PICROSS S GENESIS and Master System Edition Review (Switch eShop)

It is quite impressive how many miles Nintendo and Jupiter Corporation have managed to earn from the Picross franchise. The beloved number puzzle series has been running for a couple of decades, while the main gameplay along the way has remained almost completely stagnant. Although the ‘main’ games have been entertaining enough in their own right, the most memorable releases have always been crossovers with popular franchises. Known IPs as Pokémon, Zelda and * check notes * Overlord has been represented in Picross games throughout the years, and now the latest in this line of derivatives has arrived with the Picross S Genesis & Master System Edition. It’s absolutely nothing new, but hey, how cool is that Sonic can be in a puzzle?

The main gameplay is exactly the same with this entry, as you are tasked with using a series of intimidating numbers to get a pixel art drawing. Using the numbers along the sides of the rows and columns, he systematically moves through the puzzle to find areas where he can complete a cell or mark it. Often times, you can’t completely fill in a row or column the first time you find it, so you have to repeatedly circle partially filled areas as you get more information and the image becomes clearer. Sure, it sounds as fun as doing math homework, but Picross manages to be relaxing and engaging once you get the hang of it, and it can be scary how easily it lures you in for ‘one more puzzle’ for the twelfth time. .

A big part of the appeal of these puzzles is simply figuring out which image you’ve been painstakingly shooting, and Picross S Genesis & Master System Edition is especially engaging due to its use of familiar characters and things. Now, you’re not just taking random photos of pyramids or astronauts, but more recognizable things like a Puyo jelly from Puyo Puyo or the original Amy Rose from Sonic CD. Sega fans will obviously get more out of this release, as there are quite a few franchises represented in this collection, but even those without much knowledge of the company’s inherited intellectual property will likely still be entertained by the expressive spritework.

There are 480 puzzles to solve in Picross S Genesis & Master System Edition and Jupiter has found some interesting ways to keep the experience fresh throughout the many hours it takes to clear everything. 150 of the puzzles are under the ‘basic’ rules, and then they are mixed into another 150 puzzles under the ‘Mega’ rules, which have some guide numbers spanning two rows or columns. Completing some of these puzzles will unlock gigantic ‘Clip’ puzzle pieces, which are made up of 50 puzzles every. Finally, there are 30 ‘Color’ puzzles, integrating three or four different colors to add an additional challenge.

When you’re just starting out, it can be a lot to understand, but there are plenty of tutorials and starting puzzles to help you get into the groove. Also, almost all puzzles will allow you to use certain ‘cheat’ options that do things like highlight areas where you can complete something or start the puzzle with a random row and column already filled. Each of these options can be turned on or off at will, giving the entire experience a very fluid difficulty curve that appeals to players of any skill level.

Of course, everything we’ve written so far about the structure of the game is applicable to almost every previous entry on the Switch and that’s a great strength and weakness of Picross S Genesis & Master System Edition. Given the pedigree of the borrowed intellectual property, it would have been nice to see Jupiter go for something a bit more ambitious like Pokémon Picross’ semi-RPG build, but sadly, this is “ just ” another new level pack to come by. a long time. -series running. On the other hand, nonogram-free play never goes out of style, and it’s good to see that the puzzles are just as addictive and fun to solve as ever.

Conclution

If you know anything about the Picross franchise, then you probably already knew what to expect with this entry before you even read this review. Picross S Genesis & Master System Edition is more Picross, only with Sega characters, and… that’s it. It feels like a missed opportunity that Jupiter hasn’t tried to do a bit more with the IP, but it’s also hard to say no to a new batch of a few hundred Picross puzzles related to the Sega 8- and 16-bit libraries. We’d give this one a solid recommendation, but perhaps with the caveat that those of you who already have a few entries may want to pause before purchasing another new entry in the series. Trust us there Will Be more.