One of the four new games available on the Nintendo Switch Online service next week is Mario's Super Picross, a puzzle game that launched for the Super Famicom back in 1995.
This is actually the first time it's ever appeared in the US; European fans were lucky enough to try it out through the Virtual Console service on Wii U and 3DS, but otherwise, it's only ever been seen in Japan. As such, Nintendo's released a tutorial for the game for anyone struggling to understand what's going on.
If you've played any Picross games before you'll instantly feel at home, but for those who haven't, the video above goes through the basics of chipping away at each stage. It's all about keeping a close eye on the numbers at the top and left-hand-side of your puzzle, as these indicate how many squares can be knocked away in each column or row.
We'd argue that Picross can be a fantastic way to pass the time, especially when it doubles up as a quirky Mario game that only originally launched in Japan. If you haven't already, make sure to check it out when you get the chance.
Comments (30)
Picross is amazingly addicting. This is gonna be one of my most played SNES NSO games easily!
Every time I try one of these games, I rage within three minutes. I must not have the patience or smarts or I just don’t understand, because I kinda want to get into them, but I just don’t understand and get stuck on the first level out of the tutorial.
Love me some Picross
Mario's Picross for GB was great on my 3DS... Excited for this one now.
I do enjoy a bit of Picross here and there but I'll likely just stick to the more recent Picross games and never touch this.
A shame they didn't take the time to translate this and just left it in Japanese like they did for Panel De Pon.
Wasn't it on the Wii virtual console in Europe? I am sure I played it there before my Wii was stolen.
Already completed it on Wii U so I won't be playing it again but it's still a good addition to SNES Online. An easy way for people to try out Picross. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as other Picross games (original Mario's Picross is still my favorite) but I think it's only because I was stuck playing it on TV. Picross is better suited for handhelds.
@Enigk
Yeah, second paragraph of the article actually.
I played it on Wii VC years ago thanks to that, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Still I'm surprised that US didn't see a release in any form until very recently.
Also makes me wonder if they'll dig the GBC version of Pokémon Picross out, now that the ROM has been discovered and leaked online.
Awesome game, im surprised it didn't make it to the US VC
Now I understand how it works LOL
Well, I'll have it on the SNES Online, plus a Zelda Picross for 3DS that they gave a long time ago in exchange for My Nintendo Points (still haven't booted it up).
ah picross just relaxing
Picross is amazing, to me it’s like sudoku but fun! Xx
Picross is indeed amazing. Like the guy above me said,
@Dragonslacker1 , to me it’s also like sudoku but fun.
The chiselling animation makes me want a new Picross 3D for Switch. Best version of Picross!
One may debate the necessity of a Picross tutorial in 2020 for a platform with Pictoquest and Nonograms Prophecy on it, but hey, no harm therein either.
@WickedUnicarnBoi I personally do them methodically, line by line then column by column - lather, rinse, repeat. A lot of nonogram solving is about mental arithmetics, gradually mapping out the available overlaps and "crosses" (i.e. the squares that you estimate shouldn't be filled); you could even compare the gameplay to Minesweeper to a small extent.
One example is how you have a blank 15 square line with a "3 - 6 - 2" condition. Knowing that every group must have a minimum of 1 square gap on both sides (except a possible wall-adjacent one), you can count 4 squares from the left and 3 from the right. The remaining 8 are your zone for the 6-group. Count 6 from both sides, fill the last squares on each count, fill the squares inbetween... and you already have at least four of the six required squares in the group, and they just gave you some hints for the columns that cross the line in question.
Then you may eventually reach one of these columns and see that the filled square apparently belongs to the sole "5"... in a total of 20 blanks. Yikes? Well, the least you can do (assuming the absence of other uncovered hints) is count four squares on each side of the filled one... then cross out all the rest because you know they can't be logically filled. This, in turn, will give you some more info to work with the lines once you go back to them.
How do crossed bits help? For instance, they can leave you with blank gaps of 2 and 4 squares in a line/column that asks for "2 - 2". Well, you already know where to fill the first 2-group because both of them would never fit in the second gap at once (the required distance would require at least 5 squares therein, after all).
Like all cross-themed puzzles, it's about gradually uncovering the full picture, step by step. Whether you have the patience to is up to you, but skill-wise... math is often my cryptonite, so if I learned to do this, I'm confident that the odds are in your favour, too.
@Kabloop As a big Picross and Ace Attorney fan, I've gotta say...don't get your hopes up for this one. The story and characters are boring, the music is forgettable, and the Picross is mediocre.
I was hopelessly addicted to Picross DS and also enjoyed this a good bit of Wii Virtual Console. I tried one of the Switch Picross and found out that now I can never go back to regular Picross after having played Picross 3D. It's like trying to go back to regular KitKat after having had KitKat Chunky.
@RupeeClock Article says Wii U and 3DS and no mention of Wii.
Definitely strange that there was no US release. Not like there was any localisation so assume was just relating to getting it rated for release? Didn't think it was cost effective?
@Kabloop No problem. Definitely do some more research and get more opinions though. I’d hate for you to miss out on something you’d like because of me! Personally though, I thought it was a sure thing, but ended up very disappointed.
I guess a translation patch was too much to expect......
@dustinprewitt
Yeah seriously.... it’s not a bloody RPG!!!!!
Love Picross. Played this a little bit in emulation. Will totally play this.
Not sure what pictures are included, but I enjoy the Nintendo themed pictures better than just random pictures.
"available today"? It's not the 23rd yet...
I prefer not to use touch controls for Picross games that support them. For people that prefer touch controls, this may be a bit rough.
I’ve played 37 hours of this on Wii U, and more on 3DS and Wii.
Based on the announcement yesterday, I decided to learn the game trough some YouTube tutorials.
Did not take long to understand it (to my surprise) and I am addicted since.
Probably spend 5 or 6 hours today on here:
https://www.puzzle-nonograms.com/
I love Picross and I this is the only Mario one I havent played yet!
Sad they can't be bothered to translate it though, but I guess why bother. Still, I remember way back in the day, getting confirmation on what you supposed drew was nice.
It would have taken less effort to translate the menus than it took them to make this video.
I'm absolutely enjoying this game, considering I'd sorta been a fan of picross for a few years on and off!
...Though I think puzzle 6J got changed from what it was before. Either that or the walkthrough I'm looking at for it is incorrect. Though I would say the former seems more likely at this point because I don't know what even it's supposed to be now.
Tap here to load 30 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...