Metacritic Games

Planet Puzzle League (Nintendo DS)

(Also known as "Panel De Pon DS") Use the DS stylus to grab panels and slide them left and right. If you match three or more panels of the same color, they will vanish. Form chains and combos to create cascading waterfalls of panels to rack up high scores. The basic game play is similar to the classics Tetris Attack and Pokémon Puzzle League, but the touch screen gameplay adds a new dimension of fun, giving Planet Puzzle League a bright new feel. Features Six single-player modes: Puzzle, Endless, Time Attack, Garbage, Clear, and Vs. Computer. Don’t have much time? Play three two-minute games in unique Daily mode. Track your progress over weeks and months. Dozens of tutorials and demos teach you the ins-and-outs of this incredibly deep game. Three difficulty levels:. Easy for beginners, normal for veterans, brutal for experts. Two can compete head-to-head over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. With the Nintendo DS Headset accessory (sold separately) you can even chat with your friend as you polish your puzzle skills. Up to four players can compete in three local wireless modes. You can also send a single-player demo to a friend via local wireless. Orient the game the way you like: vertically or horizontally! You can even configure for left- or right-handed play. [Nintendo]

Nintendo
Puzzle
Players: 4
E (Everyone)
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Released June 4, 2007

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

86 / 100

Critic Reviews

100 GameSpy
The gameplay is a snap to pick up, but the player is rewarded for delving deeper into the combo system. Sure, there are those who will say that the original Tetris is the best puzzle game of all time, but if there was ever a game that could top it, it's this one.
100 Modojo
Don't miss out on Planet Puzzle League for the DS. Its presentation may not suit everyone but it's really going to be hard arguing against buying a game because it's just not fashionable.
95 NintendoWorldReport
The new touch-controls alone make Planet Puzzle League far superior to its predecessors. A wealth of single and multiplayer options simply push it over the top.
95 Nintendojo
With a variety of modes, great stylus control and online play, Intelligent Systems has come up with a puzzle game that's hard to beat.
91 Gaming Age
The multitude of options available for single and multiplayer modes is outstanding and the game is just plain fun to play.
90 GameDaily
The gameplay works great, although gamers will be more comfortable with the traditional control scheme rather than using the stylus. Everyone needs to join this League.
90 IGN
Intelligent Systems really went to town in this Nintendo DS version -- it's an excellent retooling of a very addictive puzzle game. You'll be hardpressed to find a larger list of features in any handheld puzzle game.
90 Games Radar
The ability to share this joy with people around you and then play them from anywhere in the world serves to make this one of the better buys you can make for the DS.
90 1UP
While the fundamental game design is largely similar to the past 15 years of Puzzle League titles, the wealth of DS-specific features introduced here keeps it feeling fresh. It is, in short, a classic puzzle game done right.
90 Thunderbolt
Fans of the original Panel de Pon may be put off by the adult-oriented presentation and lack of a story, but the sheer amount of options make up for it.
90 Console Gameworld
While Tetris DS may have Planet Puzzle League beat in terms of presentation and in the number of players that can play it, the core gameplay in this game is, in this reviewer’s opinion, the pinnacle of puzzle gaming.
88 GameZone
A game that any puzzle fan will thoroughly enjoy.
85 Official Nintendo Magazine UK
It really makes you think and that, surely, is the point of a puzzle game. [Oct 2007, p.96]
85 Nintendo Power
Overall, however, Planet Puzzle League lives up to the rich tradition of its heritage, and puzzle fans would be remiss to ignore it. [July 2007, p.97]
85 Deeko
For a puzzle fiend, this is a no-brainer. With a well balanced difficulty throughout, and real honest to goodness online battles, this is one league you can afford to be a part of.
85 Game Almighty
One of the best games of its type on the DS. Though I personally prefer the direction that Puzzle Quest offers, Planet Puzzle League holds its own by offering so many ways to play and all presented in a style that would make Q Entertainment proud.
84 Games Master UK
A solid and compulsive puzzle game that's hard to fault. [Sept 2007, p.83]
83 Game Informer
The touch-screen functionality (which allows you to slide blocks with the stylus) fits perfectly, and Wi-Fi play means that you can take your skills online.
80 EuroGamer
Execution is near-flawless throughout, and while the presentation's a bit on the garish side (and seemingly influenced by Q Entertainment's Meteos, which is a sort of hyperactive sideways space-based Panel de Pon anyway), you can stick to the graphical layout you like best by tweaking options pre-game.
80 Edge Magazine
Offering the quiet contemplation of a puzzle mode, the soothing time-wasting of a marathon session, or the frenetic rivalry of multiplayer: this has it all. [July 2007, p.95]
80 games(TM)
It lacks the sheer personality of Puzzle Quest or the exciting dynamism of Meteos, but it’s every bit as hypnotic. [Aug 2007, p.110]
80 Gamestyle
Puzzle League is an exceptionally good puzzle game. It’s easy to play, but is significantly challenging to master.
80 G4 TV
Attack veterans likely already have it -- newer puzzle fans should give it a look for another addictive twist on moving stacks of blocks around.
75 GameSpot
Planet Puzzle League offers a puzzle game experience that is familiar, flawed, and fun, all at once.
60 Pocket Gamer UK
Aside from its online gameplay, Planet Puzzle League has little new to offer over more engaging rivals.

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