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Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition |OT| The Princess's Secret Orb Slide

pronk420

Member
i think I prefer z since Mario just feels like a simplified version of it. I feel like I ought to play Mario though because if I don't I won't want to come back to it after z...
 

Xater

Member
i think I prefer z since Mario just feels like a simplified version of it. I feel like I ought to play Mario though because if I don't I won't want to come back to it after z...

Yep, playing some of the Mario one it probably is the one to go through first. It seems simpler.
 

magnetic

Member
The presentation in Z is a lot better than I anticipated. I really disliked the design of the mobile version, the music annoyed me and the hallways were boring and repetitive. Z feels significantly more atmospheric and I really wonder if the mobile version ever will get a similar upgrade in visuals and sound - the app makes so much money, but still looks very much like to a basic mobile title.

The music in Z so far is surprisingly good - very smooth and relaxing dungeon themes, I plugged in my earbuds after a few rounds because it sounds so good.

And the huge Dragon in the grass dungeon looks absolutely gorgeous - tons of detail and very nice animation. I love the knight enemies as well, such nice designs.

Presentation in puzzle games is very important to me, and I didn't expect it to enjoy it so much. Really feels like as if Etrian Odyssey was a puzzle game!

Slowly getting better at combos, too, which makes it even more fun. Once you get into it, seeing combo paths gets a lot easier and soon you'll think in these patterns in your sleep - just like Tetris, panel de pon or Puyo Puyo.

Mario feels a quite a bit clumsier by comparison, it mostly reminded me how annoying many of the NSMB tunes are. BAH BAH! The mario jumping sound effect was a particular poor choice for something you hear constantly. (there's a song that plays in the underwater portions with a nice sax melody that sounded very good, though - was that in a Mario game as well?)
 
Mario feels a quite a bit clumsier by comparison, it mostly reminded me how annoying many of the NSMB tunes are. BAH BAH! The mario jumping sound effect was a particular poor choice for something you hear constantly. (there's a song that plays in the underwater portions with a nice sax melody that sounded very good, though - was that in a Mario game as well?)
Indeed. I want to like the SMB Edition more. Finally unlocked Lottery. Holy crap I wish I got this earlier. Worlds 2 and 3 were so tough castles/airships!
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
About to finish World 6 on Mario Bros. and Awakening skils are still locked lol.
 

Kouriozan

Member
Holy shit Mario edition is kicking my ass so hard, I had to use 3 lives on Wolrd 4-Tower.
At least I just got Boo Mario/Luigi and I'm already competent to activate their leader skill 100% of the time thanks to the mobile version.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Boo Mario & Luigi are OP - once you get them its smooth sailing.
 

magnetic

Member
One criticism I have is that I would love to see what pieces come falling down next - I can shuffle the board pretty well, but everything that drops down from above the screen is completely random,which dampens the rush of a big chain a bit.

Would have been great to plan ahead even further, like in Tetris Attack.

And man, this is the perfect podcast game. Listening to people talking while matching pieces was great with Planet Puzzle League, and it's just as good with this one!
 

pronk420

Member
I tried to play Mario but I just don't like it as much so I went back to z. The enemy artwork is surprisingly awesome, and I prefer the style. It sort of feels like Pokemon but with dragons.

Did Mario and dragons come out in Japan? I got the impression z didn't do very well there but I could be wrong. I wonder what the 8-4 guys will make of it.
 

magnetic

Member
I tried to play Mario but I just don't like it as much so I went back to z. The enemy artwork is surprisingly awesome, and I prefer the style. It sort of feels like Pokemon but with dragons.

Did Mario and dragons come out in Japan? I got the impression z didn't do very well there but I could be wrong. I wonder what the 8-4 guys will make of it.

Z did around 1.5 million if I remember correctly, so quite good!
 

Kouriozan

Member
Finally hearing a Super Mario World song, nice!
That World 6 is crazy long though.

