Fourth Review for me... I think... because at this point it has been a while for me. This Review hopefully will be more detailed that my previous ones now that I have read all of Lemmy's Review. As for history on these games, the only thing I noticed is that apparently, Intelligent Systems made Yoshi- whoops, Tetris Attack, meaning unlike when I thought Paper Mario was their first Mario game, I can see it is Tetris Attack...as far as I know. Tetris Attack is significantly older, being a Super NES game. Puzzle Challenge is for Gameboy Color. Another thing that is interesting is that the Japanese version of this puzzle series, which respectively came out in place of Tetris Attack, was actually very feminine looking. It was called Panel de Pon. Apparently, it is also the origin of the item in Super Smash Bros Melee called "Lip's Stick". I won't go into further detail about Panel de Pon since I currently don't know Japenese, so anyway, Yoshi, ehem, Tetris Attack and Pokemon Puzzle Challenge are both 2-player puzzle games of similar function. I'm going to give the lowdown on which one you should choose and buy. This means one is going to be rejected. So you see? I can give negative Reviews!
This Review is graded on a system of 6 for the width of the playing field in blocks. Furthermore, I get confused with Tetris Attack's title since it is a Mario game, so I'll call it Yoshi Tetris (YT) in this Review. Pokemon Puzzle Challenge will be abbreviated as PC. I'm lazy, which is why it isn't PPC.
Storyline:
YT: 3-4
PC: 0-1.5
I would have given Puzzle Challenge a 0 or something for poor general storyline... except that they at least stayed true to the series. The storyline is the same of that of Pokemon Gold and Silver, which isn't really different from any Pokemon game in the first place. The series story for such a good RPG series is bad: catching wild animals and making them relive the Roman Coliseum. Ugh, unlawfulness. And they reused it here, but at least they made sense, so I'm not going to punish them for that otherwise. Go ahead, bash me, Flygon Trainer, but I doubt you have found this Review by yourself especially if it isn't new, so I think I am safe...
Now Yoshi Tetris, Bowser gets Kamek to hypnotize Yoshi's friends and tries to flood the world. Somewhat weak, but original, and heroic for Yoshi's stance unlike that of Ash Ketchum, or whoever that boy is... besides when that boy defeats Team Rocket, but anyway, this is a better good vs. evil game. Slightly more redeeming here. I would have given it a 4 if not for the fact I might be slightly Mario biased, so I am trying to be safe here. Furthermore, when you defeat your friends, they join you now that they have become good again, and they WILLINGLY fight for you, unlike how in Pokemon you have to capture and tame monsters. You aren't taming, you are just bringing your friends back to reality. Maybe that deserves a 4. It is a somewhat decent continuation of Super Mario World 2.
Puzzle Elements:
YT: 4
PC: 3
You may wonder why I'm grading this before controls. Controls will make more sense if you read this first. These are good puzzle games. The downgrade is because they didn't make the puzzles game series related. The games function in a 10x6 grid for blocks that are constantly rising from the floor. To avoid losing, which occurs when the blocks hit the top, you have to eliminate them by lining them up in rows of three or more by identical color. The games base your points on how many blocks you destroy and also adds a multiplying factor if you destroy blocks in such a way that they drop more to make identical color rows. This is called a chain. Now when competing with the computer or someone else, each greater-than-three-block combo or consecutive chain does damage by dropping horizontal garbage blocks from above onto the opponent. Garbage, unlike regular blocks, can't be moved or destroyed. Instead, wait, um... okay, you can destroy garbage. I meant not like ordinary blocks. Okay, so you destroy normal blocks next to it. That converts the garbage into normal blocks... which when they fall, can be used in more chains or combos! YAY!
The discrepancy on grading PC is due to the fact that PC uses an HP system for the computer opponent. I hate that. It goes with the fact that the computer opponent doesn't strategize, but just chooses when to dump garbage on you.
Controls:
YT: 5
PC: 5
Both games are EXACTLY the same...with a few MINOR differences. I personally like the controls as they are easy. D-pad to move the cursor, A (and B in YT) to horizontally exchange the position of blocks, L and R (or B in PC) to raise the level of blocks in your area. They just didn't add items to use and thus they didn't allocate the use of another button. That doubly punishes the games for both controls and puzzle elements. These games don't really have anything to offer that makes them anymore related to their respective series than a few sound effects, in YT, cute voices, and some colored backgrounds.
Characters:
YT: 3
PC: 3
This was really hard to grade! I'm trying to determine number and quality of characters in two incredibly alike games! I somehow like YT better, and it probably is because of how each character seems to be more developed in the storyline as opposed to PC. Let me say who YT's characters are.
