Mario's Picross
Encyclopedia
is the first in a series of Mario themed Picross titles released in the 1990s. It is a collection of nonogram logic puzzles involving a grid with numbers for every row and column, which refer to the amount of marked squares within the grid. The game features Mario
as an archaeologist who chisels away to form images on the grid. It was followed by two originally Japan-only sequels, Picross 2 on the Game Boy
and Mario's Super Picross
on the Super Famicom
.
Mario Picross features 256 different puzzles split into four different courses—Easy Picross (64 puzzles), Kinoko (64 puzzles), Star (64 puzzles) and Time Trial (64 puzzles that appear at random). All of these follow the gameplay pattern mentioned above, except for Time Trial (which is opened after finishing all the other 192 puzzles), which is untimed and doesn't show players where they have made mistakes. If the player scores high enough they will be able to insert their score by using their initials, much like an arcade game.
, developed by Mario's Picross developer Jupiter. This title featured downloadable puzzles from the original game and other Nintendo
-developed Picross titles. One of the main criticisms aimed at the game was the size of the grids. Due to the small size of the Game Boy screen, the game's grids are restricted to being just 15x15, when puzzles four times that size were common in other media. There was also criticism of the way the game penalises time for filling a square that isn't part of the solution.
Recently, Game Informer
named Mario's Picross #76 on their list of the 200 greatest games of all-time.
.
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
as an archaeologist who chisels away to form images on the grid. It was followed by two originally Japan-only sequels, Picross 2 on the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and Mario's Super Picross
Mario's Super Picross
is a Super Famicom sequel to Mario's Picross. It is erroneously named as Mario's Picross 2, which is actually the name of the Game Boy sequel to Mario's Picross. The game is compatible with the Super Famicom Mouse....
on the Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
.
Gameplay
As picross is traditionally played, to solve a puzzle the player must mark a box in a window of varying sizes to create the resulting picture. The numbers on the top and left side of the window guide the correct boxes to mark (for example, if the window is 10×10, and one of the numbers at the top is a "10", that means all ten boxes in the column below it are part of the solution to the puzzle. If the numbers "5" and "4" are at the left of the window, that means that all but one of the boxes in the row next to them are correct, with five consecutive boxes, followed by four more consecutive boxes, separated by one space). The gameplay is timed, and mistakes cost time. If the player is sure the box is an incorrect box, they can mark it with an X so that they will know not to chisel it (useful for rows or columns marked with a "0"). Finally, there's a "With Hint" option available at the beginning of the puzzle. Choosing this will start a roulette with the numbers labeling the columns and rows. Pressing the A button would stop the top cursor, and pressing it again would stop the left cursor. The game would then show the answers for the resulting combination of a specific row and column. The pictures include a few Mario-related characters, food, animals, and objects.Mario Picross features 256 different puzzles split into four different courses—Easy Picross (64 puzzles), Kinoko (64 puzzles), Star (64 puzzles) and Time Trial (64 puzzles that appear at random). All of these follow the gameplay pattern mentioned above, except for Time Trial (which is opened after finishing all the other 192 puzzles), which is untimed and doesn't show players where they have made mistakes. If the player scores high enough they will be able to insert their score by using their initials, much like an arcade game.
Reception
Despite a large advertising campaign by Nintendo the game failed to sell well in America and Europe, leading the game's sequels to be confined to Japan. As a result, the game is seen as something of a cult classic in Western markets. The next Picross game to reach the West was 2007's non-Mario-themed Picross DSPicross DS
is a puzzle video game developed by Jupiter and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the second Picross game to be released by Nintendo in Europe and North America after Mario's Picross suffered a commercial failure in regions outside Japan, where many...
, developed by Mario's Picross developer Jupiter. This title featured downloadable puzzles from the original game and other Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
-developed Picross titles. One of the main criticisms aimed at the game was the size of the grids. Due to the small size of the Game Boy screen, the game's grids are restricted to being just 15x15, when puzzles four times that size were common in other media. There was also criticism of the way the game penalises time for filling a square that isn't part of the solution.
Recently, Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
named Mario's Picross #76 on their list of the 200 greatest games of all-time.
Sequels
for the Game Boy is a Japan-exclusive collection of nonogram logic puzzles involving a grid with numbers for every row and column, which refer to the amount of marked squares within the grid, and the sequel to this game. Unlike this game, Picross 2 contains a world map. Also, the pictures are larger, consisting of four 15x15 picross boards. Also exclusive to Japan, Nintendo released eight volumes of Nintendo Power branded Picross games known as Picross NP that were only available via SatellaviewSatellaview
The is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The...
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