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c7thetumbler · 2 years ago

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Quick Game Reviews: Games I played 2022

Whoa, what is this? Will I get this done on time, or is this doomed to be released unfinished when it's automatically posted on the 31st? Only you will know!

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker [PC]

Endwalker is probably the best possible expansion a game could hope for. Shadowbringers had just managed the herculean task of unifying like 7 years of content and plot that seemed mostly disparate and succeeded fantastically, so it was really cool to Endwalker take the core concepts that were introduced in ShB and run with them in a way that made the game "End" in such a satisfying way. Story had me on my toes the whole time rewarded players who had tried all sorts of side content, and even made me like characters I strongly disliked through the whole game prior.

Sage and Reaper are pretty cool too. I'd highly recommend giving FFXIV a try if you haven't, and of course if you've been away from the game and haven't played Endwalker it's definitely a masterpiece in its own right.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus [Switch]

This one was really surprising. After having come from BDSP, probably the worst games in the entire main Pokemon series, I didn't have high hopes they'd pull this one through. What ended up happening though is that, while still having its bugs and graphics problems, Gamefreak is definitely capable of making a cohesive game with fun mechanics and feels good to play. Battle isn't that complex, but given how slow and obnoxious normal Pokemon battle is the lack of abilities and new styles are a fresh change of pace.

Movement outside of battles feels good, if a little janky. What really sets it apart is how fun it is to actually sneak up on Pokemon and use pokeballs and food outside of combat to catch them, and adds an extra level of play that supplements the simplified but interesting battle style well.

One thing I can say about this game: it feels like a complete experience. I'm not missing out on the ability to get certain pokemon becase there's another version. I'm incentivized to play with all sorts of pokemon with all sorts of playstyles to fill out the pokedex. Exploring could leads to new items and rarer Alpha pokemon. Quests allow you to keep goals, and the battle challenges are at least interesting. That's something that no other Pokemon game has been able to offer since they stopped doing the 3rd, "best version" of the games like Emerald and Platinum. I highly recommend this game, and believe it's the best Pokemon offering Switch has (including SV)

Super Mario Run [Android]

This one was interesting to go back to. So I picked this up because MyNintendo finally started doing okay physical rewards, and this game is a very good weekly source of Platinum coins. In the process, I went ahead and 100%'d this game. It's pretty fun! It's got a lot of challenges, the toad rush and remix run are fun stwists on the existing levels. It's a shame Nintendo saw the millions they made from this as a failure and went with Gacha models instead.

While it's not as satisfying as your normal Mario platformer, it's definitely a fun mobile game and worth the $10, especially with weekly platinum coin challenges

TIS-100 [Steam]

I will be 100%, I have not played this game very long. I really like these kinds of games, however for the past few years I've fallen into a place where every time I think of playing these, I get caught up in "Well, what I really should be doing is coding for real." Then I go on Reddit or Twitter and do neither.

The short time I did have with it was fun though! I'm not sure I would call it a good intro to programming since it's mimicking assembly instructions, but if you're curious it's definitely an interesting experience and pretty similar to how how that sort of language works.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land [Switch]

This is probably the most faithful recreation of a 2D Kirby game into a 3D platformer that you can get, and boy it was a long time coming. The games fun, albeit pretty easy, and has a lot of post-game more challenging content (that is also not too challenging). That's not to take away from it of course; Kirby's a fun, relaxing game usually and this is no exception. Even though this is more a Super Mario 3D World than a Super Mario Odyssey, the transition to 3D is handled very well, and I'm eager to try more Kirby games in this style. It could do with a little more content, but then it runs the risk of overstaying its welcome. I highly recommend this to anybody who's ever enjoyed a Kirby game; It's not groundbreaking, but it does the Kirby formula well

Lost Nova [Steam]

This is one of a few games I've played where I don't really have a solid enough opinion of it to really recommend it or not. I got like an hour in and really liked the vibes it was giving off (cute top down exploration game, very wholesome) but got distracted and never picked it up again. I'm a big fan of the artist, Jon Nielson, and his other game projects that I've played, but this is one I'll have to restart and get a good grip on.

