Pokemon is great. Picross is great. How could this game be anything but great? Is what I thought to myself. The doubts set in when the free-to-play business model was revealed. An energy system? Crypto-currency via in-app purchase? Recharging timers? These aspects already grated and got in the way for the last two digital Pokemon releases, Shuffle and Rumble World, so I had to roll my eyes.

And indeed those things are annoying to the play experience. It very quickly becomes apparent that the amount of Picrites you get is nowhere near the amount you need to get very far. But I had to quell the outrage. To enjoy this Picross game with very competent theming, I changed perspective. You get a lot of puzzles and some tidy bonus mechanics. So if you see it as a Picross game that costs $39, it doesn’t seem so bad. (The cost is a little high compared to recent eShop Picrosses, it’s true.) It must be a psychological thing to get upset when something is presented as free but then restricted, compared to paying upfront and enjoying it without further hassle. I dunno, I’m not a brain doctor. But I do know microtransactions are sucking the joy out of the whole gaming landscape.

Melodrama aside, how’s the game? Pretty great! Pokemon are super cute especially in pixel form, and the mission system is good for replayability (I ignored them the first time I did any puzzle so I could conquer them without hints, then went back for them). There’s a ton of puzzles that unlock in a fun little world map, and they’re playable in normal and Mega Picross modes. The missions then give you tablets which unlock a Micross-like mosaic of Primal Groudon & Kyogre. So between all that and the party of Pokemon you build up with different hint skills, it’s a much more game-ified Picross experience.

And it’s just as addictive to me as any previous Picross game. Maybe the simplicity of those is more relaxing, without worrying about missions or who you have equipped in your party, but I wouldn’t mind at all seeing more Picross games like this with other themes than Pokemon. Bring back the themed puzzles of Japan’s Nintendo Power SNES games. And while you’re at it, localise the two Club Nintendo Picross games you goons!