Yoshi and Little Yoshi: The Yoshi who is called Yoshi is the green one who saved Mario from a hard fall. He knows how to undo Kamek's spell that may just allow Bowser to get revenge and rule the world! Blasted loophole, but at least it gets the story going. In the background he travels with a small yellow Yoshi who is undeveloped for purposes of the plotline. You start the 1P game using him as your puzzle fighter.
Yoshi's friends: Lakitu, Bumpity, Poochy, Wiggler, Prince Froggy, Lungefish, Gargantuan Blarrg, and Raphael with their cohorts need to be rescued. They return the favor in the story by fighting for you. YAY!
Hookbill: Somewhat slow at talking, that big stupid Koopa is back, and he's tough!
Navel Piranha: He, it, whatever is also back for a rematch. He really racks up combos, and his voice used when he attacks is unbearable! Ugh...
Kamek and Toadies: Yup, that infamous magician of a Koopa is up for a real fight! He actually says "Hocus Pocus" when attacking. It is creepy, but YAY! HE TALKS!
Bowser: The troublemaker, he's an adult in this game. You've got to stop him!
Now for PC.
Gold/Silver Guy: The main character. He never talks. DANG IT! Yoshi beats him immediately.
Gym Leaders: There are eight of them. I really didn't get much of a kick out of them.
Trainers: If you pull off incredible feats in battle, they may just show up! Maybe this deserves a boost for PC. You defeat them to get new party members. I still don't like the element of betting Pokemon.
Elite Four: Final guys, and they are tough.
I guess I gave them even scores to be safe. Really, the storylines for these characters are weak, so they really don't do much that is interesting. They are nice flavor elements, but that is all.
Graphics and Sound:
YT: 5.5
PC: 3.5
YT definitely has better eye-candy considering the system gap. The Super Nintendo is a 16-bit color system, while I believe the GBA has 8 bits, but do correct me if I'm wrong. Still, I don't see why PC couldn't do what YT did. Instead of multiple avatars, YT actually has a little puzzle fighter in the middle of the competition that attacks and feels pain while you work at the puzzle. Characters have a nice-looking background that draws out who they are in great detail. I don't expect so much detail from a GBA, but they flopped out on Pokemon elements there. I mean, I couldn't tell it was Pokemon except for the avatars. They did make different colored garbage, but who cares about that really? In YT, on the other hand. when you attack, characters send different icons flying to the top of the enemy's field. Yoshi has eggs, Kamek has polygons, that kind of thing.
As for music, YT has many more themes. In addition, you get to hear the cute voices of characters when they attack. Kamek's "Hocus Pocus" is incredibly lame, but still enjoyable. I have no clue how they did the Yoshi voice, though. I admit I'm possibly grading PC harshly for its system, but I'm trying to tell you which of the similar games to buy.
Difficulty (6 is hardest, 1 is very
easy):
YT: 4-5
PC: 2-3
From a standpoint of observing 1P mode, YT is harder because you get less time to move blocks to perform assist-chains, which are basically moving blocks while chains are in progress to create more. Another thing is that you have much less time in YT to clear out your top row when it is full before you die. In fact, the computer can mimic the same chains in YT by expert programming rather than by hitting some event-sequence button as in PC... or something like that.
Recommendation (with Fun Factor):
YT: 4.5
PC: 3
If you are an obsessed Pokemon fan, you may want to consider PC, but may be disappointed by it a bit comparing it to YT. If you are an unbiased buyer, you will want YT for the better theme, graphics, and the fact it probably is cheaper being an older game. If you are an obsessed Mario fan without this type of game, don't bother buying PC and GET TETRIS ATTACK IMMEDIATELY! Woah! I said it correctly in my crazed phase. It is only necessary to get one game if you are looking for this puzzle series in particular. Since YT looks better, sounds better, and has a remotely better story theme, those are reasons to get it. The main problem is that Super Nintendo consoles are rare. I lucked out since I have one. I think it is far more likely that you have a GBA or GBC, so if you can't find a SNES or Tetris Attack or both, Pokemon Puzzle Challenge won't exactly disappoint you as the puzzle elements are still nice. But if you can reserve a copy of YT, then forget that PC ever existed because it has everything you need to get the same gaming experience, and it is aesthetically more pleasing. Hmm, too much reiteration? Oh well, but have fun!
PS: I forgot that Pokemon Puzzle League for N64 also exists. Pokemon fans should consider that exists. It is also similar, but I don't own it unfortunately. I don't know too much about it otherwise.
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