Video Game Review: Puzzle & Dragons Z Super Mario Bros. Edition

“Match-three” games, in which you line up or three or more similar icons or shapes in order to clear them from a board, are one of the most popular sub-genre of puzzle games. Candy Crush Saga was the most-played Facebook game of 2013. (Chances are, you probably got a Candy Crush Saga game request while reading this intro.)

Games like Chuzzle and Bejewelled – arguably the most popular match-three game on PC – from PopCap have garnered over a 150 million downloads over the last 14 years. Columns was the first match-three game that hooked me, and I have fond memories of playing it with my grandfather on my trusty Sega Mega-Drive – he didn’t approve of Streets of Rage or Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, you see.

Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition (a mouthful that is doing wonders for my word count) continues this fine tradition and adds three innovations to the mix, free-form version of the classic match-three format, RPG elements (with monster collecting) and Super Mario. It’s available on the Nintendo DS/3DS handheld now.

The original Puzzle & Dragons was a free-to-play mobile game, financed by micro-transactions. Would a handheld port offer as much value for the price-savvy consumer? Let’s find out…

The main game is familiar to those who’ve played any of the 3DS Pokémons, down to the visuals and the now-obligatory chat the hero has with his mum before beginning his quest. The story then takes a Game of Thrones turn, sans Red Weddings and questionable relationships, as you take possession of three dragon eggs that will eventually lay waste to the land of ‘I’m not actually sure’.

Levelling up the Mushroom Kingdom.

The RPG elements remind me of career mode in fighting games, adding a layer of longevity to what is essentially a repetitive format (match orbs to defeat monsters).

Like Mortal Kombat, I guess the developers realise you need a hook to extend the experience. I’m still on the fence whether I like it or not. I don’t think I played as strategically as the game wanted me, hardly ever augmenting my attacks with special items. On the plus side, unlike other retail games that have the chutzpah to hide large chunks of content behind various paywalls, Nintendo have assured consumers that there won’t be any micro-transactions in the game.

I was initially sceptical to the extent that Mario and co. will integrate with the classic Puzzle & Dragon experience having been disappointed with the Nintendo-themed extras in Tekken and Bayonetta 2 on the Wii U, but it was refreshing to experience a game that was so well-considered.

I shouldn’t be too surprised – the Mushroom Kingdom has a diverse range of hobbies and Nintendo protects its flagship IP from glitch half-baked games (Nintendo would have never allowed Assassin’s Creed: Unity to be published if Mario was in it).

Removed from the higher-order RPG elements, the Super Mario version tells a simpler, familiar tale; one of kidnapping and rescuing. And yes, I can confirm that the victim was last spotted wearing pink.

Eskom gifted me with many opportunities to use the 3DS and I plonked many of those darkened hours in the Super Mario mode. Stripped of the RPG elements, the Super Mario mode gave me quick thrills as I lapped up the familiar comfort of Shigeru Miyamoto’s vision, ploughing through waves of goombas and koopa troopas on a rudimentary rock, paper, scissors turn-based format.

Half-way through the first world there was a considerable spike in difficulty. And I died. A lot. After two continues I breezed through the next few stages before facing another Brock Lesnar type Goomba.

If I have any major complaints, it’s that Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition is a lot like 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. You’re getting two products in one handy package, which seems like great value for money, until you realise that you’re only getting half a bottle of each.

I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys puzzle titles, and is looking for a deeper alternative to Candy Crush Saga. The difficulty spikes are sometimes frustrating to the point that I rattled my 3DS like Homer choking Bart, so if you’re new to the genre, or have little patience, I suggest you start with something like Bejewelled instead.

This review originally appeared in HTXT

Video Game Review: Mario Party 10

Professional wrestling is often predicated on the notion that there’s a fan-favourite to cheer and a villain to boo. This age-old narrative is evident in all popular media, including video games; for every Ryu, there’s an M.Bison, for every Warden a broodmother and of course, for every Mario a Bowser.

It’s-a him, Bowser!

This animosity is usually so apparent that both sides don’t even share a locker room.

This is what makes the Mario games so perplexing: that Peach constantly gets kidnapped by Bowser, and then joins him for a four-ball, tennis match and a race at Mario Circuit (which is basically Zwartkop raceway with fewer questionable mushrooms).

Mario Party 10 at its core is a series of mini-games held together by a four-player virtual board game experience across a variety of Super Mario World locations. Each game requires four players, but not to worry, should you not have a full human team, the game supplies AI players.

