Puzzle Chronicles probably isn't going to be what you were expecting. Those that have even a passing interest in this genre have likely been following this title for quite a while as I have. Hoping against hope that it is indeed a PuzzleQuest clone (hoping it's less in the vein of Puzzlequest:Galactrix, and more in line with the original). Despite the months of hype over it being made by the people who created the original Puzzlequest:Challenge of the Warlords, it is in fact barely a distant cousin. Is it a puzzle game? Yeah. Does it have a tacked on RPG? You bet. But that is where the similarities end unfortunately. Let's start with the good. Puzzle Chronicles has a fairly decent puzzle mechanic although not without it's flaws, and let's face it... that is the driving force behind the "just one more round" factor of the original. Honestly, that's all there is to say good about it. I'm serious. It's a major letdown, as I started getting worried after seeing the previews for the game and how many missed opportunities, or downright questionable gameplay mechanics were prevelant. Nevertheless, I plopped down my cash as I remembered when PuzzleQuest:Challenge of the Warlords gave the same "uneasy" feeling before I'd actually played it. I recall thinking "Bejeweled and an RPG? Uh-oh." But was I ever suprised (as well as quite a few others). In much the same way that Advance Wars (from Nintendo) took strategy gamplay by storm, so to did PuzzleQuest. We have seen a few iterations since, trying to cash in on the puzzle meets rpg idea. All have failed to capture the essence of what made the original fun (save for Galactrix, which is close but not quite there). Puzzle Chronicles asks alot of you, and gives very little in return. It asks you to learn a completely foreign in execution puzzle mechanic, throwing some old ideas out the window. It's definitely innovative, and different, while at the same time mixing some of the old tried and true puzzle game mechanics in for good measure. It's reminiscent of Lumines, two-player tetris, Columns, and even the Street Fighter themed Puzzle Fighter. The only problem is that even with that, after about 20 hours+ you still will not get used to it. It will never seem like an extention of your subconcious mind as many other puzzle games do, and indeed almost require to be any good at. The real issue here is that the nature of the gameplay doesn't allow for strategic play (such as "cascading" effects or "setting up" the enemy in PuzzleQuest) as the game is played in real time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Lumines, Tetris, Columns, and Puzzle Fighter all played out in real time. The difference is that the pieces come in from the left side of the screen. While the opponents come in from the right. Most everyone is attuned to having the pieces come in from the top and going to the bottom. It may not sound like much of a complaint, but it's very counterintuitive and at times very nearly a deal breaker. When you have to waste time to look at the row, making absolutely sure your pieces are lined up before sending them down all the way - that's a problem. Sure when starting out in the beloved Tetris series, we all had to do that to make sure our pieces went where they should. But soon enough it became almost second nature, where you could drop pieces with reckless abandon. Not so in Puzzle Chronicles. You'll eventually just accept the fact that some of your pieces are going to be a row or two off because your brain is so wrapped around top to bottom. I suppose you could hold the PSP vertically, and play but that's just not right. That's the biggest issue really, the gamplay mechanics are there, just not fully realized in an effort to be the next big thing. Honestly, it doesn't even appear that the developers even had much regard for that. It's immediately apparent that the story itself is put together almost entirely by story board, and whoever wrote the story isn't very talented. The graphics are bad, that's putting it bluntly I know. But that really isn't the issue, it could arguably be a great game with sub-par graphics as long as the gameplay and mechanics were topnotch. Since, they're not... the graphics only help to add salt to the wound. The voice acting has taken a note right out of the book of PuzzleQuest:Challenge of the Warlords (Heck, the voice talent even sounds like the same person!). But when your game looks like it was made through a Flash engine, complete with incredibly choppy and chessy animation - you've lost alot of people. It's one of those games where you will really "TRY" to love it. At first it seems to have loads of potential... you'll notice the glaring flaws right away, but it will throw a bone every few minutes. Your hopes will be dashed soon enough as you find that the game really could have used way more polish at the least, and a complete overhaul at the most. It's definitely a renter first....
I'm always on the look out for good puzzle games but, having read the reviews already on here I rented it first - and was that one of my better decisions? YES! Gameplay: An interesting sideways entering "colour match... Read Full Review
