 Preview By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Genius Sonority |
| Publisher: | Nintendo | |
| Genre: | Puzzle | |
| ESRB: | Everyone | |
| # Of Players: | 1-2 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Wi-Fi (local play, downloadable demo) | |
| Estimated Release: | 03/06/2006 |
Nintendo has revealed the first details on Pokémon Trozei, a new puzzle game coming to the Nintendo DS.
Pokémon Trozei is a fairly traditional-playing puzzle game, in which players use the stylus to line up four Pokémon puzzle pieces in a row horizontally or vertically to make a "Trozei" and clear the pieces. Once a Trozei is created, the cleared Pokémon is added to the player's Trozei list. It can also be turned into a chain reaction by lining up three in a row, then two in a row, also clearing those pieces from the screen. Naturally, chaining together moves results in a higher score. As with Tetris, if the puzzle pieces stack up to the top of the screen the game is over.
Even though it's a puzzle game, there's still a storyline behind the game. Lucy Fleetfoot is a secret agent for the Secret Operations League ("SOL"), and it's her mission to rescue stolen Pokémon from the evil Phobos Battalion. Story mode revolves around the player stopping the Phobos Battalion and discovering their motivation for stealing Pokémon.
The game features four different gameplay modes, two single-player and two two-player modes via local Wi-Fi. The multiplayer modes include a battle mode for players to play against each other, as well as a co-op mode for friends to team up in. In a somewhat innovative twist the game will also allow players to send a playable demo version of the game, which Nintendo dubs Pokémon Trozei Mini, to other Nintendo DS systems via local Wi-Fi to allow those players to try before they buy.
It wouldn't be a Pokémon game if you weren't also "collecting 'em all", and as I mentioned before Pokémon are added to the player's Trozei list as Trozeis are created. The Trozei List contains all Pokémon that have been collected via Trozei, with some being harder to catch than others. Playing wirelessly with friends increases the chances of finding a rare Pokémon, and players can also visit the Agent Cafe and use Espionage Mode to exchange Agent Cards with friends to also increase their chances of catching rare Pokemon. More than 380 Pokémon in all make an appearance as puzzle pieces in the game.
Pokémon Trozei is scheduled for a March 6 release.