Puzzle Monkeys (Wii U) Review

Puzzle Monkeys takes up the robe Mario left behind and has created its own idea based on Dr. Mario's legacy, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

1. Some concepts are better left untouched.
2. Dr. Mario might not have been the best source of inspiration, as it was, cult status aside, a very mediocre title to begin with, so just leaving a watered down clone behind would not make for a good game, which is sometimes what is aimed for when basing a game heavily upon an existing best-selling game.

In that sense, what does Puzzle Monkeys do to stand out and become its own thing? A lot, both good and bad. Much credit must be given to the developers for how carefully they chose to remake and rebalance the concept they used to build the title with - something that is very often not done in cases like this. While Puzzle Monkeys is obviously based upon Dr. Mario in the way that tiles are thrown to line up in three to get rid of enemy tiles to complete the stages, the similarities end right there. Some gameplay mechanics are essential in making a particular genre fun, and should therefore be touched upon with caution.

The most prevalent change from the original formula, and where Puzzle Monkeys shows its brilliance, is in the way that the game allows to destroy blocks that are falling by pressing buttons on the touch screen. This might sound very niche and unimportant at first, but the longer Puzzle Monkeys goes on, the more important this becomes to ensure that blocks do not get too blocked up by disrupting discoloured blocks, as all falling tiles come in boxed squares. This ingenious design adds more choices to a game that already has so many, as well as great complexity.

Then there is Mode B. Mode B in many puzzle games is usually multiplayer or the same game with added difficulty. In Puzzle Monkeys, however, it is a whole new game in itself. While some core mechanics are left in, the way bricks are placed is entirely new. Rows come in on the screen at the top in a vertical line and dropping it is simply done by pressing one of the block destroying buttons. It is ingenious and creates replay value in a fun and creative way.

However, at the bad end are the tiles not connected to one another, which means that they will keep falling. While at first this appears fun, it does take away a lot of the core gameplay of a Tetris branch title, as there will never be any empty holes, which is a major and important core mechanic in the genre, and takes away the complexity of great building and piecing bits together.

Puzzle Monkeys is overall pretty fun and innovative, but it lacks the finishing touch that would be required to have it reach its full potential. Maybe basing the game on a better concept would have been the way to go, but the developer clearly succeeded with what they wanted to do: a new take on the Dr. Mario puzzle branch.