Dusk [Steam]

I grew up on a multitude of games, and Doom/Quake were right there. It was nice to be able to revisit that style of gameplay, and Dusk certainly nails the aesthetic and feel of it, but I think the levels themselves leave something to be desired. A lot of the time I was running around in open spaces between buildings that were packed with enemies and items, and that felt a lot less Quakey to me. Still, that much is a personal preference and I didn't end up taking this one too far, but for retro fast FPS fans this seems like a very solid choice!

Going Under [Steam]

This was another in the string of Rogue-lite's I played. I was pretty surprised because I wasn't expecting this kind of gameplay when I first got it, but this is another that I didn't spend too much time with. From a strictly personal level, I've become really tired of corporate culture and HR speak. While this is parodying that, it still struck a nerve that was difficult to get into because the kinds of things I've dealt with were just too similar to the joking happening here.

Visually it's very fun and I do love the style. Gameplay wise, it seems like it would take a bit to get used to the controls and how the mechanics with weapons interplay with combat and different enemies. It definitely has its charm and is a labor of love, but I myself couldn't revisit it.

Bugsnax [Steam]

This one was one I'd been wanting to play for quite some time. A friend described it to me as Pokemon Snap but with puzzle elements and a mystery story, and I was down for it. That's pretty accurate, and the whole game is very charming. Without giving spoilers, I was very invested despite a lot of the characters at least seeming very 1-dimensional at first, but each one actually gets fleshed out into something more real and interesting the more you look into them. My only gripe is the physics on some of these things made it very annoying to catch certain bugsnax that required precise timing. For example, there's be a flying bug above an aggressive bug, and you had to knock down the flying bug into the trap, trigger the trap, and collect it before the angry bug noticed any of it and knocked you and it over. That being said, there aren't many instances like that and it seems like the kind of game where there's an easy solution to catching them all.

Another pretty high recommendation for those interested in a fun story experience and some collectathon elements

Rogue Legacy 2 [Steam]

So I was a big fan of Rogue Legacy when it first came out and 100% it. When I picked up this one however, nearly a decade after the original released, I had a lot more experience with rogue-likes and what I wanted out of them. This game is definitely the Rogue Legacy experience, however for some reason I found myself way more easily frustrated with it than I did with other Rogue-Lite's I've played recently. Something about how immensely the stat boosts and things outside the castle affect how you play within it just doesn't feel as good as learning the game better and just playing better, or unlocking alternatives instead of just straight upgrades. That and there's like 4 gear-like systems outside of the main game, which just seemed overly complex.

All-in-all, if you liked the original Rogue Legacy you'll probably like this one since it's a lot more of the same with additional things to grind, but for me personally there are better Rogue Lite experiences out there

Dead Estate [Steam]

Look, no- Look see I- Wait, listen. Hold up, no. Stop. I know what you're thinking, and yes I absolutely clicked on this game initially because of the thumbnail. We're moving on.

Barring that, the game is crazy fun! 2 Characters to start with going into 8, 4 of whom have entirely unique playstyles and 8 different floors to go through. Loads of secrets, challenging but not repressively so, and a very charming and funny but with an interesting story with plot twists galore, Dead Estate is probably one of the best Rogue-lite's I've played in a while. My only gripe is that they could do with a bit more content (which they are launching out as well so I will revisit it!) and that the 2.5 D Isometric angle sometimes messes with enemy placement relative to the character, but all in all I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun rogue-lite to scratch that itch! Especially now that they're updating it, though expect to take a little bit to get used to the 2D isometric jank.

Kirby's Dream Buffet [Switch Download-Only]

I got this one near launch thinking "Hey, this will be a fun time! Kirby spin-offs are typically loaded with content and fun things to unlock, so this should be at least a few days worth to keep me entertained!"

Not so.

Not sure if it's been updated since release, however when I played your only real option was to go online and play the normal game, which is just kind of okay. The racing is a bit of a crapshoot; it's really easy for one player to pull ahead of the pack and have the Mario-Kart issue where everyone behind them is fighting to get close to them, and the ending area is really the one that matters. The final battle minigame is also a bit hectic but not really deep as well. None of it is particularly satisfying, and it's something I would've expected to be a side multiplayer mini-game in a mainline Kirby game instead of its own release. Unless this gets an update that lets you play for free, this one's a pass and not worth the money.

