Dr. Mario, Panel de Pon and Yoshi’s Cookie: They’ve all come out together as one!
- JP release: 7th February 2003
- EU release: N/A
- NA release: N/A
- Developer: Nintendo, Intelligent Systems
- Publisher: Nintendo
- NGC Magazine: N/A
- Mods Used: None
Nintendo Puzzle Collection is a Japanese-only collection of three puzzle games on one disc, each one being a completely separate game and not really sharing any features
Dr Mario
Dr Mario is a direct port of Dr Mario 64, with the only difference being the logo, which removes the “64” from the name, which makes sense as the original was never released in Japan, which meant that this was a new version for that audience.
It’s a fun game, but I don’t have a lot to add that I didn’t already talk about when covering the N64 version.
Panel De Pon
This is an interesting one, as this was being developed as a Nintendo 64 game, but never got released. However, that unfinished version was still adapted into Pokémon Puzzle League which, like Dr Mario, wasn’t released in Japan.
This is an immensely enjoyable game, although I much prefer the aesthetics, music and menu layout of the Pokémon version. This one does offer some more ways to play the 3D variant, though, which is great.
Yoshi’s Cookie
A brand new Yoshi’s Cookie game, a sequel to the SNES original rather than something originally designed for the N64. One big difference between this and the other two games are the graphics, as Yoshi’s Cookie looks incredibly crisp and tasty.
The gameplay is similar to that of the NES/SNES versions, where you move entire rows and columns in order to make one or more full lines of cookies. The remaining tiles will shrink into place and if any more full lines are formed, you’ll get a combo, then the grid is filled up again. It’s simple but addictive.
The puzzle move features a much larger grid and a varying amount of cookies, with you having to clear the grid.
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On top of these games, there’s a few additional things for the GBA. You can transfer one of the games in the package to the GBA. Dr Mario and Yoshi’s Cookie send over emulated versions of the NES games with the multiplayer removed, while Panel de Pon is a new version.
Nintendo Puzzle League was originally announced for North America and Europe, but just vanished from the release list. It’s a shame because it’s a really good collection. Even the GBA link cable stuff could have been sold on a GBA cartridge, with link cable functionality added. With how nice Yoshi’s Cookie looks in this collection ,it’s a shame it’s never had a re-release.
Great
Dr. Mario 64 is pretty bad, and more games would have been appreciated, but Yoshi’s Cookie and Panel de Pon are more than enough to make up for NPC’s weaknesses. Nintendo Puzzle Collection is highly recommended, and hopefully NOA will release it here in the future.
Michael Cole, Nintendo World Report
Remake or remaster?
It would be nice to see this versions of Yoshi’s Cookie get a new release at the very least.
Official Ways to get the game
There is no official way to get Nintendo Puzzle Collection, although Dr. Mario 64 and Pokémon Puzzle League are available on Nintendo Switch Online.
Europe
Japan
North America
GameCube Games by Date
2002: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2003: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2004: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2005: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
