is it just me or is Puzzle Fighter kinda broken?

[Apossum]

Okay, there is lots of strategy as to where you place gems and how efficient you are and stuff....but then that damn diamond gem undermines the whole game?
I still love it death and me and my friends still play it all the damn time, but still-- the diamond can turn the tides a little too easily...anyone else notice this?

[Ledhed]

Puzzle games almost always have that kind of item; the kind that can completely reverse the match. I don't consider it broken, it's just doing what puzzle games do.

[hiccupleftovers]

Nope, not broken just extremely fun. It breaks it up and adds a lot of strategy to the game IMO.

[BigSpoonyBard]

I haven't found that the diamond gem comes up so often that it's bothersome. And you don't send as much garbage to your opponent with it as you would with a regular combo.

[Medium_Pimpin]

Yohoho Puzzle pirates uses the same game as it's swordfights, minus the diamond piece. Pretty fun game, although i doubt it's worth the $9.99 a month.

Try the trial though:
http://www.puzzlepirates.com/

[Battousai1002]

Build power gems - Organize the colors into blocks of 2x? or 3x? to double or triple your attacks...and so forth.
Towers - When you break things at the very top of the screen, they're worth more. This makes towers pretty efficient. 2x? towers are pretty strong.
Chains - It takes a lot of thinking to organize chains. I still only manage to thoughtfully organize 3 chains on average. Anything bigger is luck for me.
Character strategies - Characters all play differently to be efficient. For example...For Ken, it's best to only use medium to big attacks unless you're trying to finish them off. Since the first row of his counter is red, small attacks will only allow for the opponent to get a huge red thing. With a big attack, they can only get rid of a row at a time and it's much harder to get back. Other characters like Donovan can afford to use small attacks without suffering much. I could go on, but that's the basic concept.

There's also a bunch of things you can actually do with the diamond. A strategy I've tried is building up a network of chains by blocking breakers with their colors with a certain color block. I'd continue this until a diamond came and I'd break the certain color with the diamond causing a massive chain to occur. I usually don't do this since it's very inconsistent though.

I could say more, but I should get going. I personally like how the diamond can turn the tables really quickly and add excitement.

[urzishra14]

well.. it also breaks up stalemates.. where both players are equal.

[secretvampire]

I also think it encourages and rewards speed, since both players get the same blocks in the same order, the one who goes faster will get the diamond first.

[snotnose_colossal]

getting the diamond first doesnt always mean you'll win though

[Battousai1002]

getting the diamond first doesnt always mean you'll win though
True. If the diamond comes when you filled half your screen or something and the other person takes that attack and has a full screen because of it, the 2nd person's diamond will be much more useful and they can have very organized colors to break right afterwards.

[RAMSTORIA]

I also think it encourages and rewards speed, since both players get the same blocks in the same order, the one who goes faster will get the diamond first.

this is true, and it doesnt always turn the tides of the match. personally i like to not use the diamonds and get the tech bonus, and then point it out right before i beat my opponent... oh if only puzzle fighter was online, in america

[Stryffe2004]

The diamond is a pain more often than not. The drops turn solid in 3 rounds which means you may have given your opponent a huge amount of ammunition to use against you. I only use it on large blocks they are on the ropes or I am on the ropes and need some breathing room.

[MillerTime2523]

heh. brings back good memories of playing it with my parents. anyway, i think it makes the game better in some ways, and worse in others. When your playing a friend and your about to die, BOOM theres the diamond gem and you back in it. but when your playing a boss thing (Akuma for EX.) they get theirs so fast and almost get 2 before you get one.

[Apossum]

like i said-- I know there's lots of strategy to it, that it's fun, that the pattern of a characters drop blocks affects they way you play as them...but seriously, the diamond always seems to force the game to go one way or another. There shouldn't be the option of totally clearing out your board when you've been playing like shit, it's just too rewarding. I've also found that when I'm doing good and have my colors all set up right, the diamond forces me to get rid of a color-- 9 times out of 10 it screws things up. in that case, it's more of a needless punishment.

I dunno, me and my friends have been playing it alot lately and noticed that about the diamond.

[Mr Unoriginal]

I agree with the OP. The game is fun, but feels more like a twitch game than a puzzle game to me, which is fine, but I was expecting something with a little more strategy. Every time I have played it is pretty much whoever drops fastest, not who makes the best setup.

[BustaUppa]

I think the diamonds do drastically less damage than a normal crash gem. It's actually a challenge, later on in the match, to avoid using a diamond on any HUGE blocks you've built up. It sucks when you drop a diamond in a seemingly innocent place, only for it to accidentally chain into your huge motherlode block and kill your whole strategy. In that sense it is a double-edged sword, and not at all "broken" in my opinion. It should be thought of primarily as a defensive item... it is effective for giving yourself some space, rather than devastating your opponent.