If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then why is it that anytime I play a video game that feels like a carbon copy of another one, I look down upon it? The journey always begins with noticing every similarity until finally some differences begin to appear. That’s when the new game starts to form its own identity.

When I first started the new Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons (my first Piczle Cross game), I immediately thought of my favorite series of pixel puzzlers, PICROSS. Next I thought, what if I’m wrong?
What if Piczle Cross was the original?

I reached out to the publisher to ask if there was some sort of relationship between these two Japanese studios (Jupiter for PICROSS and Rainy Frog for Piczle Cross). I still haven’t received an answer into the whole “Which came first” dilemna.

PICROSS S+ is a collection of pixel puzzles from the Nintendo 3DS PICROSS E series. It was also released recently for the Nintendo Switch. For the past few weeks I’ve been playing both series simultaneously. What I realized is that it doesn’t matter which series started the pixel puzzle phenomenon, because I now have an abundance of pixel puzzles to get through.

At their core these games are very much alike, but there are still a few small differences that set them apart.

SAME GAME

Both PICROSS and Piczle Cross allow the player to solve puzzles by finding the right pixels using the number patterns in the margins. Players are also able to mark spaces (X) when they are certain there are no pixels. It doesn’t take too long, but once you understand the grid and number system you’ll become a pixel puzzle pro. It then becomes about speed and accuracy.

I remember my first time playing PICROSS on my buddy’s 3DS. It took me a few easy puzzles to figure out how to quickly solve them. Once I figured it out, the puzzles were very satisfying and relaxing. The chill music adds to the relaxation.

I have never really cared about the end goal (the artwork) in these games — PICROSS does have the more recognizable pixel artwork though. It doesn’t really matter though, pixel puzzles are all about the journey of solving the puzzle. I always quickly move onto the next puzzle without paying much attention to what I have created.

SMALL DIFFERENCES

The puzzling portion of the Piczle Cross and PICROSS games are both nearly identical. However, the true differences come in the form of small variations. The PICROSS puzzles are laid out from easy to hard. Beginning with a full page of 5×5 puzzles, moving onto 10×10, 10×15 and continuing on. In Piczle Cross, the puzzles are not necessarily laid out in order. A 10×15 may be followed by a 15×15, then back to a 10×10. In both games you may complete puzzles in any order, so I guess the layout doesn’t really matter that much.

PICROSS also offers “Mega Picross,” which is a slightly more confusing way to solve the same puzzles. In Mega Picross some lines share a number, so your brain must work harder. I’ve also seen a “Color Picross” version which is even more complicated — I have still yet to figure that one out.

When it comes to story the PICROSS series primarily has none. I did play one entry, PICROSS: Lord of Nazarick, which took place in the world of Overlord, the anime series. There have been some other themed PICROSS games in the series as well. PICROSS S+ is a pure pixel puzzle game, with no story getting in the way of the puzzling.

Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons has a whole farming story, with cute cartoonish characters featuring their own backstories. I haven’t explored the actual story, but I know you can check your farm progress (and the current season) if you’d like to take a break from puzzling. Checking on our farm’s progress is just watching a simple background animation of two characters working on the farm.

IN THE END

It doesn’t matter who started the pixel puzzle trend. What matters is that I now have too many puzzles to solve, with enough variation that sovling puzzles in both games can feel familiar yet slightly different at the same time.

Thanks to certain accessibility and help features, I am able to customize my experience and difficulty level in both games. In PICROSS, I allow the game to let me know when I have made a mistake. In Piczle Cross, I have that feature turned off.

I very much enjoy solving puzzles in both of these games. If at any point in time I have a pixel puzzle game downloaded onto my Nintendo Switch with unsolved puzzles , I will gravitate towards that game — especially in handheld mode. These games are perfect for a midday break. I can always take a break from whatever I am doing (or not doing) to solve some pixel puzzles.

The relaxing gameplay also makes pixel puzzles the perfect way to start my day and to wind down at night. I’ve been using them both as meditative brain games, simultaneously.

I do love original and new games, but when it comes to something simple and soothing like pixel puzzles, I’m more than happy to support multiple studios creating them. So, back to the question that started this whole thing, Which game came first? The answer — it doesn’t matter.

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*myVGBC.com was provided a review code for Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons by the publisher.
I purchased my copy of PICROSS S+ since I already know and trust Jupiter and their series,
I will now support any new Piczle Cross entires as well.