Anyone else hyped for Planet Puzzle League?

[Sigma]

Puzzle League has been a staple series for Nintendo since the NES in Japan and has came over to the U.S. a few times in the past under a guise, Kirby's Avalanch and Pokemon Puzzle League. About a year ago Nintendo put a watered down verison of Puzzle League packaged with Dr. Mario on the GBA, but this time Nintendo is finally bringing a full fledged Puzzle League game to the rest of the world.

Planet Puzzle League for the DS is comming out this week and will feature a large variety of modes including an online mode.

It doesn't seem like too many people are excited about this, but I sure as hell am because puzzle games are like crack to me and I need a fix dammit!

[dcfox]

I'm a huge fan of Pokemon Puzzle League and Challenge but I thought that the GBA version was a big let down. So I'm going to hold off on this for a while.

[Sigma]

I played a preview build of Planet Puzzle League not too long ago and it's a blast, easily my favorite puzzle game on the DS currently.

IGN also has a review up giving it a 9 out of 10.

All I have to say is very, very addicting.

[PimpBot2000]

Puzzle League has been a staple series for Nintendo since the NES in Japan and has came over to the U.S. a few times in the past under a guise, Kirby's Avalanch and Pokemon Puzzle League. About a year ago Nintendo put a watered down verison of Puzzle League packaged with Dr. Mario on the GBA, but this time Nintendo is finally bringing a full fledged Puzzle League game to the rest of the world.


The Puzzle League/Tetris Atack series are my favorite puzzle games. I don't think they go back to the NES though. The original game, Panel de Pon (Tetris Attack), started on the Super Famicom. Kirby's Avalanche has nothing to do with Puzzle League. I think KA was a made over Puyo Puyo game.

[Sigma]

The Puzzle League/Tetris Atack series are my favorite puzzle games. I don't think they go back to the NES though. The original game, Panel de Pon (Tetris Attack), started on the Super Famicom. Kirby's Avalanche has nothing to do with Puzzle League. I think KA was a made over Puyo Puyo game.
Yeah you are correct, for some reason I was thinking Tetris Attack and Kirby's Avalanche was one in the same, but Avalanche, like Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, is a Puyo Puyo game. I do believe a Panel de Pon game did appear on the NES though, but I could be wrong.

[mrchainsaw]

I'm planning on buying this with my last GGC as long as the reviews are good. I've been wondering why there isn't more anticipation for an online version of many people's favorite puzzle game. Probably because everyone has played Puzzle League games to death.

[RollingSkull]

Because the online will be filled most likely with people who ate level 9 CPUs for breakfast in Tetris Attack.

[Rockgamer]

I'm excited for it, but I'll probably wait a few weeks before I get it. I'll most likely get it at that TRU B2G1F sale, if it happens.

[ahou]

I'm excited about it since I was somewhat decent on tetris attack and meteos. puzzle quest, or tetris ds hasn't really satisfied my puzzle game fix on the ds. Probably one of the few people who has the game preordered ($22.16 shipped at buy.com w/ GCO). I look forward to getting destoryed on wi-fi :lol:

[furyk]

Yes. I'll get it. I'll probably wait until the TRU B2/G1 sale though.

[Shion]

Totally, I think this game is the only reason I'd put my Tetris DS away.

[BustaUppa]

I think the problem with the GBA Puzzle League was that it lacked any sort of "Career Mode," for lack of a better term. It felt kind of bare-bones, even though the playability was all there.

4-player Panel De Pon on the Nintendo Puzzle Collection GC import was great, although I honestly did miss the Yoshi's Island motif from the SNES.

[CouRageouS]

Because the online will be filled most likely with people who ate level 9 CPUs for breakfast in Tetris Attack.
Online was fun for Tetris, i just hated all the people who disconnected as in any of the wifi DS games.

I was watching the videos for this on IGN, I'll pick it up if it goes on sale somewhere.

[Sir_Fragalot]

fuck Tetris Attack with Wifi, Eh, idk I mean I still own my original GB Tetris Attack and online doesn't do me anything (I mean I would play DS Wifi if it didn't take so fucking long to connect to a game). This one might be a pass for me unless it has enough variety (like tetris ds had) to spice things up.

