It's five years to the day since Jupiter's long-running puzzle series first made the jump to Switch with Picross S, and please forgive us if we get a little nostalgic.
With the eighth entry in the S saga coming to the Switch eShop in a matter of hours, there's no denying that each new entry amounts to a fresh DLC pack featuring dozens of new nonograms to dive into, yet we've got real affection for this most dependable of puzzlers. Given its quality and the calm mood it puts us in, we'll happily lap up another selection of the same-old every six months.
That's not to say there haven't been new modes and additions across those eight entries (plus several spin-offs) in the last five years, the most significant being touchscreen support in S7. In fact, S8 will be accompanied by an update for all the previous games which adds four-player local multiplayer and touchscreen support to the lot.
While Picross was perfectly playable without the touchscreen — and we'll detail the very specific circumstance we found ourselves playing the first game in just a moment — after the responsive stylus-based joys of the DS and 3DS entries, the lack of touch support on Switch felt like a massive oversight. Even if our sausage fingers don't provide the precision we enjoyed on DS, we're very happy to see the optional interface coming to all Jupiter's Picrosses in the Switch catalogue.
The original game has a particularly special place in this writer's heart due to the circumstances in which he ended up playing it. Having picked up the game near launch, it went untouched until 2019 when he found himself dancing around the living room most nights between the hours of midnight and 4am with a newborn strapped to his chest.
Constant bouncing movement seemed to be the only thing that would lull the infant to sleep and offer a few precious hours kip to an even more sleep-deprived partner. While prolonged, regular exercise of this sort works wonders for your core, it's important to keep one's mind occupied too, for fear of falling asleep mid-bop, face-planting into a wall, and doing yourself and your precious cargo serious damage.
It was Picross S which offered just the right level of engagement for that addled paternal brain. Armed with a Joy-Con in each hand, nonograms were slowly but steadily completed over the course of several months — hey, we're not claiming we were functioning at peak mental efficiency during those hours! — and as such the game is inextricably tied to memories of that wonderful and strange period when new parents survive solely on caffeine and baby smiles, and every day has a spaced-out, unreal quality.
So, for that and so much more, we salute you, Picross S. Thank you for keeping us company all those long nights. Long may variants of you continue to drop on the eShop.
Feel free to share how and where you partake in Picross below.
Comments 15
How about a physical Version with all of them on one card? Would buy it instantly (if it's priced ok of course).
Tiny jewels ^^ love
We need Picross 3D on the Switch
I have one of these games (Switch). The problem, for me, is that the rules to completing the big puzzles, can be confusing. And I’ve had Picross experience, going back to the DS. I also enjoyed the 3DS, game. And the one on the Gameboy. I think it’s called, Mario Picross. I usually have to use the tools, to help me solve the puzzles. Even then, I’m left confused. 🤷🏿♂️
I still maintain that there should have been only one Picross S game with the rest of the games as DLC for it, same with Picross e on the 3DS. I don't mind the themed games being their own games, though.
I'm still baffled there wasn't a Picross U on the Wii U.
I’ve only played Genesis & Master System on Switch and finished it about a month or so ago. Not much to say on these games that hasn’t been said before. You fill squares according to their logic. Its a more than decent time waster, if you just like checking boxes and following a code. Just kind’ve wished I had someone around to co-op these games, to make these go by alot faster.
@GreenFlash : Yes! Would love that!
Especially so as I've held off on buying any of the numbered releases since S2 (and I've also bought Kemono friends). I've been burned out after playing all of the Picross games on 3DS, though I did retroactively buy Picross 3D for the original DS last year (after loving the 3DS instalment) and I would love a new instalment of that over the endless 2D entries.
And any physical release of the Switch Picross games ought to include the crossover releases as well.
Easily one of the best bang for your buck series on switch. I tend to 50-60 hrs of time out of the $10 (used to be $8) purchase
I got Picross S7 on sale and very much enjoying it. I am veeeery slow at them so I won't need S8 anytime soon. I also have the Miku Picross game (Logic Paint S) which is fun for variety just because it's a bit more colorful.
I’ve been slowly working my way through all of these. Picross is just an old reliable series that I really love and I’m glad there’s so much of it to enjoy.
The truth is I love Picross but with so much other stuff to play I practically ignore these all the time. Funny enough I do still dabble in Mario Picross on the NSO SNES app. If I ever do finally get a Picross S game I'll probably just get one as it'll take me forever to get it beaten.
I've played almost all the Picross games on Switch and 3DS. Jupiter definitely has the best interface, but my all-time favorite game is Piczle Adventure. It's a full fledge, old school RPG with picross puzzles! Very fun.
Wish they had more of the color puzzles.
I’d like the whole Picross e series on 3DS, but it’s hard to spend $50+ on 8 nearly identical games in one sitting. I’ll think about it, though.
I love Picross, but I can't imagine doing it on the Switch. I prefer doing it on the computer. It's a lot more precise, which you need when doing really large, hard ones.
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