Puzzle League Express

Genre: Match-3 Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

Puzzle League may be more familiar to some players by another name. In Japan, the series goes by the name Panel De Pon, with the series’ first entry playable on the Nintendo Switch via Nintendo Switch Online’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System app. When the game was first brought to the West, it was branded with characters from the game Yoshi’s Island and retitled Tetris Attack. Later, it was paired with the Pokemon license and redubbed Pokemon Puzzle League. However, no matter what name it goes by or what form it takes, Puzzle League is, I would argue, quite possibly the greatest Puzzle game of all-time.

On the Nintendo DS, the series received a new entry in 2007 titled Planet Puzzle League. Two years later in 2009, this game was stripped of its multiplayer features and released via DSiWare as Puzzle League Express. This version of the game was then grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when that system was released.

Planet Puzzle League and subsequently Puzzle League Express mark the first time the series hasn’t been attached to cutesy, cartoony characters, and I would say this is both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand, the cleaner, more modern presentation is certainly stylish, with a more mature feel to it that I can certainly appreciate, making use of simple 2D pixel art depicting colorful geometric shapes and backed by a decent synthesized soundtrack. However, while I like the look and sound of this game quite a lot, I feel like it just doesn’t hold a candle to the bright, colorful art and absolutely outstanding soundtrack of Panel De Pon/Tetris Attack.

Still, while the presentation may not be able to stand up to its phenomenal predecessor, I would argue that the gameplay here is actually much-improved. Players can opt to play this game using a traditional gamepad control scheme by going into the settings menus, but by default this game has players turning their Nintendo 3DS sideways “book-style” (like in games like Brain Age) and using the touchscreen to move the game’s multicolored blocks horizontally. This new control scheme gives players quick, direct, precise control over the playing field in ways that no prior game in the series could hope to offer, bringing the gameplay to new heights.

As far as game modes and options, players can play the game in Endless mode, Stage Clear mode, a timed Score Attack mode, or a Vs. Computer mode, with the latter offering players the option of using “attack” pieces. If you’re only looking for a solo experience, this is pretty ideal – there’s a decent amount of ways to play the game, and the gameplay is every bit as good as it ever was, if not better.

Of course, Puzzle League is always a game that has thrived in multiplayer competitive play, and having all of Planet Puzzle League’s multiplayer features stripped out of the game here is an absolute tragedy. Presentation aside, the Nintendo DS version of Planet Puzzle League was arguably the best version of the best Puzzle game ever made… and in bringing it to DSiWare Nintendo apparently said to themselves, “let’s re-release that, but make it worse for no reason”. Why?

Of course, players who still want to play that ideal version of the game can still track down a copy of Planet Puzzle League for the Nintendo DS. But if you want a digital version readily available on your Nintendo 3DS, and don’t mind the loss of multiplayer, this is well worth the tiny $5 price tag to get Puzzle League Express. It’s an absolute shame that the game is missing the multiplayer features of the original version, and the presentation still isn’t as memorable as the first game in the series. However, aside from those issues, this is still one of the greatest Puzzle games ever made, and it’s a steal at this price.

tl;dr – Puzzle League Express is a version of the Nintendo DS Match-3 Puzzle game Planet Puzzle League that has been stripped of its multiplayer features for some reason. While the loss of multiplayer is extremely unfortunate, this is still an absolutely phenomenal version of Panel De Pon/Tetris Attack/Puzzle League, and the tiny $5 price tag for one of the greatest Puzzle games ever made makes this a no-brainer for anyone with a Nintendo 3DS.

Grade: A

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