Free-to-play games often have a bad reputation, especially on the mobile platform. Puzzle & Dragons is one such game to rise to the occasion, offering up a good amount of gameplay for free, and has completely dominated the match-three space enough to will Nintendo into a partnership with it.
So here we are with Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition for the 3DS. In case you missed it, a demo for the game is out today on 3DS, and it’s pretty fantastic. You’ll have the option to select from “Intro” or “Expert” modes. Using the stylus for everything you’ll move orbs freely around on the bottom screen, trying to earn a match of three or more colors, or combos as you see fit.
In general the game is smooth the game, as gameplay is relatively straight-forward and fast-paced — you need to make a move before your opponent does or risk being counter-attacked and losing your turn, just like an active-time-battle in a JRPG. The animations could be a lot sharper, particularly the wonky and plain text, but the Mario animation style works perfectly within the confines of Puzzle & Dragons, and the 3D effect is excellent.
Upon playing the Expert level you’ll see that it’s not just a standard match-three, as you’ll acquire new party members (all from the Mario series) after defeating enemies, which have unique skills to take advantage of. Matching up certain colors will trigger specific team members, and thus their powers, which can come in handy in a pinch.
