Pokémon Shuffle (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Match-3 puzzlers are rather self-explanatory. There is no ambiguity in the genre heading, so nobody could ever be in two-minds about the idea of 'match three to win' - but for those uninitiated out there, the goal is to swap avatars of Pocket Monsters around a grid-based field in order to match between three and five of the very same type, thus making them disappear, only to be replaced by other critters above them, with the field never emptying due to more Pokémon being drip-fed in from off the top of the screen. It is an endless flow of matching lines horizontally or vertically and watching as more shapes come raining down from above.

In the Nintendo DS iteration, and subsequent 3DS update, everything was done against the clock, yet in this free version kindly offered by Nintendo, there is more emphasis put on tactical play, not only being given a set number of moves rather than a timer system, but also allowing any two tiles to be switched, as opposed to only adjacent ones, as found in other games of this ilk. At first, it can be quite disorientating for anyone used to the panic-stricken moments of flicking blocks on either side, above, or below, as quickly as possible to work down an enemy's health, overcome a set score target, or even clear a set number of a particular tile shape-colour-face (or whatever, dependent on the game).

However, very quickly the tactical element comes to the fore and Pokémon Shuffle becomes a lesson in how to permeate addiction amongst the gaming community. Attempting to make that key tile swap to trigger endless chains and rack up the highest possible score, thus dealing the largest quantity of damage to the Pokémon, is simply exhilarating. Sure, there are pitfalls, such as the AI being rather foolish at times - a primary example that springs to mind is when a battle was won without even making one move because the opposing Pokémon instantly changed some tiles around, which triggered an almighty barrage of chains, wiping itself out almost instantly - and how the difficulty yo-yos around, but all that means, at the end of the day, is that extra care and attention is imperative.

Experts can opt to select a grouping of three or four Pocket Monsters to bring into the battlefield - dependent on stage requirements, some only allowing three - but newcomers can merely use the 'Optimise' button to auto-select the best team to face-off against a particular Pokémon adversary. As in the mainline RPGs, each Pokémon has its own specific type (Bulbasaur is Grass, Pikachu is Electric, Squirtle is Water, Charmander is Fire, and so on), and choosing the correct monsters to face-off against opponents is vital to have success in the lowest number of moves. As the game goes on, Pokémon will reveal their special abilities - freezing the opposing Pocket Monster temporarily, causing more damage in different situations, causing random status effects - plus they also level-up the more they are used, increasing their attack ability over time, gaining experience even if a battle is not won. Additionally, some Pokémon can Mega Evolve once the corresponding Mega Evolution Stone has been obtained after key fights. Simply set them as the first in the selection of four (or three, as mentioned) and once enough of that particular avatar has been cleared in a level, their evolution is triggered and the devastation can commence, clearing large chunks of the playing area in one go, horizontally, vertically, in a V-shape, and many other ways.

To help even more, there are support aids that can be purchased for a set number of in-game currency, such as increasing the experience gained by the player's Pokémon team after each puzzle battle, the addition of five extra moves in a stage, preventing the enemy from countering (switching tiles to weaker Pokémon, ice, or even solid blocks), and more.

One element that will prove to be highly frustrating, though, is the 'catchability' of each Pokémon. Once a puzzle battle has been successfully overcome, there is a gauge that fills up to indicate the percentage chance of capturing the defeated combatant using an infinite supply of standard Pokéballs (or a Great Ball, offered only after a failed capture and bought using coins collected so far) - the gauge being filled by factors such as the number of subsequent combos made once energy has already been depleted, how many moves were left after the battle, the general rarity of a critter, and so on. The issue comes with how the percentage bar is near enough completely meaningless and catching a Pocket Monster ('currently' - since who knows, it may well be patched) seems to be sheer pot luck. During the review process there were many instances where there were a massive string of post-battle combination moves triggered and a near enough full bar that still resulted in the Pokémon escaping, and yet barely registering 10% in the catchability stakes after another encounter led to an almost immediate snagging! Obviously this becomes advantageous in later levels where if unable to surpass a particular Pokémon the game gives a suggestion as to which other creature would be specifically effective against it, and being able to quickly pop back and mop up earlier stages where a catch was not possible at the time. However, it does take away some of the enjoyment because, as said, it all feels too random.

Nintendo is so far ensuring that Pokémon Shuffle lasts as long as possible by adding all sorts of free extras to keep 3DS players popping back in from time-to-time, from the likes of random Pokémon battles, to gaining as many coins as possible from a shockingly generous Meowth (must be a mistake on his part, and admittedly seems so, turning tiles into more coins when attacked), to the most recent (at time of writing) event where players can test their mettle against those across the world, aiming to get the best score. Some might wonder why that last example was not included in the main game, but it needs to be remembered that this is indeed a completely free piece of software, with the only money changing hands when desiring a few extra turns or more support items…

…which brings this review nicely onto the matter of this being 'free to play' and the limits imposed. There are five hearts that can auto-replenish over a period of 30 minutes per heart, meaning that after two-and-a-half hours waiting time, another five stabs at a battle can be had. In the early stages this basically means moving five levels ahead, but eventually all five may be used on one tough level, or for going back to try to catch Pokémon that were impossible to grab first time round but are pretty essential for escapades further into the game. It all comes down to the mindset of a player - be satisfied with the five turns, switch off and play something else for a few hours or even go do something completely different, or slap down some cold, hard eShop pennies to keep on trucking. The same is true for items; want to add five extra moves, boost experience gained, reduce the complexity of an encounter, and so on? Well, simply use coins garnered for free during previous battles…or, if desperate and short on coinage, cough up the cash.

Thankfully, there are restrictions in place to prevent people going crazy with purchases of Jewels and the like. First off, only 150 Jewels can be held at any one time, and only 10,000¥/$100/£80/€100 can be spent per month (1 Jewel costs 100¥/$0.99/£0.89/€0.99, and going up to buying a lump of 75 Jewels is 4800¥/$47.99/£42.99/€47.99, to give an idea). Through the main game, there should not be too much temptation to over-spend, yet the problem may creep in when tackling the EX stages, since even experts will have a tough time completing them against the clock without numerous retries. Maybe Nintendo should issue an advisory message, "Warning: Play Sensibly!"?