Dr. Mario Rx [Switch Online: N64]

I revisited this one since I never 100% it as a kid and unlocked the final 2 characters, and figured with the save state system I could at least make it so I didn't game over. Boy, do I get why I never beat it!

This game's charm, which future Dr. Mario games will routinely miss out on, is that there's a very simple plot and weird Wario Land 3 characters scattered throughout. Sure, it's not exciting, but having another player character to go against is fun, and seeing Wario and all his wacky enemies react to a puzzle game is just delightful. Of course, the game is RIDICULOUSLY HARD and you can only unlock the final 2 characters by completing both story paths on hard WITHOUT DYING. I'm convinced this is impossible, making the NSO version of this the best possible version for allowing people like me to finally get their closure of a complete character select screen. Dr. Mario Rx is probably the best Dr. Mario experience you can get, and while I wouldn't say get NSO for it or any of the N64 library, it's definitely a highlight of the library if you have access. It's difficulty can be incredibly frustrating though, and this is a game I would encourage using the save state function if only to restart levels after a loss.

Disney Dreamlight Valley [Switch]

This one's funny because my sister actually played this for a month while I watched and was nearby, so while I don't have direct experience I do have enough to give a recommendation on it.

It's pretty clear this was an attempt by Disney to appeal to the exact market of Gen Z/ Millennials that have nostalgia for their childhood and were struck hard by the pandemic. Basically, it obviously saw Animal Crossing's runaway success and thought "Oh shit, that's a market!" It shows, pretty hard.

As far as gameplay goes, it doesn't seem bad. You run a Valley with a bunch of Disney characters around. You farm, fish, and do favors for these characters while trying top build up friendships and solve mysteries of what happened to the island. On paper it's a good idea at least In practice? Well.

The game is incredibly buggy. Like I can't believe Nintendo let them put this up for sale levels of buggy. I understand that it's in "Early Access", but looking at this through my Sister's eyes, who has no concept of a game which was sold for money being a buggy alpha version, this is an incredibly poor show. The music stutters, quests would easily be stuck in an un-completable state because of bad logic, characters interact poorly, timed music did not lined up with the mechanics, and the game would frequently come to a standstill and crash. When she wasn't actively fighting it, she was engaging in what was your basic skinner box with villagers asking her to find, fish, or craft (crafting animation matches AC's almost 1-to-1) , and while there's definitely something there, the whole time I was watching I just felt like this was a really cynical cash grab. I would avoid this, especially the Switch Version, like the plague until they've removed it from "Early Access" and their monetization scheme gets finalized

Splatoon 3 [Switch]

I am still coming to terms with the fact that no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I research, and no matter how many times I delve into it, I will never be good enough at most competitive games that I like to be able to play online in a way where I'm not bogged down by my own disappointment with my abilities and frustration at the game.

It is a good thing then that the Single player and Salmon Run in this game are so much fun! While I can't say those themselves are worth your $60, I can say that I had a great time with it while I did play, and really enjoy the setting and world they've built with the series. While it doesn't break much ground in comparison to the previous game, it's definitely worth a go if you've enjoyed the first 2 entries.

Kirby and the Crystal Shards [Switch Online: N64]

This is probably my 7th time revisiting this game. As a kid, this game felt very challenging and I never 100% it. As an Adult, I realize it's more arguing with the floaty controls and knowing the really hard to find 3 crystal locations, and then just paying attention to where you can get the power ups you need. It's definitely not the best or most content heavy Kirby outing, but it's definitely worth a play for the cute character interactions and fun of mixing and matching power-ups. The experience is worth like $5 at most these days, but for sure give it a go if you've got access to it for free.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope GOLD EDITION [Switch]

This now being a spinoff franchise is really cool because it's wacky and out there, but still very fun to play. Gameplay wise it's not too much different from the original. The grid is gone and replaced with normal movement, which has some downsides but is overwhelming a positive change. The more open level nature is also welcome, and the humor is still pretty good.

The biggest issue with the game for me is something that not everyone will take issue with, but it very much kind of misses the tone. It feels like a rabbids game with 5 Mario characters in it instead of a Mario spinoff. The environments, plots, and characters are all Rabbids and loopy fantasy mix, and none of it at all to do with the title characters until the very end. The first game combined Mario, Rabbids, and toysets into the environment which all gelled really well together, but without the Mario aspects it really just feels like they made a game without the Mario characters and then threw them in as an afterthought.