Edit : reached World 7, unlocked awakening but the difficulty jumped once again, World 6 boss spoiler
he has an HUGE defence, had to use 5 lives and finally dealt more than 1 damage after reaching 50k with my dark allies.
It's Roy and he is light attribute, by the way.
 

MikeDip

God bless all my old friends/And god bless me too, why pretend?
How's the post game stuff?
After the story is done is there any reason to build up teams and take on hard dungeons? Or does the game just end?
 

Kinsei

Banned
Finally hearing a Super Mario World song, nice!
That World 6 is crazy long though.

Edit : reached World 7, unlocked awakening but the difficulty jumped once again, World 6 boss spoiler
he has an HUGE defence, had to use 5 lives and finally dealt more than 1 damage after reaching 50k with my dark allies.
It's Roy and he is light attribute, by the way.

I was watching some videos and it looks like one of the bills (King?) has the ability to reduce an enemies defense to 0 for a turn. That seems like it will be pretty much required for bosses from that point onwards.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
I must suck because 4-Tower was rough.
My strategy is grinding lives at 3 color stages.

Can you even get more than 9 lives ? Havent used a life yet but it seems like 9 is max since it has been that way for the last days. Which sucks considering 1ups are also prices at the Tombola....
 

Kouriozan

Member
I was watching some videos and it looks like one of the bills (King?) has the ability to reduce an enemies defense to 0 for a turn. That seems like it will be pretty much required for bosses from that point onwards.

Thanks for the tip, I just wanted to be done with that world yesterday before going to sleep.
I have a bullet bill so I'll look after his transformations.
 
Can you even get more than 9 lives ? Havent used a life yet but it seems like 9 is max since it has been that way for the last days. Which sucks considering 1ups are also prices at the Tombola....
Nope, 9 is max. I went from 9 to 3 on last Morton battle. Wendy seems to be easier but man is she a tank.
 

15strong

Member
I really think you would like it, check out the demo!

It's not anything like puzzle quest. The battle system is completely different. Moving pieces is different and the enemy doesn't really fight you like in puzzle quest. They just damage you over a certain amount of turns. And their is none of the fun rpg elements in puzzle quest. You just go from dungeon to dungeon upgrading your guys.
 

Vinneh

Banned
What are some of the best monsters to invest in both for Mario and Z edition?
Also what is the deal with lives and coins for Mario? I'm afraid to use the lives.
 
Played the demo and was immediately sold. I never ended up playing the mobile version, so what seems like two awesome puzzle games for $25 is a steal. I doubt it'll leave my 3DS for a while.
 

daydream

Banned
What are some of the best monsters to invest in both for Mario and Z edition?
Also what is the deal with lives and coins for Mario? I'm afraid to use the lives.

Lives let you continue in the dungeon with full health. You find them in the lottery, in item boxes and you get them if you nail big combos (it's the Neon mushroom that fills up bar by bar, if you recall - it shows up at around 8x and gives you a 1up at 12x-ish, I think).

I have used a fair amount if I don't feel like redoing the dungeon, especially against bosses.
 

hirokazu

Member
I hate the way the game shows combos in both games. They need to better use animation to convey information to players.

I think I'm enjoy SMB Edition much more than Z, which is opposite what I thought. I like that SMB Edition is much more focused on the puzzles without spending minutes at a time wading through dialogue. There are a lot of dumb things that frustrate me from a UX perspective in Z as well, including the above as well as:

- Grey being the highlight colour (blue being I highlighted) when selecting from several choices
- Huge invisible walls in the world when objects don't quite fill their tiles

...amongst other smaller things that I've forgotten about now.

It seems GungHo had a lot to learn about good design and it makes me appreciate that I don't even have to think about these things with most Nintendo games. Fortunately, they either learnt most of it by the time they made SMB Edition or they had guidance from Nintendo about it.

i really need to spend time to get my brain to adjust to the way matching works in this game too. It's still hard-wired for Pokémon Shuffle, which I'm still playing alongside this.
 
