PSP Fanboy review: Capcom Puzzle World
I know most people only read reviews to find out if they should buy, try or avoid a particular game. With that in mind, here's that info on Capcom Puzzle World for those who don't want to read a full review.
Buy: If you are a fan of the Buster Bros. series and want a collection of them with extra games included.
Try: If you like Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, but have never tried Buster Bros. or have never tried either.
Avoid: If you dislike Buster Bros. or are not a fan of puzzle games.
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is one of my all time favorite puzzle games, so I was excited by the prospect of this collection. With that in mind, I started up Capcom Puzzle Collection with much enthusiasm. The collection consists of three Buster Bros. games, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Block Block. The games have been redone to fit the PSP's screen and use ad hoc multiplayer so anyone can join in on your game.
The best part of this collection is unsurprisingly Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. The game is still one of the most fun puzzle games you're likely to ever play. The gameplay consists of getting like colored gems together until you get a same colored sphere to clear all the connected colors. The larger the amount of gems, the more the points. It's simple, but gets complicated when your opponent throws timed blocks into your section and messes up your flow. While you battle your opponent, in the middle of the screen two Street Fighter characters pummel each other with the current loser taking the most hits. There are several different versions of the game to play, but the classic version is the best.
The bulk of the collection is made up of Buster Bros. games. I had played a Buster Bros. game once in the arcade and never got past one session. Despite this, I kept an open mind and hoped to love Buster Bros. this time around. After playing three different versions of Buster Bros. I remain unimpressed by the gameplay in any of them. In fact, I only played as much as I did because of the fact that I was reviewing this collection. For those unfamiliar with how the game plays, you use a character who shoots a gun straight up in the air and pops bubbles. Each bubble you pop breaks into smaller bubbles until no more remain and the level is cleared.
The last portion of the collection is Block Block which is a Breakout clone. I like Breakout style games, but this isn't one of my favorite attempts at the game type. Block Block has you knock a ball off a paddle you can move to break blocks until none remain. The inclusion of Block Block doesn't hurt this collection, but it isn't a game I'd spend a whole lot of time with.
The menus are bare bones and not as well designed as I'd expect from Capcom. While the ability to take screenshots and the ad hoc multiplayer are great additions, alone they don't make up for the lack of games in this collection. There is also unlockable content and you can customize the backgrounds of Buster Bros. The whole collection has a cheap feel and I've seen homebrew games with much better looking menus.
Conclusion
This is a release that may be a good buy for some PSP owners, but those will be in the minority. Only Buster Bros. fans who also like what else is included in this collection will get their dollars worth. But most puzzle fans will only really spend time with the Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo portion of this game and that being the case, the price just can't be justified. When PS1 games are starting to come to the PSP in downloadable form for 6 bucks, I'd rather just have Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo like that and allow the Buster Bros. fans to download that collection on its own. If not downloadable, then I can't help but feel all these games just should have been part of one of the regular Capcom PSP collections and not spun off on their own. The result is a title that even hardcore Capcom fans may not be able to justify buying.
PSP Fanboy Score: 5.0