It's still a wonderful game and I highly recommend it! Just don't go into it expecting a pre-sticker-star Mario RPG level of world building and storycrafting

Banjo-Kazooie [Switch Online: N64]

Another 3D collectathon classic I revisited and 100% this year. I still strongly hold that Tooie is the better game. Unfortunately it's not currently available on Switch for reasons that are unclear, and the Xbox releases of these games are definitely still the superior way to play with their widescreen, controls, and frame rate improvements. With all that said, this is pretty much the best 3D platformer experience you can get from that time that's aged well enough to recommend, so whether you're like me or are just able to try this for the first time, it's definitely worth the go.

Sonic Frontiers [Steam]

A Sonic lore fan's paradise, and a Sonic gameplay fan's reason to keep holding on. It's hard not to compare this with Pokemon in a lot of ways, if only because Pokemon has similar opportunity to deliver on what fans of the series actually want and has failed bother technically and from a gameplay perspective for several games in a row now (except Arceus, which still could use some work). Frontiers however managed to hit that sweet spot where the gameplay was fun and not in the way of the game, and the story scratched that itch that I've had for Sonic games since SA2.

Gameplay has some series staple Sonic jank, but the action stages are really fun, the boss fights are hype af, and it's just fun to run around in the overworld again. That last point is something that the series hasn't really nailed since dashing around station square in Sonic adventure, and maybe a bit in the 360 versions of Unleashed.

Is it perfect? No, but it's right where I wanted it to be with my expectations on what an experienced developer should be able to do, with some great high points to counteract the low. I do recommend this game for any fans of any of the 3D Sonic games. A word of warning though: the PC version is best. Even though it still has pop-in issues, the framerate and visuals are most consistent on that version and the rest of the ports are just taking bits away.

Nier:Automata [Steam]

This one I'm still playing; apparently getting the first real ending isn't actually enough to experience the full game. I'm halfway to the second now, and I think I understand that.

Game's fun! I feel like I'm missing out on a lot as I go though, which always makes me anxious. I do really like the themes of the game so far and the character interactions, even if some of them are incredibly anime. I don't have a really solid opinion yet, but dumping this many hours into it and then wanting to continue is definitely a good sign.

Pokemon Violet [Switch]

So this kinda bites. For the first time in a long time Pokemon actually managed to nail movement and interesting play mechanics in Arceus, and just threw most of that right out. This game is a buggy mess that a developer with Pokemon's resources and Nintendo's reputation has absolutely no right to release in this state.

Additionally, the story is great! Sure some of the characters are a bit one note, but the ones they did flesh out are really cool, and their character designs are memorable and fun. Mechanically though this game smells; terrastrallizing is very basic and the once a battle mechanic is overdone at this point. Battle animations are somehow worse and the game's pacing is hot garbage. Due to the lack of level scaling, a feature that is canon and has been done by hobbyists for over a decade now, the "challenge in any order" brag is functionally meaningless. Battle is still painfully slow, the game looks ugly which is only exacerbated by the anti-aliasing and texture tiling issues. For the first time in a very long time, there is no post-game battle challenge, which means once you beat it and finish the dex, something Arceus made fun and fulfilling, you're left with nothing.

Give this a pass over for Arceus, at least until they finish updating and releasing patches for it.

BEST GAME I PLAYED THIS YEAR

I am disqualifying Endwalker because A) I've been playing FFXIV for years now so it's not really new, and B) it would win

So, that leaves an actually very tough decision. I'm actually struggling to pick one, because on the one hand I had a great time with a lot of these but on the other some of those are absolutely carried by their IP. While Arceus is a huge leap forward in terms of actually making a great Pokemon experience, it still has some major issues in terms of visuals, general buginess, weird design decisions, and plot/character interactions still feeling very stiff and uninteresting a lot of the time.

Sonic Frontiers is also up there, but again it's because I've waited so long for a Sonic Plot that took itself way too seriously combined with 3D Sonic Gameplay that was actually fun. Gameplay wise there were a lot of great action stages, but also some rough ones, and exploring the islands was fun but could get tedious, felt a bit futile in terms of how broken fishing is, and janky due to pop-in.

