The game is inspired by the original Tetris, and started out as a Super Famicom title called "Panel de Pon". This title featured a look which could be viewed as "girly", or hyperfeminine, by any number of people, with lots of whimsical, fairy-like characters. When Nintendo decided to release the addictive puzzle game to North America, they dropped the fairies in favor of characters from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island for the purpose of making it more appealing to image conscious young male audience, a significant part of the video game market at the time. It was later released for Nintendo Game Boy, with a drop in graphics and sound quality and loss of color information. A subsequent port of the game to the Nintendo 64 console was rebranded with Pokémon characters and added two new features: a puzzle editor and a 3D game mode that takes place in a cylinder three times the size of the normal board. PPL also had smoother game play and smarter computer opponents than Tetris Attack. Pokémon Puzzle Challenge was released for the Game Boy Color soon after. PPC dropped the puzzle editor and 3D mode but had a new game mode of its own, Garbage mode, which was basically Marathon mode with the addition of garbage blocks that periodically fall onto the stack. Whereas Pokémon Puzzle League was a completely different game, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge was essentially Tetris Attack covered with Pokémon wallpaper.
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Garbage slabs can strike the top of the playing field and in fact stand above it for a short time before the player loses.
Panel de Pon has been remade for GameCube as a component of Nintendo Puzzle Collection in February of 2003, receiving a graphical and audio facelift. The GameCube version looks even more feminine than the Super Famicom version. Also, a four-player mode, from Pokémon Puzzle League, has been added in the GameCube remake of Panel de Pon. It is unknown whether the SMW2 infusion will be applied to the GameCube version of Panel de Pon done for a North American release like it was applied to the Super Famicom version.
Objective and gameplay
The objective of the game is to eliminate blocks from the playing field by creating horizontal or vertical rows of three or more identical blocks. The blocks are manipulated by switching pairs of horizontally adjacent blocks with the cursor. The gameplay is divided into four different types:Endless mode
Blocks rise continually at increasing speeds in this mode. If the blocks strike the top of the playing field, the game ends. The objective in this mode is to attain the highest score possible. The maximum score is 99,999 points.Stage Clear mode
In this mode a certain number of the rising blocks must be cleared to finish each of thirty stages. Game over occurs identically to endless mode. The end of the level is marked by a "clear line" displayed as the bricks rise.Versus mode
Either two human players or one human and the computer AI compete in this mode. The object is to make the opponent lose by striking the top of the playing field. By completing combos or chains (see below), "garbage" slabs are sent to the opponent's side. These are horizontal slabs of blocks that do not match any of the standard blocks until a group of adjacent blocks are cleared. The garbage then "pops" into ordinary blocks and may be cleared.Puzzle mode
A specific pattern of bricks is laid out on the playing field and must be cleared in a specific number of moves. There are 60 standard levels and 60 more advanced levels that are unlocked by beating the 60th level.Terminology
Remake
External links