| Nintendo Puzzle Collection | |
|---|---|
 Japanese cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Hitoshi Yamagami |
| Producer(s) | Takehiro Izushi Ryoichi Kitanishi |
| Designer(s) | Yumiko Morisada Naoko Mori |
| Composer(s) | Masanobu Matsunaga Noritaka Misawa Yoshito Hirano |
| Platform(s) | GameCube |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Nintendo Puzzle Collection[b] is a 2003video game compilation developed byIntelligent Systems and published byNintendo for theGameCube. It was released only in Japan. It includes updated versions of three Nintendo-published puzzle video games released for older systems —Yoshi's Cookie (1992),Panel de Pon (1995), andDr. Mario 64 (2001) — featuring updated graphics and music, alongside four-person multiplayer. The player can download one of the games to theirGame Boy Advance via theGameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable.
Development was done byIntelligent Systems, with subsidiaryNintendo Software Technology assisting with thePanel de Pon portion of the game. Originally titledMasterpiece Puzzle Collection in early versions, the game was made to appeal towards women with the inclusion ofPanel de Pon, leading to Nintendo using Japanese actressAsami Abe to promote the game through television commercials. A playable demo was presented atE3 2003 and slated for a release in North America and Europe, but was never released for unknown reasons.
Import reviews ofNintendo Puzzle Collection were favorable, being praised for its multiplayer and presentation, with several labelingYoshi's Cookie andPanel de Pon as the best titles.
Nintendo Puzzle Collection is a compilation of three Nintendo-publishedpuzzle games that were originally released on earlier Nintendo consoles. All the games support bothsingle-player gameplay and competitive localmultiplayer for up to four players simultaneously. In addition,Nintendo Puzzle Collection supportsGameCube-Game Boy Advance connectivity, allowing the player to use aGame Boy Advance as a game controller. Downgraded versions of each game can also be downloaded and played independently on the Game Boy Advance. Each game is stored in the Game Boy Advancememory and will remain until the handheld is shut down.[1]
Dr. Mario[c] is aport ofDr. Mario 64, originally released in 2001 for theNintendo 64, which was not previously released in Japan. Like allDr. Mario games, the gameplay focuses on eliminating coloredviruses from the playing field by matching them with coloredcapsules.
Dr. Mario was directed by Hitoshi Yamagami and Yoshiyuki Kato and the music was composed by Manabu Fujiki and Seiichi Tokunaga.[citation needed] The downloadable Game Boy Advance version is anemulation of theNintendo Entertainment System version ofDr. Mario.
Yoshi's Cookie[d] is an update to the 1992 video game of the same name, originally released on theNintendo Entertainment System,Super Nintendo Entertainment System,Super Famicom, andGame Boy consoles. Gameplay focuses on creating rows and columns of matching cookie types in order to clear them from the play field. In addition to the original mode, this version also features a full story mode.
Yoshi's Cookie was directed by Yasuhiro Minamimoto and Azusa Tajima, and the music (based on the original Yoshi's Cookie soundtrack) was arranged by Ai Yamashita.[citation needed] The downloadable Game Boy Advance version is an emulation of the NES version ofYoshi's Cookie.
Panel de Pon[e] is a sequel to the 1995Super Famicom gamePanel de Pon: Puzzle Action Game, which was rebranded asTetris Attack outside Japan. The game follows the descendants of the originalPanel de Pon characters in a new story. Gameplay focuses on swapping horizontally adjacent colored blocks to create lines of three or more and remove them from the play field.[2] It is based on aNintendo 64 version that went unreleased in Japan, but was modified and released internationally asPokémon Puzzle League; as a result, many of its features and puzzles are identical to those included inPokémon Puzzle League.[3]
Panel de Pon was directed by Hitoshi Yamagami and Yukimi Shimura and the music (based on the original soundtrack) was arranged by Masaru Tajima.
Nintendo Puzzle Collection was released for theGameCube in Japan on February 7, 2003. Development of the game was byIntelligent Systems, who prior to which had designed the originalPanel de Pon for the Super Famicom, withNintendo Software Technology assisting with thePanel de Pon portion of the game. Announced in December 2002 under the titleMasterpiece Puzzle Collection,[4] the game was made to appeal to women with the inclusion ofPanel de Pon, with Nintendo using Japanese actress Asami Abe to help promote the game in television commercials[5] — she had practiced the Famicom version ofDr. Mario before shooting.[6] The collection itself was made to re-release the included titles due to most not being available to consumers anymore at the time, and to take advantage of theGameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable peripheral.[5]
In January 2003, a tournament for the game was held at the 17th Next Generation World Hobby Fair in Osaka, where contestants had to get the highest score possible in all three games under a set time limit.[7] A playable demo, under the finalized nameNintendo Puzzle Collection, was presented at the 2003Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event, slated for a future release in both North America and Europe[8][1] — for unknown reasons, the game was never released in those regions and remained exclusive to Japan.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 75%[9] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Nintendo World Report | 8/10[10] |
Due to the game's Japan-exclusive release, reception ofNintendo Puzzle Collection is limited. The game holds an aggregate score of 75% onGameRankings based on two reviews.[9] Michael Cole ofNintendo World Report, reviewing an imported copy, scoredNintendo Puzzle Collection 8 out of 10. Cole felt thatDr. Mario was the weakest selection of the three games available, with "uninspired" graphics and "unforgiving and honestly quite frustrating" gameplay. He remarked that whilePanel de Pon was the best selection in regards to gameplay,Yoshi's Cookie had the most beautiful graphics.[10]
Puzzle League video games | |
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| Games | |
| Related | |
| Dr. Mario series |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Mario's Picross | ||
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong | ||
| Other games | ||
| See also | ||
| Main series | |
|---|---|
| Spin-offs | |
| People | |
| Related | |