[chair_home]

I just picked it up at Gamestop, but they have their traditional $5 mark-up, so I'll rebuy somewhere else tomorrow and return it to them :-D. Haven't started it up yet, but I'm sure it'll be great.

Also, get picross when it comes out here, its fantastic.

EDIT:
Just played the game for a bit, and I like it. It seems more flashy than the pokemon or NGC Puzzle Collection versions, but the gameplay is spot on. Its much easier to control with the stylus. There are a lot of different modes to play around with, and the puzzle mode made me feel stupid when it took me forever to figure out a simple move. I'll try multiplayer tonight.

[boyward]

What's wrong with me? I like this kind of game, but there's no "theme" to Planet Puzzle League, and that fact bothers me. Without Yoshi or the Pokemon, this comes off as Generic Puzzle League. Really, that's the only thing keeping me from running out and buying it right now. I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does.

[dmaul1114]

Grabbed it at Best Buy a big ago, naturally wasn't on the floor despite the ad saying "available after 2 pm," but they were able to find them in the back.

[ArthurDigbySellers]

What's wrong with me? I like this kind of game, but there's no "theme" to Planet Puzzle League, and that fact bothers me. Without Yoshi or the Pokemon, this comes off as Generic Puzzle League. Really, that's the only thing keeping me from running out and buying it right now. I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does.

I believe Nintendo left out any of the typical "branding" they do in order to make it appeal to more casual gamers. It is a Touch Generation game and as far as I know, none of them have any Nintendo branding.

[spmahn]

I picked this up today too. I actually feel the opposite about the stylus controls, it's too hard for me to navigate and too hard to concentrate. I do much much better with old school style controls.

[theGrue]

Picked it up today. I am definitely diggin the stylus and the Wi-Fi play. I sure am glad I found the Wi-Fi USB dongle for $10 at Goodwill, I wouldn't wanna screw with my nice and secure WPA internet setup.

The lack of a theme doesn't bother me too much, I just switch to one that has the usual block style and stay there. The stars, hearts, triangles, etc, are branding enough for me.

As for other comments... Birthday Mode? What? Why can I play against anyone, but I'm only ranked against those with my birthday? I need a number like Tetris DS. I've got the most wins on my birthday, but so what.

[RelentlessRolento]

I want it, but I'm waiting for a $20 or below.

[A Happy Panda]

Just picked it up today. Really really loving it. Brings me back to the days where I'd watch my brother absolutely destroy the CPU in Tetris Attack....which also meant I'd have to watch as he destroyed me.


More thoughts:

After putting in a few more hours, I can say this game is a must-buy if you have a DS and you like puzzle games. The stylus control is super super nice. At first I avoided it because I wanted to play it old school and used the D-pad. However, once I made the switch over, I'm never going back. The stylus is just so much quicker, smoother and easier than use than the d-pad, who woulda thought.

The daily play is a cool feature, as are all the game modes. You have your standard endless mode where you just keep playing until you die. Then you've got modes like vs. CPU, time-attack, line-clear, score-attack, puzzle mode and Garbage mode. For those of you new to the game, when you play vs. you send "garbage" blocks to your opponent, the size of which depends on how large your combos are, the bigger the combos, the bigger garbage blocks you send to your opponents to deal with. So with Garbage mode, the game continuously throws garbage blocks at you and you have to survive for as long as you can.

I also just finished playing more Wifi. Really really awesome to play this game online, some people are absoulte freaks its scary. The one thing I'm not too big on is that the Free Play mode doesn't even keep track of your win loss record. I know when you select it says like "oh have fun in this mode and don't worry about wins or losses" that's all fine and dandy, but I'd still like to know my record. They should've had a free-play mode, and then a ranked play mode and then keep seperate records for both. The only way to keep track of your record is either by exchanging friend codes, or playing the strange "Birthday mode" where you play against people with the same birthday as yours...odd. I don't really care if I'm better or worse against people with my same birthday, I'd like to know how I rank against people born on the other 364 days of the year.

Overall, I'd give the game a 9.1/10. .5 taken away because the lack of record keeping, and .1 for some of the tile designs that are a bit odd for my tastes, and .3 taken away because the music isn't that great, but those are all small gripes (except the record thing, it still bothers me) But still, seriously, go get this game!

