Palamedes
System: NES
Release Date: November 1990
Developer: Natsume
Publisher: Hot-B
Genre: Puzzle
Shoot your dice in a way that removes them all from the board in Palamedes! It’s been said that dice have been in existence since at least 67 AD. Sophocles contends that dice were invented by Prince Palamedes of Greece. Ahhh mythology, where anything goes!
This title is a line clearing game using six sided dice as the pieces. Rows of dice come down from the top of the screen. It’s up to you to clear them before they hit your avatar on the bottom row. You can add a dice block to your hand by shooting it with a like number face. You cycle through the numbers with the B Button and launch the dice straight up with the A Button.
The bottom of the screen shows your current hand. Up to six die can be held in your hand at any time and hitting any more will push the farthest left dice out. You can use your hand to clear lines by pressing down on the d-pad. Getting 3 of a kind will clear one row, with each extra duplicate clearing an extra line. You can also clear lines by lining up a straight, having three pairs, having your numbers add to 21, or the most powerful Straight Flush running from 1 to 6 in order. There are five levels of 20 stages each to complete, with each level and stage becoming more difficult.
You can earn a big point bonus if you complete a stage without using a hand. I tried this on a later stage and found that any little mistake would keep me from succeeding in my goal. After trying for way too long, I went back to the first stage to see if it was true and it indeed was.
After winning, I took a stab at tournament mode. Here, you play a series of matches against the computer and try to defeat them. When you score two lines or more, the other player gets the extra lines pushed down on them. You want to crush them with the dice in order to win. They get very difficult by the time you get to the final match and it’s a good play to hit them with the Straight Flush.
Graphics: 1.0
There’s nothing special about the graphics, except you get little cut scenes when you clear a level or win a tournament.
Sound: 1.5
Music is alright and the sounds aren’t offensive.
Gameplay: 3.0
I think the premise of the game works pretty well, even if my button presses would occasionally double register, messing me up.
Difficulty: 3.0
It was pretty easy overall, but I played the first level and didn’t mess with the later ones.
Fun Factor: 3.0
This is an enjoyable game that you should probably give a try to.
Overall Rating: 2.3
Palamedes earns a C+. This is another one of those games that I had never tried and probably never would have, but I would have been worse off for it. It’s a pretty fun title that allows for competitive puzzle play without having to have friends.