Nier Automata was also really fun, but I haven't really hit a point far enough where it feels like I've truly experienced the world and story despite finishing the first ending. Mario + Rabbids was really good too, but it felt a bit more hollow than I would've liked. I also had a rough year mentally, so it's a bit hard to contextualize each of these in ways that would be expressible in text.

I'm of course overthinking it, because I do have a pick, but it was surprisingly difficult. However, this game single handedly took the most time, consistently surprised and impressed me, and offered a fun challenge while still allowing me to vibe at my own pace.

I am, of course, talking about:

Mario's Super Picross [Switch Online: Super Famicom]

What a fucking SUPRISE this one was. I have a very short tolerance for playing games in other languages, but this one was very easy to figure out after just the first couple puzzles. I love picross, I'm a sucker for Mario, and this one is jam fuckin packed with so many levels. It just keeps on giving for days and days which turned into months and months of chilling on the couch, petting the cat, listening to podcasts, and chiseling out a picture of a tiger that could only possibly be considered one after you finished the whole puzzle and they added color and animated it. Have you played the best puzzle game on this Switch yet?

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glassmarcus · 11 months ago

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Marcus' Super Picross Review

*Played and Written in January 2022. I generally still agree with it, but I'm less salty now.

It was the Summer of 2016. This was one of those summers where I was in-between college semesters. I’d work a 9-5 internship that wasn’t challenging or stressful, but due to the 1hr+ commute back and forth, was always draining. I’d come home from work every day and try to wind down with a video game. I didn’t have any energy to get my clam shell toaster of a laptop to fire up anything at a reasonable frame rate, nor did I have any hot new console games I wanted to play on my last gen hardware. My go to system to play was the Nintendo 3DS and the beginning of my summer was spent playing Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire. Pokémon is kind of the perfect game to play when you’re exhausted because it doesn’t demand much from you and you can pretty much go on autopilot the whole time. But I completed it pretty quickly, and the only post game to speak of was the hunt for Legendarys. I am a self proclaimed hater of Legendary Pokémon, so this didn't appeal to me. And unfortunately it was a hunt to catch Legendary Pokémon though, and not a hunt to exterminate them from existence, so I couldn't get invested.

I figured maybe I could buy something for cheap on the Nintendo E-shop next. I didn’t want to spend too much, but fickle as I was, even I knew a 5 -10 dollar game would make no difference in my attempts to stay on top of my college tuition. Sorting through the cheapest games on the digital store I came across a bunch of free products that I immediately wrote off as Free to Play shovel-ware. One did manage to catch my eye though. Pokémon Picross. I’d heard of Picross, but never actually played it. I knew there was a Mario Picross on the Game Boy and that it was pretty good, but Pokémon Picross flew right by me. It was indeed Free-to-Play, but my curiosity got the better of me and I downloaded it regardless. I did a quick google search and learned that the game does have a finite amount of content, so I wasn’t worried it would take over my life schedule forever like that One Piece mobile game I used to play did. I loaded up the game, played until I ran out of…play points??? Stamina?? I don’t know what terminology was used, but it was whatever currency that recharged each day to get you to play it daily. By the end of the play session I realized something very profound about myself. I like Picross.

At first it was just a fun “fill in the blanks” sort of game. Look at what each row and column require and make a cute picture based on those rules. Pokémon Picross had a unique take on the Picross formula that I didn’t realize was unique until I played other Picross games. Each puzzle represents a Pokémon you can catch. Each Pokémon has a power that automatically fills out squares in a different pattern. You had to strategically use your Pokémon to fill out the Picross within the time limit and it was so visually simple, yet mentally stimulating. My brain would be completely dead after my commute back from work and playing Picross would never fail to resurrect it. In retrospect, the way you have to build a team of “Pokemon” to effectively solve Nonograms (that’s what Picross puzzles are actually called fyi) is brilliant and I want it to be expanded on in other games. It’s a wonderful system, but it doesn’t relate to why I love Picross so much.

