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A celebration of plenty of icons of the classic arcade era, in nonogram puzzle form
If you’ve somehow never heard of either Namco or the Picross series at this point in your life, you’ve made some terrible decisions along the way. If, however, you’re thinking that putting these two great tastes together would be akin to a video gaming Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, you may be on the right track. Much like the fabulous Sega collection before it, the folks at Jupiter have pulled off another collaboration with a classic arcade developer, and the result is absolutely a celebration of great puzzles, mixed with sights and sounds from the golden age of arcades… though perhaps a bit more on the Japanese end of the equation than some may prefer.On the Picross side of things, not a single feature has been left out. You’ll be able to play Classic, Mega, Color, and Clip Picross either solo or co-op with a few of your friends as well if you’d like. In addition, there are a few massive puzzles in the Extras section that will be sure to test your skills, and possibly your patience, as you try to manage clues at a scale of 30 x 30. In terms of the presentation though, everything is geared towards Namco classics, which include the likes of Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga, Mappy, Galaxian, and many, many more. Be warned that the collection represents more titles that never made it over to the States (or that at least never fully caught on) than ones well-known to Western audiences, but there’s still nothing quite as fun as realizing you’ve just created a nonogram puzzle of a character like Inky from the classic Pac-Man.In terms of concerns, if you’re an American fan of classic video games and you’re pressed to decide between this collection or the one for Sega, you may be inclined to go for Team Sonic to see more of what you’ll likely be familiar with. There are still some great titles represented here, and you’ll run into some of them periodically, but there is a step lost without the added hit of nostalgia when you see something you know and love. Another pickier issue is that while I love Mappy, and its theme song is iconic, on a constant loop for prolonged periods it can also be a bit grating. Perhaps switching between themes every few repeats or having some sort of medley would have worked out better. It isn’t a huge deal, but it is something that could have been handled differently for a more positive result.In the end, given that there’s a plentitude of great Picross titles already on the system, which one you pick will likely revolve around what you’re looking for. If you just love nonogram puzzles, and don’t have a thirst for nostalgic arcade titles from yesteryear, the traditional S series may be your best bet. There are also some offshoots with their own flavor, like the pretty recent LogiartGrimoire, that may be good for something a little different. But if you’re a vintage gamer like myself, it’s hard not to see appeal in these callback versions that celebrate different classic developers. I just hope to continue to see more of them.
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [8.9]