The Pokemon franchise is no stranger to spin-offs. Having a vast amount of games across different genres that feature everyone’s favorite little pocket monsters. Pokemon Trozei for the Nintendo DS was one of those games and now has a sequel of sorts on the 3DS in Pokémon Battle Trozei. Although they both feature the name Trozei, Pokemon Battle Trozei for 3DS is a pretty different game from the one on DS, but it does maintain that fast-pace puzzle solving nature that the original Pokemon Trozei possessed.

If you’ve played Pokemon Trozei on the Nintendo DS, you’ll have somewhat of an understanding of the mechanics of Pokemon Battle Trozei. The game still centers around the popular “match-3” puzzle concept, where the thing you’ll be matching up are Pokemon. However, Pokemon Battle Trozei does things a bit different from your typical match-3 type. Instead of only being able to switch around pieces next to each other, you can switch a piece with any other piece on the board. This allows players to match up three very easily, but it helps add on to the fast-pace nature of the game.

     

The main objective for each level in Pokemon Battle Trozei is that you’re trying to capture wild Pokemon, or in this case, Trozei them. In order to Trozei the Pokemon, you’ll be matching up to three in order to do damage. There will be moments where more than one Pokemon will show up, and matching five will enable to attack multiple targets. And in traditional Pokemon fashion, the type of Pokemon you match up first will determine what attack type is used. So attacking a Pokemon with a particular type could potentially deal more or less damage.

By performing multiple matches (a combo), you’ll strengthen your attack. This is further encouraged thanks to the Trozei Chance mechanic, which helps pulling off multiple combos fairly easy. In order to start a Trozei Chance, you’ll need to match up to four Pokemon, then perfom a match of up to three immediately after. Doing so will start the Trozei Chance, which will allow pairs to be counted. So any two Pokemon next to each other will add on to your combo. Since you’re still able to keep moving pieces around while this is all happening, you’ll be frantically pairing up Pokemon in order to keep the combo going. It’s even possible to clear up the whole board, where you can possibly trigger another Trozei Chance. So if you’re quick enough, you can potentially clear multiple boards for just one attack.

You’re not the only one who can attack though, as the wild Pokemon can attack you back. Wild Pokemon will be constantly attacking your board and you’ll take damage. They can even break the walls of your board and drop right in the middle of your playing field, which will distort it. Losing all your heatlh will cause a GAME OVER. This is where support Pokemon can help. There will be specific Pokemon that won’t attack but can still be useful. For exmaple, Chansey heals your life gauge. Same with Mr. Mime, who will repair walls. Other support actions will also increase attack power. You’ll be able to further take advantage of these abilities by being able to bring your choice of Pokemon with you into the level.

The game is full of several areas filled with levels, where each level features a set of different Pokemon for you to capture. There will also be hidden Pokemon in each stage, and they’re only uncovered if you fulfill a certain set of objectives. These objectives range from reaching a high score to capturing a Pokemon by performing a super effective attack on other Pokemon when capturing. With the game featuring all current Pokemon from Red/Blue all the way to X/Y, you’ll have a long journey ahead to catch ’em all.

The Good: Match-3 puzzle games aren’t bad, but there are a lot of them. So it was nice to see Pokemon Battle Trozei branch out of the norm with its mechanics. Being able to swtich one piece around to anywhere on the board opens up lots of possibilities and makes the gameplay quick and easy to get into. The Trozei Chance also adds on to the fast-pace gameplay and offers up some nice satisfaction when you see your high combo numbers.

I’m also a big fan of how true to Pokemon this game is, without being a traditional Pokemon game. It has the layout of a Pokemon journey, where you go to new areas and capture new Pokemon. Then, using the Pokemon you’ve already captured to help you capture new ones. And the habit of bringing in specific type Pokemon with you in order to take advantage of type weaknesses. Also the fact that every Pokemon is featured here in the game is a huge plus.

The game isn’t exactly easy either and it has its own set of challenging gameplay. For one, using the Pokemon as the pieces are enough to throw some off. Especially if that Pokemon doesn’t have some huge color to tell it apart of others. This problem really occured on a level where the whole board was filled with Plusle, Minun, and Pachirisu. Since those Pokemon look very similar it was difficult to match them up right away. It was a nice challenge that I enjoyed experiencing. Also fighting against legendaries is no easy feat when dealing with the constant attacks and having them fall onto your playing field. So I was really impressed with the challenge the game offered, given its simple concept.

The Bad: While it is simple, Pokemon Battle Trozei is very repetitive. Not too surprising for a puzzle game, but still a problem. The gameplay doesn’t vary much from each level. You’ll mainly be aiming for that Trozei chance and hitting a Pokemon’s weakness in order to deal the most damage. I’ve countered this problem by enjoying the game in short bursts. So just know that if you dislike the repetitive nature of these puzzle types, the inclusion of Pokemon may not be enough to turn you around.

There is a multiplayer mode featured in Pokemon Battle Trozei that works the same way as single player. You can have a team of up to four as you all attempt to capture Pokemon, by working on your own playing field. However, the mode is local only with no online. I’m also a little disappointed that they didn’t try to mimic a Pokemon battle system centered around the Pokemon Battle Trozei layout. That would’ve been a neat addition and further add on to the ‘battle’ part of the game’s name.

Overall Thoughts: Pokémon Battle Trozei is a fast-pace puzzle game that centers around Pokemon. It greatly captures that traditional Pokemon feeling that the series has been known for. The gameplay is simple and easy to pick up. Even if it’s repetitive, the game features all currently known Pokemon, so there’s a lot of play time to be had. As a fan of Pokemon and puzzle games, this is a great mash-up of both those things that fans of either can come to enjoy.