lostleader
Log Status
Played
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
--
Days in Journal
2 days
Last played
February 9, 2023
First played
February 8, 2023
Platforms Played
Library Ownership
The game boy game Mario's Picross was what got me into these types of puzzles games in the first place, and as a sequel that was never released in America I was interested to see what it had to offer. What I got was effectively some Japanese I couldn't understand, and a fairly mild game that honestly didn't do a whole lot different from it's predecessor.
In essence, Mario's Super Picross is just more Picross with Mario characters that sometimes tell you what to do or congratulate you on finishing a puzzle. I really wish there was more to it, and even with my small understanding of Japanese, I could tell it was just a bare bones tutorial talk and little flavor text. It's honestly shocking they didn't just translate the game over here anyway as there just wasn't a lot to change, but I suppose the '90s had a deep hatred for foreign letters that would hurt American kids eyes. Add that to small returns and an upcoming N64, and I guess I get why they didn't do it. Not to mention, it just doesn't have a lot going for it to catch anyone's eye.
Really you should just think of Mario's Super Picross as an enhanced port of the original Mario Picross. The game has a lot more puzzles, and a new mode attached to it, but that's really all we got. There really isn't any bells and whistles here that you wouldn't get from the game boy version aside from color. Even the new mode featuring Wario is just the opposite version of the usual Mario puzzles where you don't have a timer to race against, but also the game doesn't correct your mistakes. All the picross puzzles are just a random assortment of things, and occasionally something more specific to Japanese culture. Again there is plenty of fun with the way the game is structured, but next to nothing when it comes to Nintendo presence or charm. Heck, even the visuals and music is kept to a very lackluster arrangement. Either having tracks blend together too much or having very little of them to begin with.
Sadly,Mario's Super Picross just doesn't do anything interesting to play this over some more modern Picross games. There is next to no presentation, and everything else we get feels consistently recycled. I don't think anything is wrong with the core gameplay of Picross, but considering how many more we have got since this game came out, just makes it feel bare bones to every degree. You're not going to have a bad time with Mario's Super Picross, but you certainly can have a better time with any other Picross game out there.
In essence, Mario's Super Picross is just more Picross with Mario characters that sometimes tell you what to do or congratulate you on finishing a puzzle. I really wish there was more to it, and even with my small understanding of Japanese, I could tell it was just a bare bones tutorial talk and little flavor text. It's honestly shocking they didn't just translate the game over here anyway as there just wasn't a lot to change, but I suppose the '90s had a deep hatred for foreign letters that would hurt American kids eyes. Add that to small returns and an upcoming N64, and I guess I get why they didn't do it. Not to mention, it just doesn't have a lot going for it to catch anyone's eye.
Really you should just think of Mario's Super Picross as an enhanced port of the original Mario Picross. The game has a lot more puzzles, and a new mode attached to it, but that's really all we got. There really isn't any bells and whistles here that you wouldn't get from the game boy version aside from color. Even the new mode featuring Wario is just the opposite version of the usual Mario puzzles where you don't have a timer to race against, but also the game doesn't correct your mistakes. All the picross puzzles are just a random assortment of things, and occasionally something more specific to Japanese culture. Again there is plenty of fun with the way the game is structured, but next to nothing when it comes to Nintendo presence or charm. Heck, even the visuals and music is kept to a very lackluster arrangement. Either having tracks blend together too much or having very little of them to begin with.
Sadly,Mario's Super Picross just doesn't do anything interesting to play this over some more modern Picross games. There is next to no presentation, and everything else we get feels consistently recycled. I don't think anything is wrong with the core gameplay of Picross, but considering how many more we have got since this game came out, just makes it feel bare bones to every degree. You're not going to have a bad time with Mario's Super Picross, but you certainly can have a better time with any other Picross game out there.