What are some of the best monsters to invest in both for Mario and Z edition?
Also what is the deal with lives and coins for Mario? I'm afraid to use the lives.
Boo Group has an ability to move any orbs in seconds, so they are worth always using. You also want a healer like Parakoopa or Cheep-Cheep.

Lives let you continue a level. Best for hard stages. Coins are used in lottery which opens in World 4. It is the best way to get items.

Have not played Z enough to say what are good monsters.
 

Kouriozan

Member
Reached World 8, wow that map is crazy.

Edit : Super Mario Bros. Edition should have been called Super Hardcore Edition.
Bosses with first strike that damage you 80%+ of your HP, huge tanky monster that are guaranted to kill you after 4/5 turns and don't forget bone piranha plants that poison you everytime.
I'm legit having an hard time, bless those extra lives.
 

daydream

Banned
What is up with the announcer in this commercial?

Reached World 8, wow that map is crazy.

Edit : Super Mario Bros. Edition should have been called Super Hardcore Edition.
Bosses with first strike that damage you 80%+ of your HP, huge tanky monster that are guaranted to kill you after 4/5 turns and don't forget bone piranha plants that poison you everytime.
I'm legit having an hard time, bless those extra lives.

Could you share your team lineup, Kourio?
 

MikeDip

God bless all my old friends/And god bless me too, why pretend?
I still can't find any post game impressions or anything, is anyone here knowledgeable about this?

Really hope there is something. Getting the game regardless though, really excited for the NA release date.
 

Kouriozan

Member
Could you share your team lineup, Kourio?
Sure, my current all orbs stage team.

UXt2RgT.jpg


I built it not too long ago so I'm in the process of leveling those 3 sub 30 allies. All have 99 level cap.
Might switch the blooper + 2 cheep cheep.
Current at World 8, ghost house 1.
 

orioto

Good Art™
I tried the demo and couldn't even finish the normal mode :'( I love the concept (never played it before) but it seems a little too tough.
 

scamander

Banned
I tried the demo and couldn't even finish the normal mode :'( I love the concept (never played it before) but it seems a little too tough.

The important part is, to plan your move in advance. Figure out how you have to move one orb to make as many powerful combos as possible. I haven't played the main game yet, but this strategy worked pretty well within the demo for me.
 

Noaloha

Member
It's great when the board patterns start to click with you. It can be a real mental work out, spatial dexterity / spatial memory-wise. It's been said before, but yeah, at some point you basically turn into Neo seeing the Matrix.

I'm sure veteran PAD players would consider this an easy example, but here's a board which - fairly simply, without any double switches - can be completely cleared, eliminating every orb there:

0tJESh2.png


one solution: http://i.imgur.com/h4c51Zr.png

I assure you that, with practice and as you famliarise yourself with common/intermediate/advanced patterns, your board manipulation will skyrocket.
 
It's great when the board patterns start to click with you. It can be a real mental work out, spatial dexterity / spatial memory-wise. It's been said before, but yeah, at some point you basically turn into Neo seeing the Matrix.

I'm sure veteran PAD players would consider this an easy example, but here's a board which - fairly simply, without any double switches - can be completely cleared, eliminating every orb there:

0tJESh2.png


one solution: http://i.imgur.com/h4c51Zr.png

I assure you that, with practice and as you famliarise yourself with common/intermediate/advanced patterns, your board manipulation will skyrocket.
That's too hardcore for me yet!!!
Bought and started playing Z btw, I've just arrived to the wood temple dungeon!
 
I've been asked to review this, but am coming in without knowing much of anything about the series.

How much time should I plan to invest into the two game package before making a fair judgement? I'm not particularly good at puzzle games, so if they get really hard at the end I may not be able to claim victory.
 

magnetic

Member
I've been asked to review this, but am coming in without knowing much of anything about the series.

How much time should I plan to invest into the two game package before making a fair judgement? I'm not particularly good at puzzle games, so if they get really hard at the end I may not be able to claim victory.