[mrchainsaw]

I'm glad this is gooding good feedback, not to mention an 88% on Gamerankings. I wouldn't of been surprised if it's scores were low because there isn't a lot of new features. I think I'm going to pick this up the next time I'm in BB.

[mkelehan]

This is the greatest puzzle game of all time.

Okay, that being said, I think the whole Birthday thing is a little confusing. Here's how it works: it's a basic ranked match, that uses your win/loss record in that mode to determine who you get matched against. This means that, like any good ranked match, you'll get matched with good people if you're good, and bad people if you're bad. Now, here's the important part: it does not specifically try to match you with people who share your birthday. It only shows you your ranking in relation to them. So, if it says your rank is 5, it means you're the fifth best player with your birthday. Kind of stupid.

The long and short of it is, play Birthday mode. It keeps records, and uses them to give you really fun and close matches.

[mrchainsaw]

Thanks for the lengthy impresssion, A Happy Panda. I'm definitely sold on this, now I just need to get a ride to BB.

[aaandrewww]

I'm loving it. My first online DS experience and there is no lag and the voice chat is decent.

The game itself is just as good as the classic Tetris Attack only this one has about 20 more gameplay modes.

[chair_home]

Fun facts about me and this game:
Despite having only won 1 game and having numerous losses, I am ranked number 2 (out of the 3) people that have my birthday.

My brother was playing my copy and won a couple games online. The next time I got on "Novice Battle", I lost a game then it said, "Congratulations! You are too skilled to play Novice Battle!"

So now I can't play Novice Battle anymore :-(. I thought there would be a replacement like "Intermediate Battle", but I don't see anything. Maybe Birthday battle is all I have left? That kind of sucks if its true.

[JEKKI]

as a hardcore player of this game, I'm not too hip with the new stylus controls.

BUT! for wifi play, I will be buying this game today anyway,

and I will personally challenge all of you to get your asses kicked HARD by me

[chair_home]

Trust me, once you get the hang of the stylus controls, you won't want to go back. At least to me it seems way easier to move a piece from one side to the other. I don't think I should put up my friend code, cause you would kick my ass "diamond hard".

[bluesyncopate]

Just to clarify, you don't HAVE to use the stylus in this game. You can still use the traditional d-pad controls. But you might find yourself at a disadvantge, because the game is MUCH easier with the stylus.

[A Happy Panda]

Fun facts about me and this game:
Despite having only won 1 game and having numerous losses, I am ranked number 2 (out of the 3) people that have my birthday.

My brother was playing my copy and won a couple games online. The next time I got on "Novice Battle", I lost a game then it said, "Congratulations! You are too skilled to play Novice Battle!"

So now I can't play Novice Battle anymore :-(. I thought there would be a replacement like "Intermediate Battle", but I don't see anything. Maybe Birthday battle is all I have left? That kind of sucks if its true.

No. Just play Free play mode.

Also, the birthday ranking is jacked. It says im #2 of 3, but that's because I've only played 3 oher people in the mode. The more people you play, the lower or higher your rank will be depending on how good you are.

[JEKKI]

man the controls are kinda wack.

the stylus controls make it a little way too easy, like they're giving combos out for free.

furthermore, I do not like how you can put "pressure" on a block so they it will be guaranteed to occupy the space left by disappearing blocks.

I needa play it more to see how may other tricks got added / taken away.

still fun tho. and it's online. and I'm doing quite well.

7 win, 1 loss :( and ranked 2nd in my birthday (1st place has 19 wins)

I gotta get my friend code for u guys soon.

also regarding bday mode, taken from gamefaqs:

The whole Birthday thing is a little confusing. Here's how it works: it's a basic ranked match, that uses your win/loss record in that mode to determine who you get matched against. This means that, like any good ranked match, you'll get matched with good people if you're good, and bad people if you're bad.

Now, here's the important part: it does not specifically try to match you with people who share your birthday. It only shows you your ranking in relation to them. So, if it says your rank is 5, it means you're the fifth best player with your birthday. Kind of stupid.

The long and short of it is, play Birthday mode. It keeps records, and uses them to give you really fun and close matches.

