A Crowning Gem- Puzzle Kingdoms Reviewed

When Puzzle Quest was released in 2007, I became unspeakably addicted to its amalgam of wispy role-playing storyline merged with Bejeweled-inspired combat. While the redundancy of most puzzle games makes for a decidedly short life-cycle, Puzzle Quest persevered with its constant flow of unlockable spells, companions, and citadel augmentation. I even found pseudo-sequel Neopets: Puzzle Adventure’s Othello-derived puzzling nearly as enjoyable, despite the title’s cuddly cute characters.

After a few hours with Puzzle Kingdoms, my obsession for the RPG/puzzler was reinvigorated. The title offers enough deviation from the previous Quest’s to feel distinctive, yet still contains enough innovation for those with have played through similar diversions. Although the genre has been overexposed with variations available for a majority of gaming platforms, those who haven’t completely exhausted their passion for the genre may find plenty of enjoyment in Kingdoms.

Like its predecessors, Puzzle Kingdoms’ narrative is skeletal thin- a devastating famine has created havoc throughout the title’s landscape, and the player must travel through each hamlet to offer assistance. On my first play-through I erroneously felt like I was malevolently conquering destabilized lands, which likely would have made for a more fascinating narrative. Once players choose between a male or female avatar, they are quickly ushered into the pleasures of combat.

Struggle are determined on a six by seven grid filled with an assortment of icons. The basic concept is to eliminate pieces by matching three icons of the same color and shape. Unlike Bejeweled, the emblems don’t have to be in the same row or column- players can eliminate “L” shaped sequences as well. Gamers are allowed to move one of the grid’s rows or columns a single space, which may be initially uneasy for fans accosted to the freedoms of Planet Puzzle League.

By eliminating three or more pieces of a particular color, the player will begin to activate one of their offensive units. After subsequent removal of grid pieces, these fighting units are able to attack, which is where the game’s strategic elements come into play.  Players select from an assortment of offensive units throughout the game from crossbowmen to swordsmen, who each have a unique set of activation and attack stats. The rules can be perplexing at first, and the in-game tutorial offers little relief for the Puzzle Kingdoms apprentice. However, within an hour the basic goals of the game should become illuminated to the astute player.

Both the Wii and DS versions control similarly, using the Wiimote or stylus to choose pieces and cast spells. Both adaptations require players to be absolutely certain about their moves. Moving a section just a few pixels initiates a move- there is no back tracking. I had to be careful with the portable version of Puzzle Kingdoms, as selections that lacked precision shifted icons errantly. Although the Wii edition made use of Wiimote swing to activate commands, these functions felt superfluous.

While both versions contain the same storyline and dialogue, the higher resolution available on the Wii console, made the home version the consummate Puzzle Kingdoms experience. Small touches like hearing the CPU opponent scream through the Wiimote after a successful attack, or the fidelity of the solemn medieval dirges, complement the game exceptionally well.