Sometimes it’s a good idea to take a break from the action/adventure, shooters, and sports games that dominate the gaming market. Sometimes it’s fun to challenge your mind with an enriching puzzle game. But, sometimes puzzle games have horrible, repetitive music, awful replay value, or just don’t make a very good video game. This month, Michael Gray asks What is your least favorite puzzle game?
I didn’t get the Super Nintendo until 1993. Around 1991 or 1992, I was really a brat—pining over when I’d get my hands on all 16 bits. So until then, I wanted anything and everything Super Mario World-related. When I found out that a Yoshi game (called Yoshi) was coming out on Game Boy, I pissed my pants. The glory of taking Yoshi in my pocket anywhere I go just blew my mind. Unfortunately, I realized what a horrible mistake I made after I got it.
Behold, four columns!
Yoshi is a puzzle game where you have to make Yoshi egg sandwiches out of enemies for some reason. The game has no variety and gets old very quick. While I’d never played Yoshi’s Cookie, it was clear that Nintendo was out to milk (& cookies?) the friendly green dinosaur as much as they could.
Actually, after writing this about Yoshi, I remembered about the dreaded Where’s Waldo for NES. I’m not sure if it’s strictly a puzzle game since it’s barely a playable game at all, so maybe it doesn’t count.
Season Match has a very limited amount of actual puzzles. They’re pretty easy and don’t take that much effort. While that’s usually pretty great for me, I do expect at least a little challenge.
I guess there are some people who enjoyed them. I don’t. By the end of a Zelda dungeon, I’m usually tired; I have already wrapped my head around the solution to beat the whole level. So, I head toward the final door, rigged up and prepared to face the monstrosity behind it, and then this thing appears…a frustrating thing whose only purpose is to keep me away from the dungeon’s boss: one of the high marks of the Zelda series.
Loathe a puzzle game we missed? Have a question you’d like answered in a future edition of “Q&AmeCola”? Let us know in the comments!
The controls in Skyward Sword were just abysmal.
The sad part is that I thought it’ll be more action-oriented gameplay thanks to the 1:1 sword swinging advertised for the game, but then I had to face the fact that it was nothing else than a gimmick, as always.
The swordplay was only 1:1 when you weren’t in attack mode. When you were actually attacking, you could only slice in 8 directions (2 diagonals, horizontal, vertical, and reverse of those), and a forward stab. You couldn’t do a back stab or do a fancy ‘Z’ for Zorro. None of that.