Puzznic

Puzznic (パズニック, Pazunikku) is a tile-matching video game developed and released by Taito for arcades in 1989. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, PC Engine, X68000, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and ZX Spectrum between 1990 and 1991. Home computer ports were handled by Ocean Software; the 2003 PlayStation port was handled by Altron. The arcade and FM Towns versions had adult content, showing a naked woman at the end of the level; this was removed in the international arcade release (but not the US one) and other home ports. A completed Apple IIGS version was cancelled after Taito America shut down.

Puzznic
Cover art
Developer(s)
  • Taito
    Animation 20 (JP Arcade/FM Towns)
    ZX Games (Windows)
Publisher(s)
Taito
Platform(s)Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, PC-98, NES, PC Engine, ZX Spectrum, PlayStation, X68000, FM Towns
Release
October 1989
  • Arcade
    • JP: October 1989[1]
    • WW: Late 1989
    Amiga, C64, Amstrad, MSX, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum
    FM Towns
    Game Boy
    NEC PC-98
    PC Engine
    X68000
    NES
    MS-DOS
    [2]PlayStation
    • JP: March 22, 2001
    • EU: February 27, 2003
    • NA: May 12, 2003
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player
Arcade systemTaito L System

Puzznic bears strong graphical and some gameplay similarities to Taito's own Flipull/Plotting.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Puzznic on their December 1, 1989 issue as being the fourth-most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[4]

The game was ranked the 34th best game of all time by Amiga Power.[5]

Legacy

Many clones share the same basic gameplay of Puzznic but have added extra features over the years: Puzztrix on the web and on PC, Addled and Germinal on the iPhone, Puzzled on mobile phones. A clone for the PC, Brix, was released by Epic MegaGames in 1992. For Android devices, a clone called PuzzMagic! appeared in 2015. An iPhone clone also available with the title Gem Panic. Blockbusterz Hard Puzzle Game for iOS appeared in 2019.

References
  1. "Puzznic". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  2. "Taito unveils new products". Merced Sun-Star. June 7, 1990. p. 23. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Puzznic" (journal). EMAP. November 1990: 108. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 369. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1989. p. 29.
  5. Amiga Power magazine issue 0, Future Publishing, May 1991


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