Rating the puzzle games on DS

[quote name='Apossum']Planet Puzzle League.[/QUOTE]

I've been thinking about this for awhile, but I have Tetris Attack and the Dr Mario/Tetris Attack GBA Game.

Also...I have Zoo Keeper and Meteos.
 
These are good, in rough order of goodness:

Puzzle Quest
NY Times Crosswords
Picross
Meteos
Disney Meteos
Bust a Move
Magnetica
Boggle (of Monopoly, Boggle, Yahtzee, and Battleship)
QuickSpot
Polarium

With Meteos and Disney Meteos, you probably only need one. They're both good in their own ways, though. The original has better atmosphere and bonuses, the Disney version is held sideways and is harder.

Special note: Zookeeper would have been on the good list, but it's surpassed in every way by Puzzle Quest.

Also, the Japanese jigsaw puzzle games are quite fun. I've got the kitty one.

These are okay:

Tetris
Puyo Pop Fever
Mr Driller Drill Spirits
Pokemon Trozei

There's nothing wrong with them, and depending on how you use them (i.e. multiplayer) you may love them. But they could have been better.

These are ones I'd avoid:

Konductra
Gunpey

Konductra has a great interface, but the game is pretty tedious. Gunpey is one of the ugliest games I've ever seen, and it just didn't hook me.
 
[quote name='blandstalker']These are good, in rough order of goodness:

Puzzle Quest
NY Times Crosswords
Picross
Meteos
Disney Meteos
Bust a Move
Magnetica
Boggle (of Monopoly, Boggle, Yahtzee, and Battleship)
QuickSpot
Polarium

With Meteos and Disney Meteos, you probably only need one. They're both good in their own ways, though. The original has better atmosphere and bonuses, the Disney version is held sideways and is harder.

Special note: Zookeeper would have been on the good list, but it's surpassed in every way by Puzzle Quest.

Also, the Japanese jigsaw puzzle games are quite fun. I've got the kitty one.

These are okay:

Tetris
Puyo Pop Fever
Mr Driller Drill Spirits
Pokemon Trozei

There's nothing wrong with them, and depending on how you use them (i.e. multiplayer) you may love them. But they could have been better.

These are ones I'd avoid:

Konductra
Gunpey

Konductra has a great interface, but the game is pretty tedious. Gunpey is one of the ugliest games I've ever seen, and it just didn't hook me.[/quote]

This pretty much nails everything on the head. I have most every DS puzzle game myself. I rank Puzzle Quest pretty high on the list.
 
I have and love the following puzzle games:

Planet Puzzle League (multiplayer rocks!)
Picross (cheap)
Tetris (classic, multiplayer also rocks)

PPL & Picross make good use of the touch screen (especially PPL) and both have fun daily modes.
 
[quote name='mrnomis27']I've been thinking about this for awhile, but I have Tetris Attack and the Dr Mario/Tetris Attack GBA Game.

Also...I have Zoo Keeper and Meteos.[/QUOTE]


PPL has online multiplayer though :) I still think it comes out on top even though it's not technically a new game.
 
I would stay away from Puyo Puyo Fever.
The AI in that game has a vendetta against humanity. It could be that my friends and I just suck at the game(though we consider ourselves decent puzzle gamers), but the AI just pummeled us relentlessly. We only play it now so we can laugh at how outrageous the difficulty is.
 
For a while I thought the Puyo Pop AI was built for Japanese doods with stupidly huge massive combo skillz. No, it is just broken.

Fun game. Puyo Pop is the original simple yet ridiculously complex puzzler, but the AI is ass-rapingly hard once you kick it up a notch.

The big names in DS puzzling are definitely Picross, Puzzle Quest, and Meteos. PPL is also nice, but I'm a Meteos man.
 
[quote name='daroga']This reminds me, where's Dr. Mario DS?[/quote]

In a bargain bin of the future. Pick up Brain Age 2 to get a mediocre version of it. Apparently Nintendo doesn't even think too highly of it, since the last 2 incarnations of it have been bundled with something else (BA2 & Puzzle League GBA)

OP: I'm getting a lot of enjoyment from the Sudoku included with Brain Age 2, if you're looking for that type of puzzle.

Picross & Puzzle Quest are definitely the top puzzle games in my book.

I passed on Planet Puzzle League after downloading the demo (from a DS download station). The stylus control feels odd for me after so many years of Tetris Attack.
 
If you were shrewd, you might have nabbed Dr. Mario/Puzzle League for the GBA a long time ago.