Well, the guys from Radio Free Nintendo said that the game feels too random and not very strategic compared to Bejeweled or Puzzle Quest, which almost made me ragequit the episode. (they were sharing their initial impressions, to be fair, and the guy on the actual website doing the previews had much more experience with the game.)

I'd say you should at least try for a couple of hours until you get a feeling for the base mechanics. It's a wonderfully deep system, really the best style I've seen since Tetris Attack.

The games are pretty repetitive, so finishing them both is probably not as important for a review compared to getting a good feel for the system. It's a puzzle game, after all!
It's great when the board patterns start to click with you. It can be a real mental work out, spatial dexterity / spatial memory-wise. It's been said before, but yeah, at some point you basically turn into Neo seeing the Matrix.

I'm sure veteran PAD players would consider this an easy example, but here's a board which - fairly simply, without any double switches - can be completely cleared, eliminating every orb there:

0tJESh2.png


one solution: http://i.imgur.com/h4c51Zr.png

I assure you that, with practice and as you famliarise yourself with common/intermediate/advanced patterns, your board manipulation will skyrocket.

Man, that looks so cool, now I wish that the game had skins like Meteos or Lumines!

And yeah, once you start getting better, recognizing patterns feels SO GOOD. It's really the biggest draw about well designed puzzle games - you can watch yourself improve. At first the game is so confusing since it looks like Bejeweled at first, but really plays very differently.
 

daydream

Banned
Monster Strike was announced for 3DS earlier today. Another one I've wanted to check out but haven't because of its freemium nature (and last time I checked, it wasn't even out in EU).

Hoping for another Super Mario Bros. Edition bundle. ;)
 

magnetic

Member
Monster Strike was announced for 3DS earlier today. Another one I've wanted to check out but haven't because of its freemium nature (and last time I checked, it wasn't even out in EU).

Hoping for another Super Mario Bros. Edition bundle. ;)

Haha, great news! The bouncy ball mechanics are a ton of fun, would be a great match for the 3ds. The added value with the many new assets made me really fall in love with P&D, so I hope Monster Strike makes it over as well.

Or maybe even Terra Battle!
 

Waxwing

Member
As a lapsed player of the mobile game (and I DON'T PLAY mobile games), I can't wait for this. Such a fantastic puzzler foundation. Why does it have to come out 4 days after Witcher? Arghhhh.
 
D

Deleted member 57681

Unconfirmed Member
What the fuuuck at the difficulty spike in Morton's Castle... I somehow made it past the Thwomps without losing a life and blew all four on Morton :<
 
Monster Strike was announced for 3DS earlier today. Another one I've wanted to check out but haven't because of its freemium nature (and last time I checked, it wasn't even out in EU).

Hoping for another Super Mario Bros. Edition bundle. ;)
Yay, another game I got tired of the F2P tactics but still enjoyed.

Also yeah World 3 is where the difficulty will get you. I am World 6 now, World 5 was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Sure, my current all orbs stage team.

UXt2RgT.jpg


I built it not too long ago so I'm in the process of leveling those 3 sub 30 allies. All have 99 level cap.
Might switch the blooper + 2 cheep cheep.
Current at World 8, ghost house 1.
Well 5/6 on my team isn't that bad. Been trying to evolve Fire Piranha to Petey. Boo Group is so awesome with 7 seconds to move everything around. I want to get his skill down to 2 turn recharges. Would make Hard Mode really easy.
 
Well, the guys from Radio Free Nintendo said that the game feels too random and not very strategic compared to Bejeweled or Puzzle Quest, which almost made me ragequit the episode. (they were sharing their initial impressions, to be fair, and the guy on the actual website doing the previews had much more experience with the game.)

I'd say you should at least try for a couple of hours until you get a feeling for the base mechanics. It's a wonderfully deep system, really the best style I've seen since Tetris Attack.

The games are pretty repetitive, so finishing them both is probably not as important for a review compared to getting a good feel for the system. It's a puzzle game, after all!

Thanks

I'm glad they won't be time sinks.
 
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