Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is a 2015 role-playing puzzle video game for Nintendo 3DS developed by GungHo Online Entertainment. It is a compilation of Puzzle & Dragons Z (2013) and Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (2015) from the Puzzle & Dragons series for North America and Europe. Before the bundled game was announced, the first game Puzzle & Dragons Z[a] was released in Japan on December 12, 2013, and Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition[b] was released in Japan on April 29, 2015.[1] The bundled game was released in May 2015 for North America, Europe, Australia[2] and South Korea.[3]
| Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | GungHo Online Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Puzzle & Dragons Z Takayuki Takahara Naoki Fukuda Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition Yoshimasa Yamada |
| Producer(s) | Daisuke Yamamoto |
| Composer(s) | Puzzle & Dragons Z Kenji Ito Yukio Nakajima Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition Keigo Ozaki Toshiko Tasaki |
| Series | Mario Puzzle & Dragons |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release | Puzzle & Dragons Z
|
| Genre(s) | Role-playing, puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Development
editOn May 3, 2013, GungHo revealed a spin-off for the Nintendo 3DS named Puzzle & Dragons Z during the Puzzle & Dragons Fan Appreciation Festival 2013. The game was released in Japan on December 12, 2013.[4] Gameplay is identical to the mobile game, but it adds role-playing elements such as towns and non-player characters.
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition for the Nintendo 3DS features characters from the Super Mario series in gameplay similar to that from Puzzle & Dragons Z, including an overworld and story. It was released on April 29, 2015, in Japan as a standalone title.[5]
The bundled game for North America, Europe, Australia, and South Korea was first announced on January 14, 2015 and was released on May 22, 2015.[6]
Plot
editPuzzle & Dragons Z
editIn Puzzle & Dragons Z, the player takes the role of a prospective young Dragon Tamer in Zed City of the Dracomacia[7] continent. The game begins on the day the player is to take an exam in order to become a Dragon Tamer; the player follows two of their friends — another prospective Dragon Tamer, Nick, and an established Dragon Tamer, Sara — to Zed City's Ranger HQ, where Dragon Tamers are issued commands and study monsters, and where the Dragon Tamer test is administered. The player, alongside Nick, receives a "D-Gear", an item which allows them to digitally store monsters, and afterwards is allowed to hatch Eggs containing their first three monsters.
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 73/100[8] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 7.5/10[11] |
| Game Informer | 9/10[10] |
| GameRevolution | 7/10[16] |
| GameSpot | 7/10[14] |
| GamesRadar+ | 3.5/5[15] |
| IGN | 7.9/10[9] |
| Nintendo Life |   [12] |
| Nintendo World Report | 7/10[13] |
The game received mixed or average reviews according to the review aggregator Metacritic.[8]IGN's Kallie Plagge awarded the game a score of 7.9 out of 10, stating "Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition is the shining star alongside the less successful Z."[9] PC Magazine's Jordan Minor also praised Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition while disliking the companion character TAMADRA [sic]. He states that "Whereas Super Mario Bros. Edition uses its RPG components to enrich a pick-up-and-play puzzle game, Z tries to be a full-blown RPG that happens to center around puzzles." He also states the artwork feels uninspired in Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition. [17]
As of July 30, 2014, the game had shipped over 1.5 million copies.[18]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition Shows More More Characters And Gameplay". Siliconera. February 20, 2015. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ Nunneley, Stephany (February 21, 2015). "Here's a gameplay video for Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition". VG247. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition' released". ThisIsGame. March 23, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
- ^ "Puzzle & Dragons Z 3DS Game's Promo Streamed - Interest". Anime News Network. May 3, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Nintendo and GungHo team up for Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition". Polygon. January 7, 2015. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ "Puzzle & Dragons Z and Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition coming west in May". Gematsu. July 31, 2014. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ Nintendo 3DS - Puzzle and Dragons Z Teaser Trailer, January 14, 2015, archived from the original on November 20, 2023, retrieved October 16, 2023
- ^ a b "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ a b Plagge, Kallie (May 19, 2015). "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition Review Review". IGN. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ Cork, Jeff (May 20, 2015). "Puzzle & Dragons Z / Super Mario Edition". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Carter, Christ (May 14, 2015). "Review: Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition". Destructoid. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Olney, Alex (May 7, 2015). "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition Review". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Miller, Zachary (May 20, 2015). "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (3DS) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Kemps, Heidi (May 22, 2015). "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Sullivan, Lucas (May 14, 2015). "PUZZLE & DRAGONS Z + SUPER MARIO BROS. EDITION REVIEW". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Tan, Nicholas (May 15, 2015). "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition Review". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Minor, Jordan (May 28, 2015). "Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition (for Nintendo 3DS) Review". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- ^ Nutt, Christian (July 30, 2014). "Puzzle & Dragons' GungHo has great first half: $523 million in profit". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