Not the best Dr. Mario representation though; presentation-wise that is. The Doc in the upper right looks like he gave himself a lobotomy, and the music is just... off. Warioware, the original, had Dr. Wario, but the virii were ugly as shit and all you got was Chill.

BA2's Dr. Mario game is fun and relaxing, but it just doesn't get the Dr. Mario job done.
 
[quote name='Rocko']
Can you elaborate on the jigsaw games, blandstalker?[/quote]
There's Koneko Mekuri (kittens), Koinu Mekuri (puppies), and Oden-kun (anime soup). I know there's a CAG who has Oden-kun. I think there are some other puzzles too.

They are jigsaw puzzles. You use the stylus to slide pieces into place. In the easy puzzles, the pieces are large and you don't have to rotate them. As they increase in difficulty, the number of pieces goes up and they need to be rotated.

So far, overall challenge is not too high. But it's pleasant. The interface is great. Picking up and sliding the pieces is effortless. Once you've found the right spot, the piece locks into place. You can put loose pieces together in mid-air, and then slide the whole assembly into place. The shapes are well rendered -- you can easily tell what is supposed to fit together.

You have virtual boxes that you can store pieces so there's not so much clutter on the screen. One box can automatically store all the non-edge pieces, so you can sort the pieces without tedium, but you don't have to use it if you don't want to. Half my interest was to see how they implemented jigsaw puzzles on the DS, and it's an impressive job.

The only thing I don't like is that if you're dragging a piece somewhere, it will lock into place if you happen to go over the right spot, even if that's a surprise to you. This makes it slightly easier than it should be, but it's not a big issue. I'd rather have that than have to massage pieces into place.

There are weekly puzzles, plus a large assortment of anytime puzzles. I count 66 easy puzzles (30 piece), 50 medium (56 piece), and I haven't unlocked the hard ones yet, plus the 53 weekly ones. No knowledge of Japanese is necessary -- there's some hiragana, but trial and error will get you going in seconds.

It's also an unbeatable way of getting lots of photographs of cute kitties on your DS. ;)

I got mine at Renchi's clearance for 9.99. Renchi still has them, but now at 19.99 and their shipping is pretty high.
 
Some of my favorites are Picross, Planet Puzzle League, Meteos (regular version is better), Tetris, and Gunpey (this one should be easy to find for cheap).
 
I have been playing Picross religiously! Picross is a VERY fun game thats very easy to learn..which makes it very much fun to pick up whenever.

Puzzle Quest is just a bad habit waiting to happen.. so be cautious :) Brain Age 1 and 2 are pretty awesome..they aren't quite puzzle games..but in a sense they are. In Picross, Brain Age, Brain Age 2, and Planet Puzzle League..they all have 1 thing in common that I just LOVE. They all have a daily mode. You can do puzzles once a day..and you come back tomorrow to try and beat your score (Or lower your brain age!)..to me, that's such a high level of replay value. Plus the Sudoku in Brain Age 1 and 2 are very much added bonus'..(plus there's a Dr Mario in BA2)

:)
 
I have the pogo game and I like it :) I have been wanting to try puzzle quest - I think I will go put it on my gamefly Q now
 
Disclaimer: I'm probably a bit of a "puzzle snob," so my opinions differ a bit from others. Take with a grain of salt. :)

I tried the PC demo of Puzzle Quest, and didn't think much of it. At its core, it's basically a Bejeweled clone. I never really liked Bejeweled because felt too luck based. It boils down to quick pattern recognition.

On the other hand, I'm quite fond of the Puyo Puyo series. Yes, the AI is pretty tough. I'm, uh, *quite* good at the game though, so it's a welcome challenge. I've probably got 3-4 versions of this game packed away somewhere. Puyo Puyo Sun (SAT/PS) and Puyo Puyo-n (DS) are probably my favorites.

ETA: Oops, that's Puyo Puyo-n for the Dreamcast, not DS.
 
[quote name='yayece']
On the other hand, I'm quite fond of the Puyo Puyo series. Yes, the AI is pretty tough. I'm, uh, *quite* good at the game though, so it's a welcome challenge. I've probably got 3-4 versions of this game packed away somewhere. Puyo Puyo Sun (SAT/PS) and Puyo Puyo-n (DS) are probably my favorites.[/QUOTE]

Same with me but kinda sad that this game is out of print now. But bare in mind that Puyo Puyo games are hard and requires that you get your asskicked before you become good at it. Most people won't like it but if you like games like Ninja Gaiden you might.