There are Nonograms in Pokémon Picross which you are not allowed to use Pokémon on. Some of these puzzles seemed impossible to solve without having at least a few automatically filled squares. At first glance it appeared like I was face to face with a guessing game. At 14th glace it appeared like I was face to face with a guessing game. But at that 15th glance I saw something else. I stopped looking at what squares could and had to be filled out and instead started viewing what couldn’t be filled out. Only then did I catch a glimpse into what the true form of the matrix really was. An intricate nonlinear string of raw logic. You look at the Nonogram and get stuck thinking you’ve done everything you can, but when you analyze every line and extinguish every impossibility, you WILL succeed. You may not succeed as quickly as you’d like. You may not do it in an efficient or clean way. But it will be done. And that’s the true beauty of it all. Every good Nonogram is built upon this one comforting adage as it’s foundation “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”. Going from hopelessly stuck, to finding that one chink in the proverbial armor is the most satisfying feeling in any puzzle game I’ve laid my hands on. Because when you find that one pixel you overlooked, endless possibilities(or impossibilities) cascade one after the other. It’s the puzzle equivalent of landing a chunky combo in a fighting game when your back is against the wall. Every difficult Nonogram has the potential to become it’s own underdog story where the hero narrowly slinks by with the W.

It didn’t take long for me to get hooked on Picross, and I could no longer bare playing only the 30 minutes of free Picross the game allowed per day. I bought Mario Picross from the E-shop and got to experience a Picross game with no gimmicks. I also started playing Picross online during my breaks at work. I became a Picross fiend. If I hadn’t played Dark Souls later that same summer, Picross would probably be the defining game of that year for me. I eventually caved and just bought enough extra time in Pokémon Picross so that I could play whenever I wanted to until I beat it. Yea, I paid money for a Free to Play game like some kind of sucker. That’s how bad I had the Picross bug. Eventually I took a break from Picross and only stuck to playing Picross games online when I felt like it. Every once and a while I’d pick up a new Picross game that had a nice twist such as Murder by Numbers or Pictoquest, but I didn’t fall back in hard until recently.

So I guess I can start writing about the game now.

Around one year back, Mario's Super Picross was added to the Nintendo Switch Online Library. I had no idea this game existed and that was because it was never released outside of Japan and PAL regions. I just got around to it near the end of 2021 out of sudden curiosity only to find that this has not been translated in the slightest. I had to navigate through this game using nothing but past knowledge of how UI are typically designed. I’m pretty sure I completed everything the game has to offer, but I can’t be certain. There could have been a hint mechanic for all I knew, not that I’d ever use it. In fact I think there was something like that, but I had no clue how to work the damned thing and it would just result in me messing up the puzzle.

Lack of translations aside, Mario's Super Picross is probably the best and worse Picross game when it comes to the quality of the Nonograms themselves. Everything else is pretty par for the course. It’s the logical evolution of the first Mario Picross. The original only had the gimmick of a roulette that fills out 1 row and 1 column. Everything else is a pure Picross. While it’s delightful, it’s a bit limited. The Nonogram Grids in Mario's Picross max out at 15X15. 15X15 is fine enough, but after a while that becomes a bit too easy. Mario's Super Picross was released on the Super Famicon, and thus assumes you aren’t squinting your way though the game on a tiny screen. Because of this, you are given 20X20 and even 20X25 grids to work with. They can get pretty grueling, but that only makes them more satisfying to overcome.

The difficulty of the grids aren’t even that much of factor in determining these as quality Nonograms. I may have understated the importance earlier, but the image produced upon completion of the puzzle is integral to the gameplay loop. Slowly filling in the canvas with pixels and then figuring out the intended scene is gratifying on a completely separate level. By the end of the puzzle you won’t just feel like you solved a problem, you’ll feel like you really built something. Super Picross is good at having the Picross image be something with a strong silhouette. You can still solve it by following the rules, but eventually you can also solve it by knowing what the image is supposed to look like. Recent Picross games do not follow this philosophy. They are reliant on color to make the image for them. It’s sort of why I fell off the last Picross Game I played before this, Hatsune Miku: Logic Paint S. The completed image makes no sense in black and white and then presto, you have a cute colorful anime girl’s face.

