Art Style: PiCTOBiTS

Developer(s): skip Ltd.
Publisher(s): Nintendo

Release Dates:
*JP:January 28, 2009
*NA: May 18, 2009
*EU: May 22, 2009
*AU: May 22, 2009


Ratings:
*CERO: A (All Ages)
*ESRB: E (Everyone)
*PEGI: 3
*ACB: G (General)

Other Names:
*JP: Art Styleシリーズ： PiCOPiCT (lit., Art Style Series: PiCOPiCT)
*EU: Art Style: PiCOPiCT
*AU: Art Style: PiCTOPiCT
*PiCTOBiTS, PiCOPiCT, PiCTOPiCT (Offical names without the Art Style label)

Number of Players: 1

Notes:
*Also available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop
*Announced on January 26, 2009. Released 2 days later along with Art Styleシリーズ： SOMNIUM in Japan.
*The game was available for 150 coins as a Club Nintendo reward in North America during May 2012.

Art Style: PiCTOBiTS is the way to go if you want a Tetris clone that pays tribute to past games.

Gameplay: The objective in Art Style: PiCTOBiTS is to reveal the hidden sprite based on characters from classic Famicom/NES games, to do so, you have a set of bits (also known as PiCTOs), which you use to eliminate megabits (a.k.a. Mega PiCTOs or Deca PiCTOs) that fall from above. You use the Stylus to put the bits, using your Pallete, on a way they can eliminate megabits by making group of 4 bits of the same color, be either in a row or at least a 2x2 sqaure, when a megabit part is removed, the remaining megabit will fall faster, if a megabit is eliminated before it hits the bottom of the screen, the player will be awarded with a Coin, if the megabit touches the bottom, it'll turn into a group of bits. Be careful, though, because sometimes the megabits have a permabit, bits with an X mark that if they're not eliminated, cannot be moved and they stay in their position, but if they're removed, they award Coins.
The game is over when a megabit cannot fall if its obstructed by bits and those aren't moved in time (in this instance, a DANGER! message appears), to prevent this, you can either move the blocks manually (your Pallete can hold up to 8 bits), or use the POW Block, which will remove the first 2 lines of bits from bottom to top, and will also make the bits fall to the bottom of the screen, but using the POW Block seals a Pallete square, but it can be restored with 5 Coins. Th sprite will be rebealed in the Top Screen as you remove megabits, when the sprite is revealed, this will show a brief animation, in some Stages, there will be more than one sprite.

Difficulty: The game starts very easy, but it gets progressively harder on later stages as the megabits fall faster and are removed faster, not to mention the fact that you get less time to plan where you'll put the bits, especially on Dark Stages. Most of the difficulty in this games comes from the often inaccuracy of the game on the detection of the Stylus, but as you get some practice on the game, this problem is quickly solved.

Graphics: The graphics in this game are made to resemble those of the Famicom, but the Menus' graphics are like those of the cover art of the Famicom 20th Anniversary Sondtracks.

Sound: The music in this game was composed by the Japanese chiptune band YMCK, and it features remixes of the classic Famicom games represented. The sound effects are also meant to be a tribute to that bygone age.

Extras: Besides recovering sealed Pallete squares, Coins can also be used to unlock Dark Stages (also knonw as Ura Stages (JP) or Remix Stages (PAL)), which are harder than normal Stages, and have different sets of sprites to be revealed. But not just that, Coins can be used to buy the music of the game in the Music section, when you purchase a song (a Stage song), there will be a more expensive "+" version (the Dark Stage extended version) available for purchase, additionally, as with other games like Kirby Mass Attack, SONIC RUSH ADVENTURE or Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (just to name a few), you can listen to the music if the DSi is closed while playing a song with a pair of headphones plugged, unlike other games, the music can also play through the DSi's speakers while the system is closed if there aren't headphones plugged.

Closing Comment: PiCTOBiTS is one of the best games on DSiWare, despite being a puzzle game, which DSiWare has a lot already, but this one is worth the 500 DSi Points, I just wish there were more stages, 'cause it only has 15 stages, I would have liked 30 normal stages, Nintendo has a lot of classics that could have easily made the cut for this game (like Duck Hunt, Wild Gunman, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kid Icarus, Urban Champion, Stack-Up, Gyromite, Mach Rider, or Clu Clu Land), but the Dark Stages more than make for it. And finally, a list of the games represented:
*Super Mario Bros. (5 Parts/Stages)
*Balloon Fight
*Ice Climber (2 Parts/Stages)
*Wrecking Crew
*Baseball (2 Parts/Stages)
*Excitebike
*Devil World (Referenced as "Devil World (Japan Only)" in the US version) (2 Parts/Stages)
*The Legend of Zelda (2 Parts/Stages)
*Super Mario Bros. 2/Super Mario USA (on the Credits only)
*The Early Famicom games sticker (seen in other games like Tetris DS and WarioWare: D.I.Y.) appears as well

And this review comes just in time, as it was published 1 day before Nintendo of America announced the May 2012 batch of free Club Nintendo games, which includes Art Style: PiCTOBiTS, coincidence? I don't think so.

Kirby Mass Attack

This is the first review I do in this newly opened blog, so I'm sorry if I did something wrong.

