Puzzle Chronicles Ds Review

Amy Nelson, Associate Writer

Published February 26, 2010

Love. It came so quickly; but, alas, it was not meant to last. Puzzle Chronicles—I started out loving this game—from the moment I popped it into my Ds. It's a puzzle game (which I love) with an rpg aspect to it that adds the interest of a story, and a goal to reach rather than an infinite loop of puzzles to solve. What's not to love? Unfortunately, a true puzzle fanatic is going to be absolutely frustrated by the fact that the puzzles are just so short. Build up a truly extraordinary setup, wait for your piece to turn up, get ready for the spectacular finish, and then watch as your opponent falls to the ground right before you achieve it. This is maddening, and incredibly, it happens frequently throughout the game. Just as you start to enjoy the puzzle, the rpg intrudes.

The opposite is also true. A gamer who purchases this game hoping for a great rpg will likely be completely disappointed in how prevalent the puzzling aspect is in the game. All the aspects of your favorite rpg are there: special items, gradually increasing members to your party, gaining experience, gold and loincloths. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing can be done without completing one or even several puzzles. Crafting items, training your warbeast, finding treasure—all require solving mini-games to proceed. The mini-games are for the most part quite fun and Tetris-like, at least when you first begin to play. You play each mini-game quite often, as you can do nothing without solving it's accompanying mini-game and they start to become a bit tedious in their simplicity about halfway through the game. You will again be frustrated by the short amount of time that you are able to play. Each play consists of one level and one level only. There is no time to get into the puzzle, and no real challenge to it as all you really need to do is hang on till the end of the level.

There is also no real choice in how you choose to complete the quest. You must proceed in a predetermined order, and you cannot even enter buildngs in a town until each has been opened to you. There is no option to speak with various townspeople, or find random items—absolutely everything must be done in order.

This is a good game, but it is definitely not a great game. It is an entertaining enough way to pass the time, but it's not a game that will truly grip you and make you want to play non-stop until the credits roll. There is one group, however, that I can foresee this game doing well with: the 10-15 year old crowd. The games are simple enough to pick up, but challenging enough to hold the attention of someone that age. The characters would also appeal to tweens and young teens, with your cliched buff tough guy and scantily dressed females in cartoonish form. Buy it for yourself if you're interested, but pass it along to your kid when it starts to bore you.