Panel de Pon

Panel de Pon
Developer	Intelligent Systems
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Super Nintendo Virtual Console
Release Date	SNES JP October 27, 1995 Virtual Console JP November 27, 2007

Panel de Pon is a puzzle game released only in Japan. Although the original game has not been released in Japan, it has inspired a series of games that has the same gameplay but features different characters and stories. That is because the original game featured a cast of fairies, which Nintendo of America feared might alienate male players in America.

Story

The evil Sanatos has cast a spell on the fairies to turn them against each other. Only the Fairy of Flowers, Lip, is not affected by this curse due to her magic stick. She then embarks on a quest to save her friends by defeating them.

Gameplay

This puzzle game involves rows of block that rise from the bottom of the screen rather then falling from the top. The player must arrange the rows so that similar blocks are matched and eliminated. If the blocks reach the top of the screen, the game is over.

There are a variety of modes which show different variations of the above gameplay scheme. In Story Mode, the player controls Lip in battling with computer-controlled opponents. In Endless Mode, blocks will continue coming in endlessly and the player's goal is to get as a high a score as possible before losing, while in Timed Mode the player must score as a high a score as possible within a two-minute time limit. Stage Clear also takes the player through a variety of stages to complete, and in Puzzle Mode the player must clear blocks in a set amount of moves. The game provides for two-player play.

Legacy

There are a large amount of games using Panel de Pon's gameplay and game modes, with the main difference being the characters from different franchises being featured in it. The game has also received reference in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where the Lip's Stick appears as a weapon, while stickers of the Nintendo Puzzle Collection versions of the Panel de Pon characters and Lip's theme also appear in Brawl.

Ports and Remakes

• The first copy of Panel de Pon was Tetris Attack, which was released for the Super Nintendo and Gameboy in 1996. This version featured characters and locations from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
• Two games were then made featuring characters from the Pokémon games. The first was Pokémon Puzzle League for the Nintendo 64, which featured characters from the Pokémon anime and several new features.
• The second of the Pokémon games was Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, released subsequently for the Gameboy Color. This game's modes were more identical to Panel de Pon.
• In 2003, Panel de Pon was included as part of the Nintendo Puzzle Collection, which ultimately was only released in Japan. This version features new characters, as well as updated graphics and sounds, a 4-player mode and the 3-D Mode that originally appeared in Pokémon Puzzle League. It could be considered a Panel de Pon version of the Nintendo 64 game, which had not been released in Japan.
• In 2005, it was released packed with a port of Dr. Mario called Dr. Mario & Puzzle League for the Gameboy Advance. The Puzzle League version was plain and did not feature any characters.
• In 2007, an updated version called Planet Puzzle League was released for the Nintendo DS. This version featured various changes that mostly utilized the DS's touch screen and Wi-Fi capabilities.
• The original Panel de Pon was released for the Japanese Virtual Console in 2007.