Developer(s): HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Publisher(s): Nintendo

Release Dates:
*JP: August 4, 2011
*NA: September 19, 2011
*AU: October 27, 2011
*EU: October 28, 2011
*SK: December 1, 2011

Ratings:
*CERO: A (All Ages)
*ESRB: E (Everyone)
*ACB: G (General)
*PEGI: 3
*GRB: All


Other Names:
*JP: あつめて！カービィ (Atsumete! Kābī, lit. "Gather! Kirby")
*KR: 모여라! 커비 (Moyeola! Keobi, lit. "Gather! Kirby")
*Kirby (From the initial announcement on September 2010 to April 2011)

Number of Players: 1

Notes:
*Available Languages: English, Español, Français.
*Downloadable Demo Version available on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.
*Originally scheduled for a release on July 7, 2011 in Japan.

If you thought the DS was dead when the 3DS arrived, then, you're wrong, Kirby Mass Attack offers a new and unique experience to the DS, and one of the best Stylus-controlled games on the system.

Story: Kirby was visiting the Popopo Islands, located in the south of Pop Star, it was a peaceful day, and Kirby fell asleep, when suddenly, a mysterious character called Necrodeus, leader of the Skull Gang, appeared, and with his magic staff, he struck Kirby and split the poor pink warrior in 10 smaller Kirbys, he then proceeded and defeated all the Kirbys, expect for one, as the remaining Kirby looks up in despair, he notices a star, which turns out it's Kirby's heart, that tells him to follow it so they can defeat Necrodeus together, and so, Kirby's adventure to defeat this new threat to Pop Star and get back to normal begins.
It certainly is an interesting twist for a Kirby game, since it has a bit of a darker theme.


Gameplay: Like Kirby: Canvas Curse, this game is controlled entirely with the Stylus, unlike other Kirby games, this one isn't a platformer, it's more of a RTS, think of it as a 2D Pikmin. You control your Kirby horde with the Stylus, tapping a certain area will make the group go there, tapping an object will make the group interact with it (An enemy=They'll pummel it; A fruit=They'll go and eat it; A root, painting, etc.=They'll go and drop it), you can flick the Kirbys to make them jump or smash blocks. In each world, you start with just one Kirby, but you can add more simply by eating 100 fruits, and once you hace 10 Kirbys and eat 100 fruits, there's a bonus; hidden through the levels there are Medals, wich serve to unlock contents in the Extras section. When a Kirby is hit, it'll turn blue, if it's hit again it'll turn grey and fly away, but you can "save" him if you grab it, and it'll be a blue Kirby again, there are special rings that restore blue Kirbys' health, so they can be pink Kirbys again, the game is over when you lose all your Kirbys or fail to accomplish a mission in some levels; a certain number of Kirbys is necessary to enter some stages. The enemies in this game are mostly new, but we get to see classic faces like Waddle Dee, Gordo or King Dedede.

Difficulty: It can be easy at times, but if you don't realise it's an RTS, it can be hard at times, mostly if you think of playing it as a platformer. If you don't go for completition, then it can be either Easy or Normal, but if you go for a 100%, then it can easily get Hard, especially from latter Level 3 onwards.Things that can become a chore are pushing blocks and restatring a stage after you lost on it, stages don't have checkpoints.

Graphics: The graphics in this game are a bit like those in Yoshi's Island, so if you like the graphical style of that game, you will most likely enjoy the art style.

Sound: The music was composed by Shogo Sakai, and it features both, new songs and remixes of past tunes, the sound effects, provided by Masaaki Iwasaki, are a bit different than most Kirby games, since some of them sound as if they were from an NES game. This is one of only two games where Kirby uses "verbal" expressions, and as expected, Makiko Ohmoto lends her voice to Kirby, she's the only voice actress in the game. Some of the sound effects are reused from Kirby: Squeak Squad.

Extras: Finding Medals in the Main Game unlocks content in the Extras section, including Subgames and the Music Player. The subgames include Field Frenzy, a whack-a-mole style of game; Kirby Brawlball, a somewhat remake of Kirby's Pinball Land (You can play this game with either the Stylus or the L and R buttons); Kirby Curtain Call, a game where you have to count how many Kirbys are there on the screen; Dash Course (also known as ○△□けんけん), a hopscotch game to see how far you can get in a determined time; Strato Patrol EOS, Kirby's very first SHMUP; and Kirby Quest (also known as KIRBY MASTER), the closest that Kirby has to an RPG. The Subgames is where the classic characters are, and they make a lot of references to past Kirby games, other games and even Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, only Kirby fans will get some of those references (the name Popopo Islands is a reference itself). Additionally, the Music Player can be used as an MP3 Player by plugging some headphones and closing the DS, similar to other games like SONIC RUSH ADVENTURE or Art Style: PiCTOBiTS.
Kirby Mass Attack also includes some sort of Checklist list, that achieves different things like if you defeated a boss with just one Kirby.


Closing Comment: Kirby Mass Attack certainly is a good game, with some flaws here and there, but overall is a game that should be in your collection if you're looking for some Touch Screen action, you're looking for a portable RTS or if you're a Kirby fan in general, just remember, don't play it thinking that it's a platformer, and you'll be fine.

Well, that's it for my first review, I'm not going to include a number attached to the review (at least, not for now), so again, I'm sorry if I did it worng.