[CosmosTheMouse]

The Puzzle League/Tetris Atack series are my favorite puzzle games. I don't think they go back to the NES though.

Could we count Yoshi's Cookie for NES?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Yoshiscookie_boxart.gif/200px-Yoshiscookie_boxart.gifhttp://i15.tinypic.com/6395011.gif

[JEKKI]

yoshi cookie sucks... and it has nothing do do w/ tetris attack.

here's interesting thing, I'm not sure if it was in regular tetris attack.

say each letter is a different block, and you clear the 3 O's:


XXXAXXXXXXXX
XXXBXXXXXXXX
XXXOCXXXXXXX
XXXOXXXXXXXX
XXXOXXXXXXXX

u can put "pressure" on block C and it's guaranteed to swap with block B, leaving u with:


XXX XXXXXXXX
XXX XXXXXXXX
XXX BXXXXXXX
XXXAXXXXXXXX
XXXCXXXXXXXX

as I said, I am not sure if that move was possible to do in old TA,

tho becoz of this, switching falling pieces midair is possible, and prolly much easier.

[Gojtron]

I'm going to pick this up shortly, found out about it late. I remember playing the SNES version and causing the game to slowdown because of so much going on. The bullet time was a nice unintended bonus feature, and I put plenty of time with Pokemon Puzzle League, can anyone tell me if they brought back the 3D mode?

[AshesofWake]

im not liking it much...so far it seems to simplistic and slow....

[A Happy Panda]

im not liking it much...so far it seems to simplistic and slow....

Try it online. Your opinion will change. Trust me.

On another note, after about 1 hour and 20 some minutes I hit 190, 689 points. I was kinda pissed because I wanted to break 200k, but man at some point the speed of the lift just went crazy and I couldn't keep up. What are some of your guys' high scores, most of which will obliterate mine.

[adamones]

Great game, haven't even tried to go long in Endless Mode. I'm not THAT bored!

[CyberTrick]

never played the game but it looks like fun, however at $30 for a puzzle game is a bit much; gonna wait till it drops to no more than $20

[nyprimus4]

I'm going to pick this up before my summer job starts up that will mean me taking a train for at least one and a half hours a day. If I got it now it would be old by then.

[Jayayess1190]

Friend code: 274979-934414

I like this game, but wifi takes forever to find someone, and it is hard.

[RollingSkull]

I can't buy this. I got Dr.M/Puzzle League at the 8.96 sale, and this game only offers stylus and wi-fi play and I have to sacrifice the awesome Tetris Attack music to boot!

[ahou]

finding people to play on wi-fi certainly is hard, guess not many people want to connect on wi-fi.

oh well heres my friend code if anyone is up for a round: 262094-931310

[A Happy Panda]

finding people to play on wi-fi certainly is hard, guess not many people want to connect on wi-fi.

oh well heres my friend code if anyone is up for a round: 262094-931310

I'll add you two guys in a bit, please do add me! Mine is in my sig!

[slidecage]

game is too much like tetris attack. Maybe at 10 bucks it would be a buy or if there were more people online. BUt right now i say pass

Had it for a day from gamefly and sent it back

[A Happy Panda]

game is too much like tetris attack. Maybe at 10 bucks it would be a buy or if there were more people online. BUt right now i say pass

Had it for a day from gamefly and sent it back

I always laughed when people said they put you on their ignore list. Now I understand.

I'm not doing it because you don't like it. I'm doing it because you're a moron.

[slidecage]

show me one thing on single player that is differnt then all of the other games just like this . I keep playing tetris attack or any of the other clones before i pay 30 for this. Now for Wi fi i could see buying it

BUT if your keep it offline there is really nothing new here worth buying


i dont see why people think its so great in offline mode

[destro713]

It may be a rehash of several previous games but for someone like me, who's never played any other version of Panel De Pon/Puzzle League/Tetris Attack, this is pretty awesome. I usually don't like falling block puzzle games but the review scores were so high that I got curious and "acquired" Tetris Attack for SNES to see what the mechanic was like. It hooked me almost immediately.

Stylus play is excellent. It's so quick and so simple. It shifts the focus away from pure finger dexterity and towards actually making smart moves, which is something that almost every block puzzle game could benefit from -- even Tetris.

