Puzznic
System: NES
Release Date: November 1990
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Genre: Puzzle
Clear boards of different like shapes in Puzznic! Are you tired of shooting bad guys? Jumping over pits? Saving the world from evil? Well, instead of training your reflexes, it’s time to train your brain! Make your way through 240 puzzles in two styles of game to be the ultimate brainiac.
Choosing the Puzznic mode has you going through 16 stages full of 10 puzzles each. Your goal is to clear the board of blocks. To do this, you have to have two or more like blocks touching. You need to check how many blocks of each kind are present and then formulate a plan. You can’t take too long, because the time starts ticking away. You move the blocks by pressing the A Button on them and then pressing left or right to move them. You can’t move up or down directly, but there are elevator blocks that will do that for you.
The challenge comes in not blocking yourself in to an unwinnable situation or leaving yourself with an odd block out. If you do find yourself jammed up, you can press the Start Button and use one of your two retries. You don’t get the time you used back, but if you’re quick, you might be able to clear the board. If you run out of time or tries, you have to continue and lose all of the points you’ve built up. A password is provided for each level in the pause menu.
If you get tired of Puzznic mode, as I did, you can try Gravnic mode. Instead of moving each block individually, you move gravity in one of the four cardinal directions. This takes up one of your moves and you have to clear the board before you hit zero. Points are awarded based on the stage you’re on, how many moves you have left, and how many retries you still have. I liked this mode better, as I wasn’t being rushed by the countdown of the clock.
Graphics: 1.0
There really isn’t anything particularly nice graphics wise here. It’s spartan in design.
Sound: 1.0
The music is too repetitive and not very pleasant.
Gameplay: 3.0
The gameplay is solid, though getting those matches can sometimes be more of a pain than you’d like, especially if you press the d-pad too quickly.
Difficulty: 3.5
There were a couple puzzles that I didn’t find particularly fair, but the build up makes a proper learning curve.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I liked Gravnic mode a whole lot better than Puzznic mode. Your mileage may vary.
Overall Rating: 2.3
Puzznic earns a C+. This coasts to its grade on the things that I think matter. You don’t need to play with the sound up, but I think it’s worth your time if you like puzzle games.