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
This was another popular import back in the day, and I have this one myself.
Great little collection, and a weird one because it’s mostly a collection of unreleased N64 games (Japan never got Dr Mario 64 in its original N64 cartridge form; this emulated version on Gamecube is the only time they actually got it). I think I mentioned before (way back when in Cube’s All N64 Games thread) how Pokemon Puzzle League was a localisation of the cancelled Panel De Pon 64… Well… here’s the finished game!
Unlike Dr Mario 64 in this collection however, Panel De Pon 64 is NOT an emulated N64 ROM, but an actual native GCN port; in the same fashion as Animal Crossing Gamecube. PDP 64 was never fully finished, and while one collector currently holds onto a prototype cartridge (and refuses to dump it), it appears that the four player mode was specifically added for the GCN release (As it’s the only part of the game that features 480p resolution assets; the rest of the game’s assets were left unchanged from the N64 prototype, and that includes the music). Otherwise? This is the fabled, cancelled Panel De Pon 64; and it’s my favourite version of the game ever made.
While it’s my favourite version, it isn’t 100% perfect. The game isn’t really a great fit for the GCN controller unfortunately, as it’s a very d-pad centric game; and the GCN’s d-pad sucks big fat booty cheeks. Mercifully though, you can hook up a GBA to use as a controller, and the GBAsp just so happens to have a very nice d-pad. Finally, and admittedly this is super nitpicky, but this version is not favoured for competitive play because there’s an unfortunate bug with how matches are timed; as the in-game timer is oddly inconsistent; making it not great for high-score competition. This is something that would only matter to a massive Puzzle League nerd like me though; for 99% of you out there? This is the best version of Puzzle League ever made.
Speaking of which… @Cube kind of buries the lede a bit with the downloadable GBA version of Puzzle League here, because it’s a surprisingly fully featured and robust version of the game, and includes an exclusive “Exploding Lift” feature, that lets you continue to raise the stack while performing a chain; making for a very unique and hugely fun 2-minute time-attack mode that is still run today in high-level Puzzle League competitions!