One of CAG sponsor has a copy for anyone interested: http://www.gamequestdirect.com/730865400003.html
 
I'd rank them like this:

Puzzle Quest
Picross
Brain Age 1 or 2 - Sudoku mode

Personally I did not care for Meteos, but I know many people do. Polarium is forgettable, but if you can grab it for really cheap, why not?
 
[quote name='yayece']
I tried the PC demo of Puzzle Quest, and didn't think much of it. At its core, it's basically a Bejeweled clone. I never really liked Bejeweled because felt too luck based. It boils down to quick pattern recognition.[/quote]

If Puzzle Quest were nothing but Bejeweled, I'd agree with you. But, while there is a luck component, there's also strategy in lining up advantageous combos and preventing the AI from doing the same, figuring out which of a number of moves is best (or will be best after a few turns), and deciding which spells (which influence what color gems you target) are most advantageous.
 
[quote name='blandstalker']There's Koneko Mekuri (kittens), Koinu Mekuri (puppies), and Oden-kun (anime soup). [insert rest of explanation here].[/quote]

Thanks so much! Sadly, it looks like they're gone from both Playasia and Yesasia. Darn!
 
O personally loved the single puzzles mode on polarium, perfect for short bursts of playing, pick up the ds, play a couple puzzles, turn off. I felt like I had accomplished something when I won that

Loved Zoo Keeper, but I always likes Bejeweled

Another vote for Meteos, although there are times when the game is less about strategy and more just moving tons of blocks at random (when they stary flying out to you)

Like Sudoku (on Brain age) STAY AWAY FROM SUDOKUMANIA AT ALL COSTS, played it for 2 minutes before realizing it sucked, luckily I recouped my money for it on Amazon
 
I just got Picross and highly recommend that too.


Question about Sudoku on Brain Age 2- are there more puzzles included this time?
 
Has anyone played Magnetica and have an opinion on it? I was thinking about picking it up as it looks pretty fun, but I was thinking there were a few DS puzzlers that I should try out first (Planet Puzzle League). I have Meteos and Tetris DS, but I pretty much want to cap out at three puzzle games for the system.
 
Well I just got Polarium off of Goozex, I hope it's good.

I have Brain Age 1 & 2, they're excellent!

I would NOT recommend Brain Boost (either version). They're horrible. I mean, buy them from me on Goozex... ;)
 
My personal favorites are:

Picross DS
The New York Times Crosswords
Brain Age
Brain Age 2

They all challenge me in different ways, and I enjoy them all.
 
Someone mentioned they were going to avoid Planet Puzzle League because they didn't like stylus play. It should be noted that you CAN still play with the d-pad/button combination, if you want. So you shouldn't let the (pretty much optional) stylus control stop you from a purchase if you really like the Puzzle League / Tetris Attack series.
 
Picross... Picross Picross Picross :whistle2:|

I've got the Japanese version... I'm trying to decide if I should go on and pick up the US version, too. The menus sort of confuse me when I get into the sections for downloading new content.
 
Awesome:
Meteos

Good:
Tetris DS

Decent:
Polarium

Terrible:
Bust-A-Move DS

I need to buy Picross, PPL and Puzzle Quest.
 
[quote name='ma']
Terrible:
Bust-A-Move DS[/quote]
Huh? Why?

I love Bust-A-Move DS. I can't imagine it on another platform anymore. And, after fifty million iterations of Bust-a-Move, it feels like a new game on the DS thanks to the stylus control.


[quote name='neschamp']Has anyone played Magnetica and have an opinion on it? I was thinking about picking it up as it looks pretty fun, but I was thinking there were a few DS puzzlers that I should try out first (Planet Puzzle League). I have Meteos and Tetris DS, but I pretty much want to cap out at three puzzle games for the system.[/quote]
Sorry about letting this languish -- I meant to get back to it earlier.

I've always been a fan of the 'shoot the colored ball' game. I loved Ballistic first in the arcade and then on PS1. Magnetica is a good game in this tradition.

The only problem with it is that it becomes 'more of the same' after awhile. They throw variations on a theme at you constantly, and the difficulty ramps up. It's a good progression. But eventually it's not as fun.

Stylus control is good, but because the balls are always in motion, it's a little tricky to get the ball exactly where you want it and without screwing up combos or potential future combos. This can be a little frustrating.

I'm not sure if I would want this to be the third out of only three games. It offers good challenge, and it is good to put down for awhile. But if I had to choose three and only three, I'd take Bust a Move before Magnetica.

Why not download a trial of Zuma or one of the other clones?
 
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