SNES Games I Love #27: Tetris Attack

On 02/27/2020 at 08:44 AM by The Last Ninja

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Developer: Intelligent Systems

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Puzzle

Release: 1996

Currently available on: Game Boy

About the game: In 1995, Intellgient Systems released a game for the Super Famicom called Panel de Pon. The game starred fairies and was set in a fantasy world. This setting, of course, would not work in the West, so they changed the characters, getting permission from Nintendo to use Yoshi and characters from the recent game Yoshi's Island. But this was a brand-new puzzle game, and in order to make sure it would sell, they used the Tetris name. But actually, this game has nothing to do with Tetris. You have to switch two blocks back and forth in order to line up blocks of the same color and create chains and combos. The story mode has Yoshi freeing his friends from Bowser's spell, and eventually you face Bowser himself. This is one of the absolute best puzzle games on the console. It's addicting, fun, and completely new (for the time).

Why I love it: I remember playing this as a kid. Even as a kid, I could understand how the game worked, although I wasn't very good at it. But that changed when Intelligent Systems made the spiritual successor to this game, Pokemon Puzzle League for N64. PPL is my favorite puzzle game, which I still play with my brothers when we get the chance. PPL actually allowed me to get good at this game. But it all started with TA, which is bursting with charm, creativity, and totally addicting gameplay. The only downer here is that the game slows to a crawl when too many blocks are on screen. This doesn't happen with PPL since it's on more powerful hardware. Here's hoping that we will see a new Puzzle League game again on a current console (c'mon, Intelligent Systems, take a break from Fire Emblem).

You can read my review for Pokemon Puzzle League here

Cary Woodham

02/28/2020 at 03:47 PM

I rented this one and really liked it. But I didn't buy it because I was a poor college student at the time. But later on I did get to review Pokemon Puzzle League for The Dallas Morning News!

Too bad Super Mario Kart isn't on your SNES list, as that is one of my top five favorite games. I know it's hard to go back to now, but I enjoyed it so much in high school and college, and then when I played it again on the SNES Mini, I still liked it! When I first saw it, I knew it would be a hit. It singlehandedly created a sub-genre of games. I even liked the small, flat tracks, as they felt more like real go-kart tracks. I've enjoyed the other Mario Kart games, too, but the first one is special to me. OK I had to gush about the game since you aren't going to. :)

The Last Ninja

02/28/2020 at 11:50 PM

So here's the thing with MK: the first MK game I played was MK 64. I loved that game! I had no idea that the series started on SNES until I was a teen, and when I finally played it, I thought, "This game is hard, and it's not nearly as fun as the other games in the series." I really respect the first one for paving the way, but yeah, it's hard to go back to it now. I can play it, but I really love MK 64, Double Dash, and especially MK 8.

KnightDriver

03/02/2020 at 08:18 PM

I think i came across the Tetris Attack style game with Super Puzzle Fighter. I'll have to play the original sometime and that Pokemon Puzzle League. I didn't know it was a Tetris Attack style game.

PixlBit