Retro Arena: Puzzle Games

[Leon Retro]

Tetris - Alexey Pajitnov - 1984

Columns - Sega - 1989

Klax - Atari - 1990

Dr. Mario - Nintendo - 1990

Mean Bean Machine - Sega - 1993

Puzzle Bobble - Taito - 1994

Baku Baku Animal - Sega - 1995

Super Puzzle Fighter - Capcom - 1996


Which one do you like the most?

[Neon Ignition]

Whilst I've enjoyed Tetris, I find most of these beloved games are just varying degrees of less fun spins on it so whilst I've had fun with several of them I don't hold much love for them. There's one exception though so my pick of the bunch is an easy one... the grand mac-daddy master puzzler...

Puzzle Bobble

A ruddy good game made all the more lovable for when you finish it and have the lovely dreamy bubble bobble theme ending. Such a shame each sequel moved further away from the original Puzzle Bobble aesthetic

[Leon Retro]

Puzzle Bobble

A ruddy good game made all the more lovable for when you finish it and have the lovely dreamy bubble bobble theme ending.

I remember really enjoying the Super Famicom version back in the day. There was something highly addictive about it. I really need to investigate the series further.

[Asura]

No Puzzle Fighter?

[Leon Retro]

No Puzzle Fighter?

I'm glad you reminded me. I was too focused on 8 & 16-bit puzzle games, so Puzzle Fighter slipped my mind. I really like the Puzzle Fighter games.

So Tetrisphere is now gone -- and replaced with Capcom's puzzle game.

[Dogg Thang]

Must admit I'm not a big fan of most of these games and Puzzle Fighter (now added - thanks!) is the game that tells me why. The thing about most puzzle games is that their mechanics are on display and often the mechanics are all that is on display. Like playing a fighting game with just hit boxes on screen rather than characters. Puzzle Fighter added dressing that, yes, is just dressing but for me it made all the difference because it gave me a much more interesting visual representation and helped me actually get invested in what was going on. But most puzzle games lack that. They are a bare set of mechanics.

[Leon Retro]

Must admit I'm not a big fan of most of these games and Puzzle Fighter (regardless of it not being in this list) is the game that tells me why.

I've fixed that glaring omission. I totally agree with your thoughts regarding Puzzle Fighter -- the graphical dressing really helps bring a puzzle game to life. The only time I've ever been really into a Tetris, is with a variant called Bombliss that enables you to create bombs out of the tiles and then cause massive explosions. I like puzzle games to have some features that enhance the core gameplay. I don't get much enjoyment out of plain puzzlers that don't have anything charming or exciting/interesting going on beyond the puzzle(s)

[QualityChimp]

Tetris - Game Boy.
The DADDY of puzzlers. The perfect combination.
I've played it for hours and even had the Tetris effect as I closed my eyes and went to bed the Christmas night that I received it.

All the others in that list just feel like derivations of that perfect storm of a game, apart from Puzzle Bobble, which I also enjoy.
I can never quite get my eye in though. Every time I play it, I queue up the perfect shot that will save my bacon and make the crowd roar, but end up a millimetre out and crashing and burning. That's just not satisfying.

Bonus points to Klax for being such a memorable Lynx game and having such an interesting arcade cab.




I never like to play the "where's X in that list?" as I appreciate the efforts you make, but the only other puzzler that sprang to mind was Pang, but I guess that more of a platformer action puzzler.

[Neon Ignition]

See, Puzzle Fighter... never clicked either, it's the same old Tetris spin again. The window dressing is nice but I always got that benefit via the far more appealing Pocket Fighter instead.

[Leon Retro]

Tetris - Game Boy.
The DADDY of puzzlers. The perfect combination.
I've played it for hours and even had the Tetris effect as I closed my eyes and went to bed the Christmas night that I received it.

Yeah, the Game Boy version is a golden classic.

Bonus points to Klax for being such a memorable Lynx game and having such an interesting arcade cab.

I went back to Klax a few months ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't give it a proper chance back in the day, but now I can appreciate why it was quite popular. I might buy the Lynx version.

I never like to play the "where's X in that list?" as I appreciate the efforts you make, but the only other puzzler that sprang to mind was Pang, but I guess that more of a platformer action puzzler.

Yeah, it's never about simply asking "What's the best game in the X genre?" I like to pick well known titles that had quite a high profile back in the day. Sometimes I'll add a niche title or two, if I think it's appropriate. I didn't feel a need to add more obscure games with this particular Retro Arena.

[Leon Retro]

See, Puzzle Fighter... never clicked either, it's the same old Tetris spin again.

I really love it though.

[QualityChimp]

Yeah, I love these threads and appreciate you doing them.

[Leon Retro]

Yeah, I love these threads and appreciate you doing them.

I enjoy helping to keep the retro section interesting.

[_SD_]

I played a lot of Tetris and Dr. Mario when I was younger, always enjoyed a bit of versus action, but they’re really not my thing...

I’ve always found it quite amusing/mindboggling that people pay many hundreds of pounds for puzzle games on AES, of all things.

[Leon Retro]

and Dr. Mario when I was younger, always enjoyed a bit of versus action,

Lots of NES owners had Dr. Mario when I was a kid, so it was definitely a popular game. Unless it got bundled with the NES at some point?

I’ve always found it quite amusing/mindboggling that people pay many hundreds of pounds for puzzle games on AES, of all things.

I remember phoning a Neo Geo dealer back in the day and he said he could do the AES with a puzzle game(I can't remember its name) for £300. That was the best deal on the system he could offer. So I immediately decided against buying an AES -- and didn't get one until many years later. I managed to get some great games like Samurai Spirits 2 for £25, so the system and games were far cheaper than back in the day. But now the prices have gone through the roof.