Mario’s Super Picross does just about everything right, outside of a few quality of life changes modern games would have such as: locking in completed rows and columns and graying out numbers that are already used. I would say it’s the quintessential Picross experience…. as long you don’t play through the entirety of the Wario Campaign. Mario’s Super Picross is split into 2 Parts: The Mario Levels and the Wario Levels. The Mario Levels are akin to most levels in the original. Nonograms of increasing size that you have to solve within a time limit. Any mistake you make takes minutes off the timer, and the amount of minutes increases exponentially after each mistake. And like I said before, you can use a roulette to knock out a row and a column if you chose to do so. These levels are perfect I’d say. Once you do these you unlock the Wario campaign. Wario is Picross in it’s truest form. No roulette, no timer, no alerts for when you make a mistake. Just you and the Nonogram, locked into a room until one of you remains standing. It’s the best part of the game as it test your confidence in your Picross skills. It’s also the worst part of the game because it breaks that cardinal law of Picross I described earlier.

It was around the last few levels of the Wario puzzles where the challenge started to get real nasty. My deductive abilities had never been pushed this far and I could feel my true Picross powers awaken in the heat of battle like some sort of Bleach episode. They were tough, but I was only becoming more confident in my strength. And much like my confidence in every aspect of myself, it quickly shattered. I soon was face to face with seemingly the most complex Nonogram yet. It was a 20X25 full of 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s with very little symmetry. This was an indomitable beast. I tried my best to box it in, but I just couldn’t do it. I analyzed every angle and every approach, but there was no guaranteed move I could make no matter how hard I looked at it. After 2 hours I caved and looked up the solution, and upon my search I saw some forum post talking about, not just this puzzle, but other similar puzzles near the end of the Wario Campaign. It was then I learned that I didn’t fail Picross; Picross failed me.

There was no logically sound way to solve this. Trial and Error was required and I don’t think I’ve ever been more betrayed in my life. This is a side of Picross I did not like one bit. For hours I studied this thing, thinking there was something wrong with my approach. Everything before this point could be reasoned with, but suddenly the game expects you to just pick an equally valid option, hope it’s the right one and then keep on going. After the paradigm shift became apparent, I wasn’t slowed down too much. I had glorious emulation technology on my side, I can just reload a state when I fuck the puzzle up beyond repair. That’s not the point though. It’s designed so that you shouldn’t have to do that, so it’s infuriating for the game to go back on that design and not say anything about it. Pretending like everything is as hunky dory as it used to be. Why am I being Gaslit by Picross? Why am I being Gaslit by WARIO??

Only a handful of these Nonograms require guesswork, but I didn’t know that before hand. Every puzzle after this point had a high chance of being bullshit as far as I knew. The trust was broken and the illusion faded. I couldn’t take any of the puzzles seriously because I was so paranoid about the skullduggery that could lie at every corner. I only gained some pep in my step when I finished the Wario Levels (and the Special Wario Levels (and the ULTRA Wario Levels)) and unlocked the EX Mario levels. The Mario levels don’t expect perfection from you, thus I don’t expect perfection from them. If there’s a suspect Nonogram on the grid, I’ll only lose like two minutes of time when the grift occurs. No big deal at the end of the day. But once I finished EX Mario Levels (and the Secret EX Mario Level) I unlocked the EX Wario levels (and of course the Secret EX Wario level (and how could we forget the OTHER EX Wario Level(But let’s not leave out The Third Ex Wario Level))). This last batch of Wario levels straight up wilted me and I almost regret doing them.

I looked at that completed 300 Puzzle File and it filled me with nothing but apathy. I wasn’t glad it was over, but I kinda was. I felt proud I completed it, but also I wasn’t. I can tell the designers were trying to include more content, but they went too far. If there were about as many puzzles in this game as there were the previous one, the game would be immaculate. It would have ended on a high note at least. Instead, we had pernicious padding to make sure the game has exactly 300 puzzles, regardless of how poorly thought out they might get. To bring up Pokémon one more time, Mario's Super Picross is the Pokémon Generation 5 Pokédex of Picross Games to me. There’s a lot of great Nonograms in there, but also some that weighed on my soul. Still a good time, the majority of the journey is satisfying, but the picture at the end of the puzzle is not as beautiful as I’d like it to be.

#Mario's Super Picross

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