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3DS

Japan

Puzzle & Dragons Z

by Danny Bivens - September 24, 2013, 3:46 pm EDT
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Puzzle and Dragons expands onto the 3DS and makes a grandiose appearance at TGS 2013.

Puzzle and Dragons is mind-blowingly huge here in Japan. MIllions of people have downloaded the game on smartphones and help Gung Ho’s bottom line by earning the company reportedly more than $2 million every day. Since its release in 2012, the game has even spawned several collaborations and continues to be played by salary men, school children and old people (maybe) throughout the country everyday. In an effort to reach an even wider audience, GungHo Online Entertainment opted to make a Nintendo 3DS version of the game. The idea is that Puzzle and Dragons will be able to even reach people who don’t have smartphones, primarily kids, with Puzzle and Dragons Z for the Nintendo 3DS.

The GungHo booth at the Tokyo Game Show was massive, containing dozens of 3DS units for the latest version of the game. Even on the business days, attendees had to procure a special ticket to play the game at a later time in the day. After getting my ticket and waiting in line, I was able to make my way through the chained off area with dozens of others to see what Puzzle and Dragons Z had to offer.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Puzzle and Dragon series in Japan, the concept is simple. For the 3DS, the bottom screen is a touch-based puzzle that has the player moving around different colored gems. Once three or more of the same colored gems are matched, they disappear. While you are doing this, the top screen displays cute, colorful monsters that are lined up on the screen in an RPG-like fashion. Depending on what color gems you eliminate on the bottom screen, elemental damage will be dealt to enemies. For example, red deals fire damage, blue deals water damage, and so on. To deal abundant amounts of damage, creating combos with gem elimination is key, and with a typical five minute time limit to clear an area, how quickly you eliminate the creatures is imperative.

Puzzle and Dragons plays very smoothly on the 3DS and looks just as good or better than its smartphone counterparts. Having two separate screens feels a bit more natural for series, as the action of both sections of the game are segmented. With this being a retail release, gamers will have to pay a little bit more money up front, but depending on how much money people are willing to spend (you can spend tons of money for extra content in the smartphone versions), the 3DS version might be appealing. Puzzle and Dragons Z releases on December 12 in Japan.

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Puzzle & Dragons Z Box Art

Genre Puzzle
Developer GungHo Online Entertainment
Players1

Worldwide Releases

jpn: Puzzle & Dragons Z
Release Dec 12, 2013
PublisherGungHo Online Entertainment
RatingAll Ages
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