Gold Reef City. We see you.

In Mario Party 10, there are three modes to play: Mario Party, Bowser Party (a new mode which added an interesting spin on the old mechanic) and amiibo Party, which incorporates Nintendo’s character figures.

There are five boards in total this time around, so initially I felt a little cheated as the predecessor had seven. But a bigger issue emerged after two playthroughs: none of the stages were particularly memorable. There were different bosses, and small structural changes, but everything seemed like a chore, with the boss being nothing more than a delay to the end.

Eighteen hours in and I don’t have a favourite, compared to Super Mario World where I loved any level that kept me above water and away from those dreadful fish.

Watch out for the beep beep Cheep-cheeps!

I owned a copy of the original Mario Party back when people danced awkwardly to Eiffel 65’s Blue and no one really knew what the Matrix was about. Sixteen years on and not much has changed in those respects, but the world has moved on in other ways and Mario Party 10 – for all its charm and nostalgia – remains a relic of a time passed.

An area where the game suffers is that the game boards take, on average, half an hour to complete.

The original Mario Party never had to compete for attention against a huge selection of instant message services, social media networks and video-on-demand content providers. Half an hour might not seem like a long period of time, especially for those who emerge from Call of Duty sessions after days, hiding from sunlight like unsparkly vampires, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a challenge. Perhaps this is due to the long loading times, the scarcity of actual mini-games and the inability to skip or speed up the computer’s turn.

In this way, Mario Party is a lot like riding the Cobra at Gold Reef City – lots of waiting around before a small jolt of fun. It didn’t help knowing that a vast majority of the game relied on luck, and I often felt frustrated with the balancing or rather, the lack thereof. And annoyingly, it’s very similar to Mario Kart in that the computer will just catch up towards the end to add some stress in a “weird fixed game show” sort of way.

Hope you packed some Peaceful Sleep.

One of the bigger challenges I faced was that the game requires a Wii-mote in order to play.

Long ago I gifted my Wii to undeserving niblings, leaving me with only one Wii-mote. I found this to be problematic, but also rather indicative of the machine’s shortcomings as it can’t seem to shake off its Wii legacy. This is perhaps a reason why the Wii U failed to take off; I’m sure lots of people still buy Wii U games and try playing them on their Wiis.

Perhaps I’m biased because the original N64 had four controller ports, and lent itself to local four-player split-screen action. I guess it’s a sign of the times that online play has eroded this previously-popular method of gaming.

Feed me Mario… and Peach… and Luigi… and Wario.

Mario Party 10 does continue a long tradition of first-party games on Nintendo’s Wii U console, in that the graphics are amazing. They have a sheen to them that rivals Super Mario 3D Land and Super Smash Bros for the Wii U. The game really is a pleasure to behold, it’s just not a lot of fun to play.

I’m a huge Nintendo fan, but I can’t help but feel underwhelmed at this offering. Forgettable mini-games, poor pacing and no real memorable moments make Mario Party 10 the Hulk Hogan in a John Cena world, holding on to something past and being unable to evolve.

This review originally appeared in HTXT.co.za

MJ Reviews | Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

 

    2D platformers are one of my favourite genres (perhaps only being ousted by first person shooters and 3D Action adventure titles) so you could imagine my excitement when I picked up Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for my freshly owned 3DS. I have always been a fan of Rare (since the N64 days) and while this title is not published by the Goldeneye Gods (monster games did the 3DS port of Retro Games wii original), it does build on their groundwork.

The plot itself is fairly perfunctory, with a group of aliens called tikis swooping in and invading your habitat and stealing all your bananas. A story about an invading nation taking your natural resources…hmm, where did I see this before? As you can tell, it doesn’t’ matter who really took ‘my’ bananas – it could have been crocodiles, aliens, heck - even the monkey from the coco pops adverts. 

I guess the mark of a good platformer is that the story will take a backseat. (I don’t remember needing a detailed plot for sonic the hedgehog – it was just run, collect rings, destroy rotund academic or medical practitioner).  Donkey Kong has a great mix of traditional platforming mechanics peppered with jet propulsion areas, rhino bulldozers and an extended on-rails section. Worlds’ are split between jungles, a volcano, mines and even a cool silhouette level that reminded me of Limbo( Although – the Original Donkey Kong Country returns came out first for the wii) 

The visuals stand out as the best I’ve seen on the handheld, with a vivid palette that drew the eye of anyone around me while I was playing at a social media conference or at the local Wimpy. 

