Shortly before Nintendo 64’s release and long before PSone became the dominant console, a groundbreaking puzzle game was released for an aging machine: Tetris Attack. Released exclusively for the SNES, Tetris Attack changed the original Tetris’s formula by reversing the direction of block arrivals (they now came up through the ground) and by adding a two-block cursor that allowed players to reverse the location of every block. All blocks took the same square shape. Thus, it was the color that mattered most. Align three blocks of the same color and they disappear.

To the millions who did not get the chance to play Tetris Attack, you should realize that the puzzle genre we have today is much different from what we had before TA’s release. Coincidence or not, the game’s contribution to our industry will never be forgotten.

Planet Puzzle League, the unofficial sequel to Tetris Attack, is the classic SNES experience all over again. It is not a remake and it is not a clone of its predecessor, nor is it a step forward in the way that Pokemon Puzzle League was with its spherical platform design. But if you think back to Kirby or look ahead to Zelda, the DS gave developers a way to reinvent the series while staying true to its core values. Based on early demos, Zelda DS should give players a different way of tackling classic Zelda gameplay.

That’s the bull’s-eye Planet Puzzle League’s developers were aiming for. Living up to the series’ high standards, Planet Puzzle League is right on target.

Touchy Feely

Grab your stylus gamers – a fingertip might work for some titles, but you need greater precision to accurately play Planet Puzzle League. Rather than use the D-pad to swap blocks as before, players can now touch any block on screen and, in a move that could be a sign of video games getting into politics, drag the block as far left or as far right as desired. There is not a single stopping point. No barricades that keep you from seamlessly dragging blocks across the screen. From the moment you first start playing, Planet Puzzle League is flawless in its touch screen executions.

Feeling a bit nostalgic? The old D-pad controls are fully intact. But don’t think about using them against a player with a stylus in hand. The touch screen gameplay more than doubled my speed and efficiency. Seven-hit chains – once a great challenge on the SNES – are not nearly as difficult to pull off in this game. In fact, until the game picks up speed, the hardest part is getting the blocks to rise fast enough to stay successful. Chains and combos can’t be continued if there aren’t any blocks left to use.

Long View

Tetris DS used both of the handheld’s screens to cram in twice as many blocks. That worked well for the game, which did not use the touch screen for every play mode. Planet Puzzle League, however, cannot be without touch access, but it needs a longer playing field than one individual screen provides. The solution: you play this game by holding your DS sideways. It might seem a little awkward at first, but you’ll be surprised by how natural it feels after just a few minutes of play. The right (touch) screen is where all the action unfolds, while the left (standard) screen contains your stat and menu information. When playing against a friend or the computer AI, the left screen shows your opponent’s game field.

Tetris a la (New Gameplay) Mode(s)

Planet Puzzle League offers more styles of play than any other puzzler for the DS. Granted, many of them are carried over from Tetris Attack. But they’re a blast to play, especially with the great stylus controls.

Puzzle Mode – the mind-boggling set of Tetris Attack problems that had to be solved in a specified number of moves – is back with four iterations: Basic, Mission, Active, and Advanced. The only question mark in there is Mission, a mode where 10 different challenges (specific chain, combo, and block elimination amounts, among others) must be completed consecutively to proceed.

In Garbage Challenge players are required to eliminate an endless collection of garbage blocks – the same brown and gray rectangles dropped onto players when being attacked in the multiplayer mode.

Clear is a mode where you must eliminate blocks until they are no longer raised above the thin white line. Endless is a mode that’s in every puzzle game, and if you’d like to get in some competitive practice, Planet Puzzle League also contains a Vs. Computer mode where you fight to eliminate the most garbage, to score the most points, or to be the first underneath the Clear line.

Daily Play is an excellent mode for killing a couple of minutes. Score, Garbage, and Lift (add as many rows as possible) play types are available, each with the limitation of just two minutes per day. The goal is to score as many points as possible within the time limit.

Online play is supported for two, and players can take on three friends locally with just one game card. As with other DS titles, you won’t have access to every option when playing with a single card. But it’s still a fantastic feature that ensures you will always be able to play Planet Puzzle League with anyone who owns a DS, regardless of what’s in their game collection.

Gameplay: 8.7
No more switching blocks one by one – simply touch the block you wish to move and drag it to a new location. The controls are some of the best you’ll find on the DS (which says a lot, considering how many “bests” the system has). It’s possible – and very easy – to pull the selected block right through others without a single delay. Anyone who’s played Tetris Attack knows what a major change this is for the series. And because it makes the game different (good different) but not better, you can still go back to playing Tetris Attack and have fun. Planet Puzzle League offers both forms of play – touch screen and TA-style – knowing that while the new type is exciting, the old gameplay is far from obsolete.

Graphics: 4.0
Simplistic block designs that could’ve appeared on the SNES 11 years ago. Hey, wait a minute…

Sound: 5.0
Nothing in here compares to the sounds of other Nintendo puzzle games. The original Tetris, Tetris Attack, Pokemon Puzzle League, etc., all had great soundtracks. I’m not even a fan of Dr. Mario but I can – and have – hummed its themes on more than one occasion. They get in your head and never leave. But when I think of Planet Puzzle League’s music, my mind draws a blank. It says, “Uhhh… Uhh… Was there something in there I was supposed to remember?” If there had been, no second thought would have been necessary – the soundtrack would have stood out like the rest.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
…And occasionally hard. Planet Puzzle League is not as challenging as Tetris Attack, primarily because we’ve had that game and refined our skills for more than 10 years. But gamers catch on quick. Even if this is the first time you’ve experienced the Tetris Attack style, it’s unlikely that you’ll have a hard time learning the basics of Planet Puzzle League. To master the game, however, is a whole other story.

Concept: 7.4
Planet Puzzle League is Tetris Attack recycled and refried for a burrito of thumb-watering flavor. An excellent collaboration, but is it a new idea? Not since 1996.

Multiplayer: 8.9
You can’t beat Planet Puzzle League multiplayer. There is nothing more frantic, more satisfying, or more cheer-inducing than a game against another player (or another three players, as allowed with this edition – single- and multi-card play offered). The battles are outrageously intense, flooding the screen with blocks whenever your opponent executes a chain or combo. Brilliant 11 years ago and enjoyable in a newer, freer, and faster form on Nintendo’s leading handheld.

Overall: 8.8
Love Tetris Attack? Then get Planet Puzzle League. Never played TA but love Pokemon Puzzle League? Then you must acquire Planet Puzzle League. If you’ve never played TA or Pokemon PL, then you still must get Planet Puzzle League. It’s easy to say this because the game has instant mainstream and hardcore gamer appeal. And what, I ask, is left when you’ve covered both of those markets?

Nothing. In other words, this is a game that any puzzle fan will thoroughly enjoy.