Pokémon Puzzle League

About This Game

Gameplay

Pokémon Puzzle League features the same gameplay as in Panel de Pon. The objective is to clear blocks from the playfield by arranging them in horizontal or vertical lines of three or more blocks. A continuous stream of new blocks pushes up from the bottom of the playfield, causing the entire playfield to rise continuously. If the blocks reach the top of the playfield, the player loses. The player can temporarily stop the progression of blocks by scoring combos and chains, and in two-player battles, these actions also cause garbage blocks to stack on top of the opponent's playfield. Unlike its predecessors, Pokémon Puzzle League features a 3D mode in addition to the traditional 2D mode. In this mode, gameplay takes place on a cylinder with an effective width of 18 blocks, compared to the six-block width of the flat 2D field. It also features the original block design from Panel de Pon and Tetris Attack, as well as a Pokémon-oriented design (selected by default). The game features the ability to battle against AI opponents, though their abilities are limited when using the 3D gameplay style. The game includes several modes of play.

History

Pokémon Puzzle League originally began development as Panel de Pon 64, a sequel to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Panel de Pon (1995) featuring the descendants of that game's cast, before being reskinned to feature characters from the Pokémon franchise. The original Panel de Pon 64 version would later be completed and released as part of Nintendo Puzzle Collection (2003) for GameCube. The in-game soundtrack is primarily composed of instrumental arrangements of tracks from the 1999 soundtrack album Pokémon 2.B.A. Master. Other featured tracks include an arrangement of "Catch Me If You Can" from Pokémon: The First Movie's short feature Pikachu's Vacation, and other instrumental tracks from the Pokémon anime.