[buttle]

this game is great. i've been hooked on it since it came out. the stylus control is really good. and playing online is a lot of fun. and to me, that made it worth the money.

and think of it this way. this should be the last puzzle leage you'll need to buy for the next 5 years. after buying tetris ds. i have no plans to buy any other version as long as the ds is still going.

[dmaul1114]

show me one thing on single player that is differnt then all of the other games just like this . I keep playing tetris attack or any of the other clones before i pay 30 for this. Now for Wi fi i could see buying it

BUT if your keep it offline there is really nothing new here worth buying


i dont see why people think its so great in offline mode


For me it's having it on the go (rather than tied to my PC on an emulator) and the stylus control that made it worth $30.

If neither of those matter to you, then there is no reason pick it up for single player.

[utopianmachine]

I fiddled with a demo at Target earlier. They didn't have a stylus attached to the display unit, so I pulled the stylus out of my own DS (which I always keep in my purse). The graphics were nice, but playing Puzzle Quest -- well, I'm hooked. I'll pick Planet Puzzle League up at some point, I'm sure, but I have my puzzle craze taken care of at the moment.

[JEKKI]

dang man, there's 11 wireless signals I can pick up at my new place, and ALL of them have protection!!

then I go home for the weekend, see this thread, and realize I forgot to bring my DS home...

:(

[wubb]

Is this one worth while for single player mode only?

[JEKKI]

well single player wise, there's a mode called "daily play" which is garbage disposal mode, score mode, and rise mode, all timed at 2 minutes.

and it records your score for each day on a chart. you can only play once per day too.

it reminds me that I havent touched my DS in a week, gotta get some daily action when I get home today!!

[wubb]

So if I read between the lines of your post it sounds like the meat of the game is in the multi player?

[AshesofWake]

^^^ i've been playing it a bunch and the single player starts to get really boring even when i put it on hard, i haven't found any challenge to it. BUT, the puzzle mode is orgasm. I love games with a puzzle mode like the one this game has. I love figuring shit out on my own without a guide and spending hours doing it too. So i'm loving that. Online is pretty ok. i've only been able to play like 2 games online and the japanese dude totally owned me. my verdict so far: it's ok. haha

[A Happy Panda]

So if I read between the lines of your post it sounds like the meat of the game is in the multi player?

I'd say the meat of the game is found in the multiplayer and the daily play. I love trying to beat my scores in the 3 modes.

[wubb]

Thanks for the input guys.

I think I'm going to want a new game before 4th of July time, but still trying to figure out which I should get...

[trunks982]

im going to pick this up during the buy2 get 1 free sale.

[A Happy Panda]

97,000 point Time Attack MADNESS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69-mREyNwC4

ABSOLUTE MADNESS.

[blueshinra]

I got this on Tuesday, and I'm hooked (again. I played a lot of Tetris Attack some years ago... it's one of my all-time favorite puzzle games). The stylus control is perfect, and I'm greatly enjoying all the gameplay modes and features.

[mickeyp]

I really like this game, my son likes to compete against me. I have been playing it every night.

[bmachine]

Add me if you're up for some wi-fi play:
107478-593204

[utopianmachine]

I finally picked up this game. The little demo stations at different stores drew me in. Haven't given it a playthrough, but it sounds like this game needs all the people on wi-fi it can get.

[A Happy Panda]

I finally picked up this game. The little demo stations at different stores drew me in. Haven't given it a playthrough, but it sounds like this game needs all the people on wi-fi it can get.

Sometimes I can find games rapidly, other times I find myself waiting like 10 minutes before finally playing some Japanese person. But the wait is soooooooo worth it. Versus play is so fucking good it's unbelievable.

[BustaUppa]

Time for a man-sized bump! I just got this from Amazon for like $22, pretty good deal IMO with no tax or shipping (had something else in my cart). Just played around a little bit and I'm loving it! Now I will always miss the Yoshi's Island theme, but this one still manages to achieve a really cool ambience. The GBA version just felt kind of BARE, but this one has those cool animated stage backgrounds... very psychedelic! And I really like the sound. Something about the music has a real SNES vibe to it (I think it's reminding me of Contra III now that I think about it).