Doing my bit for Rhinos

This brings me to the game’s double-edged sword – difficulty. Donkey Kong Country Returns is 'riDonkeylisly' difficult (nope, doesn’t work). I’ve been gaming for over 25 years (having bested a variety of Super Mario Brothers, Rayman games, Sonic titles etc) but I found the challenge to be borderline crazy at times. I don’t mind admit to giving up when games get too tough, or are difficult for difficult’s sake (dark souls). Luckily, DK has a get out of jail card in the form of super kong (an optional character who will complete a level for you (provided you have died at least five times I think). I admit to using Super Kong to defeat a ridiculously difficult boss (the caterpillar type chap who weaves around the various wheels).

Donkey Kong took me around 15 hours to complete, with the extras (KONG letters, Orbs and puzzle pieces) probably adding an extra 10 hours or so to the length. 

In an age of mobile gaming, saturated with quick fixes and repetitive mechanics, its refreshing that handheld games are getting a second breath. Donkey Kong Country is an essential 3DS purchase, but more than that, It is a must have for anyone who enjoys 2D platformers.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Donkey Kong Country Returns is available from all decent retailers. 

Thanks to Princess Peach (give her a follow on Twitter) and the team at Nintendo South Africa for all their support and for the Nintendo 3DS XL. 

7 ideas for Nintendo South Africa

The Nintendo Wii has plateaued, with sales now dropping at an alarming base. Here are seven ideas for Nintendo to use to help them bolster their position and regain any lost ground (and if Nintendo is reading this and they like any ideas – a free 3DS with Super Mario 3D would be great)

1. Make Mario the face of Movember.

The Movember campaign has gained considerable speed, and who better to be the face (or moustache) of the campaign than Nintendo’s flagship character. Older gamers who grew up on Mario’s adventures will be targeted through magazines like FHM and Mens Health. This does not have to be a exclusively symbolic campaign but can feed into Nintendo’s CSI initiatives – I have identified a few local cancer organisations that Nintendo could partner with (like Cansa) to roll out this campaign. A small percentage from sales of a particular title could be given to Cansa.

2. Update the facebook page

The bane of social media is that information needs to be updated on a regular basis. The official Nintendo SA facebook page (please remove distributor from your name) has not been updated in a while – the info page still says ‘3DS. Coming soon!’ Also, I’m wary of getting followers by giving away prizes. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for prizes, but some of them need to be earned. Which brings me to

3. Link with Draw Something

Draw Something has exploded onto the market with 50 million downloads in 5 weeks. One of the possible drawings that you could get is Mario. Why not combine these two gaming juggernauts – you can have a Mario Draw Something competition – get folks to pose with their Mario pics (so that we can verify that it is their work and not ripped from the net) and award prizes like that, as opposed to the current lucky packet method.

4. Dust off that Wii

I don’t think that Nintendo should chase after new markets (or the hardcore Modern warfare fan). Rather, they should concentrate on people who have bought the Wii, played bowling for a couple of months and then put it away. I would rather plan a campaign to get people back to playing wii as opposed to chasing those who don’t have one yet. Software makes money, not hardware.

5. Create a Mario Kart league for schools

One of my fondest memories growing up was playing Mario kart 64 with my little sister. The game was made for multiplayer – why should we approach the new one any differently. I suggest that Nintendo get in touch with select schools across the country – I would target schools that belong to the company I work for, Advtech (they own Crawford etc) and have a huge Mario kart tournament. All you need is a couple of Nintendo 3DS’s, a digital scoreboard and a few prizes – I did something similar with Standard Bank’s achiever account last year to great success. The Nintendo 3DS has to be seen to be experienced – TV spots don’t do the 3D effect justice. The more impressionable hands we get it into, the better.

6. More exposure in local media (including websites and print)

I had a cursory glance at some of the bigger gaming websites in the country (Mygaming, lazygamer, mydigitallife etc) and unlike the PS3 and Xbox reviews which are up every week, Nintendo hardly features. I review PS3 games for Mydigitallife and occasionally write a gaming related column for the Sunday Tribune, and I don’t get that much exposure to Nintendo either – This is problematic because the moment Nintendo leaves the gamers consciousness, it stops becoming relevant.

7. New Super Mario Bros 2

Nintendo need to get behind this title in a big way. It comes out in August, so the hype machine should start now. The 3DS wasn’t great at all until Super Mario 3D was released last year, and proved to be a system seller. Nintendo need to ride the momentum by hyping this title.

Do you have any ideas?

MJ