Anyone remember/like Picross games? The SNES Mario's Picross will soon come to US for first time (originally only first GB title made it to US)

[Estil | 1,261]

So it looks like at long last, the SNES version of Mario's Picross will see a US release on the Switch; granted only as a digital download but better than nothing I suppose:

https://www.mariowiki.com/Mario's_Super_Picross

Up until this point, only the first Mario's Picross made it to the US; Nintendo Power tried extremely hard to promote this game "big league" in the April 1995 (Stargate cover) issue...but I guess you know the old "you can lead a horse to water but..." cliche apparently happened, and the game didn't sell well enough to get the second Game Boy release in the US either:

https://www.mariowiki.com/Mario's_Picross

https://www.mariowiki.com/Picross_2

In fact, it would not be until 2007 that a US release of any kind of Picross game was tried again, this time on the DS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picross_DS

There was also a neat group of eight Picross games that each had a specific Nintendo sort of theme...and like Super Picross, when you complete a puzzle it will show the picture in full color and sometimes animated.  You can easily play these on a SD2SNES if you got one, and it's pretty much the only way you can on a real console:

https://www.mariowiki.com/Picross_NP

If any of you guys are into puzzles at all, give Picross a chance.  Isn't there supposed to be now an NES homebrew version IIRC?

Edited September 19, 2020 by Estil

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

If you like Picross and you like NES, there's always Family Picross, as mentioned in the las line of your post:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-NES-game-FAMILY-PICROSS-CIB-BRAND-NEW/324010783026?hash=item4b708c3132:g:90gAAOSw6sZd8pG2

It's really well done, and runs on the greatest video game system of all time to boot!

[OptOut | 8,880]

I like Picross, I played a lot of the GB version on 3DS virtual console, as well as Pokemon Picross (which adds some cool optional power ups to mix up the gameplay a little) and the Twilight Princess Picross which was available as a My Nintendo reward.

I've also got the DS game and the original SFC cart of Mario's Super Picross, but I have to admit I'm a little burned out on Picross for now. I'll probably give it a rest and come back to it in a few years, refreshed and ready to get addicted again, lol!

[erac | 78]

Lots of folks do these on paper still, even here in the EU.

[Tanooki | 4,929]

I used to have this HUGE love/hate thing with it, I still struggle so I use games that use minor help if you need it.  They're harder than they look, but some people, they're like 'Rain Man' and can just go...blah, and it's over in like 15sec to 2min depending on that size from a 5x5 to some variation of an up to x20 or x25 and it's nuts.

I have the GB game, still keep it after finding it some years back, and I have the DS one.  I've wanted the 2nd GB but never got it, and I don't buy SFC games as I know it'll cause a snowball effect as I used to have dozens.  Currently I'm using a free one called LOGIC PIC(ios, android too?) that's insanely huge, and also a totally free (not even ad supported) one KONAMI put out called Picture Puzzle which is nothing but 8bit arcade/console art of their games.

Back in the day I had the weird 3rd dimensional Picross 3D, that was a trip but it's not quite picross either yet it wasn't bad.

 

What's the name of that SNES picross game with the 8 games with Nintendo themes as I never heard of it.

 

[Estil | 1,261]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

What's the name of that SNES picross game with the 8 games with Nintendo themes as I never heard of it.

https://www.mariowiki.com/Picross_NP

[Tanooki | 4,929]

On 9/19/2020 at 11:18 PM, Estil said:

https://www.mariowiki.com/Picross_NP

Ahhh that's why, the Nintendo Power flash cart racket they ran.  I never knew much about it and only started to research it as I scored this immaculate Gameboy version of the cart which ended up having SMB DX on it.  I was shown a nice tool and a piece of cheap hardware I could get to reflash it into all sorts of useful things, but I'm not certain they ever made specific games for it like that there for SFC.

[Estil | 1,261]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

Ahhh that's why, the Nintendo Power flash cart racket they ran.  I never knew much about it and only started to research it as I scored this immaculate Gameboy version of the cart which ended up having SMB DX on it.  I was shown a nice tool and a piece of cheap hardware I could get to reflash it into all sorts of useful things, but I'm not certain they ever made specific games for it like that there for SFC.

All the more reason I'm eternally grateful that most(?) of the BS-X stuff was (somehow) saved.  Was there anything though that is (as far as we know) lost?

Even now almost 30(!) years after it came out in the US the SNES continues to surprise me...little did anyone in the US during the early/mid 90s realize just how Super the Super Nintendo really could be!

[Tanooki | 4,929]

On 9/21/2020 at 1:37 AM, Estil said:

All the more reason I'm eternally grateful that most(?) of the BS-X stuff was (somehow) saved.  Was there anything though that is (as far as we know) lost?

Even now almost 30(!) years after it came out in the US the SNES continues to surprise me...little did anyone in the US during the early/mid 90s realize just how Super the Super Nintendo really could be!

Lost, maybe.  I haven't kept up on that in at least a decade or so.  I used to be so deeply entrenched with emulation and rom release communities when things were fresh, but after the GBA era I kind of packed it in after a few releases on that.  SNES is a versatile machine.  People can moan how it's so called so slow and so this and that, but let's think large on this one.  Back then it was a wannabe PC in ways... point to point land line modem (xband), mouse and mousepad (Mario Paint, etc), internet style link up to get games, updates, demos, freebies (satelliview), and other tidbits too.  And yet throw yourself into the whole indie craze of the last decade or so, SNES is one system that is most closely emulated for style, color, visual tricks and the rest just obviously without the sprite and 33khz audio limitations.  Some of those highest tier games you see from various groups are basically SNES/GBA look alike style stuff from Golf Story, Cave Story, Dead Souls, and others.  Even the companies of then are still shoveling the games now like the various FF titles (4-6) and SOM, and others.  In the 90s you would have never guessed it was so ahead of its time in quality that people would still be chasing that style 30 years later.