" (also called surprise blocks) – grey blocks usually containing exclamation points – that send chrome-colored garbage to the opponents' playfields. While these garbage blocks follow the same clearing rules, they do not clear when adjacent colored garbage blocks do.
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 its various 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...
s. The series began with Panel de Pon
Panel de Pon
, also known as Panel de Pon: Action Puzzle Game, is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom home video game console. It was released on October 27, 1995 in Japan, and was later ported to the North American and European markets as Tetris...
in Japan and Tetris Attack
Tetris Attack
Tetris Attack is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console and Game Boy handheld game console...
in North America, and has since been adapted to many other consoles. The core gameplay of each version is the same in each game, but branding, presentation details and console-specific features have varied.
Gameplay
The player controls a cursor that covers two squares horizontally in the invisible game grid. Blocks within this cursor can be swapped, or a block can be swapped with an empty space. If a block is moved into a gap with no blocks underneath it, the block falls as though affected by gravity. Players cannot directly move blocks vertically or diagonally, though in most game modes, they can raise the entire puzzle more quickly.
To clear blocks, the player must align them in rows or columns of three or more identically colored blocks (for example, three red blocks in a contiguous horizontal row). The blocks then disappear from the playfield, and any blocks above them fall into the cleared space. Clearing more than three blocks in a single move scores a "combo", worth extra points. If a clear causes other blocks to fall and cause additional clears, the player scores a "chain", also worth extra points. With skill and planning, the player can cause multiple contiguous clears to occur one after another, scoring a higher chain count and progressively larger bonuses, and above a certain chain count, the game plays a celebratory fanfare when the chain is completed. Clearing blocks also causes the stack to stop rising temporarily, and scoring chains and combos causes the stack to remain stopped for a variable amount of time (determined by the size of the combo or chain).
Garbage
In several modes of play, rectangular garbage of various widths and heights can drop onto the player's stack, and can even extend above the top of the playfield. When a set of blocks that is touching a garbage block clears from the playfield, any garbage blocks touching this clear are "transformed" into regular blocks, which come into play when the garbage block is finished transforming. Any garbage blocks of the same type as the first one and touching the first one are similarly transformed, though non-touching garbage and differently-typed garbage do not transform in this case.In versus modes, players can send garbage to their opponents' playfields by scoring chains and combos. This sends garbage blocks according to the player's color (arbitrarily assigned in some games, or based on the player's character selection in others). Combos send varying numbers and sizes of blocks according to the size of the combo, while chains send garbage blocks that span the width of the playfield and vary in thickness depending on the size of the chain. Players can also clear "shock blocks" (also called surprise blocks) – grey blocks usually containing exclamation points – that send chrome-colored garbage to the opponents' playfields. While these garbage blocks follow the same clearing rules, they do not clear when adjacent colored garbage blocks do.
Item blocks
A new addition to the Puzzle League series, item blocks are special blocks that are optionally available in Garbage Battle matches, which cause certain effects when cleared. While the item is in effect, the item block is displayed to the right of the playfield of the affected player, scrolling up from the bottom of the screen, with the effect wearing off when the item scrolls past the top of the screen.- Fever blocks, indicated by a flame symbol, cause all the player's clears during a fixed period of time to be chained together.
- Tri-Color blocks, indicated by a symbol of three squares, cause the variety of colored blocks in a player's playfield to be reduced to three colors for a fixed amount of time: red, blue, and green.
- Reflect blocks, indicated by a symbol of an upward-pointing arrow with a bar on top, cause a player's garbage to be sent to the opponent.
- Twitch blocks, indicated by a symbol of circular arrows, cause the opponent's playfield to shake, "shuffling" their blocks in which the blocks change color at random.
- Paralyze blocks, indicated by jagged line symbol, cause a row of blocks in an opponent's playfield to become inaccessible for moves for a fixed period of time.
- Fog blocks, indicated by an "X" symbol, change some of an opponent's blocks into un-clearable gray blocks for a fixed period of time.
Games in the series
- Panel de PonPanel de Pon, also known as Panel de Pon: Action Puzzle Game, is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom home video game console. It was released on October 27, 1995 in Japan, and was later ported to the North American and European markets as Tetris...
(Super FamicomSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Japan) (1995) - Tetris AttackTetris AttackTetris Attack is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console and Game Boy handheld game console...
(SNES, North America) (1996) - Tetris AttackTetris AttackTetris Attack is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console and Game Boy handheld game console...
(Game Boy, North America) (1996) - Pokémon Puzzle ChallengePokémon Puzzle Challenge, is a video game for the Game Boy Color. It was based on the game Panel de Pon, only with characters from the Pokémon franchise. The characters in Pokémon Puzzle Challenge were based on those in the Gold and Silver games, while those in Pokémon Puzzle League—its Nintendo 64 equivalent-were based...
(Game Boy ColorGame Boy ColorThe is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
) (2000) - Pokémon Puzzle LeaguePokémon Puzzle LeaguePokémon Puzzle League is a puzzle game for the Nintendo 64 console. It is based on Nintendo's Panel de Pon puzzle games, but with Pokémon likenesses. It was only available in North America starting in 2000, and in Europe in 2001, making it the first Pokémon game produced for North America first...
(Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) (2000) - Nintendo Puzzle CollectionNintendo Puzzle Collectionis a compilation of puzzle video games published and developed by Nintendo for the GameCube home video game console. It was released in Japan, and was intended to be released in North America and Europe until it was announced that it was cancelled in both regions. It contains three video games: Dr...
(Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
- multipack) (2003) - Dr. Mario & Puzzle League (Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
- multipack) (2005) - Planet Puzzle LeaguePlanet Puzzle LeaguePlanet Puzzle League; known in Europe as Puzzle League DS, and in Japan as ; is a video game for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console in the Puzzle League/Panel de Pon visual matching puzzle game series...
/ Panel de Pon DS (Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe 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...
) (2007) - Chotto Panel de Pon/Puzzle League Express (DSiWare) (2009)