Trioncube

Trioncube
254px North American cover art
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai Games
Producer(s)	Hideo Yoshizawa
Designer(s)	Kouji Asuna
Platforms	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Trioncube, fully titled Kimochiyosa Rensa Puzzle Trioncube (気持ちよさ連鎖パスル トリオンキューブ, Kimochiyo-sa Rensa Pazuru Torionkyūbu) in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Namco and released for the Nintendo DS.

Gameplay

The game is a 'falling block' title, a la Tetris, and features many similar blocks. The objective of the game is to form 3×3 squares to clear blocks and reach a set objective (unless playing in endless mode). Once a 3×3 square has been formed, more pieces can be attached to form more 3×3 squares and clear other blocks on the screen. These chains will remain on screen until a piece is placed which does not add to it.

The single-player section features an arcade mode, a story mode which adds concepts such as useless blocks, and an endless mode. The game also contains two player multiplayer via WiFi, which supports both single-cart and multi-cart play.

To reach your goal you use blocks to provide your ship Penko with fuel - a series of 3×3 blocks, or Trioncube, will start a chain reaction that fuels your ship. If you break the series of 3×3's or you over-stack, all the blocks turn into coins and the chain is broken.

Test your skills: With four modes, there are endless challenges. Travel through 8 planets to defeat the Space Monster on Arcade Mode, tackle 45 missions to rescue the Princess, take the challenge to reach up to Dimension 99 and more.

Challenge a friend: Invite a friend, or match up against Hell Metal to test your stacking skills.

Customize your experience: with 50 effects and 10 screen Arts, the options are endless on how to create your very own look.

• Screen Arts us what your screen theme will be, the first and free one you get is of space, so it look like you're going through space (which is what the story is about). Others will be like flower which has flowers everywhere and all the blocks turn into flowers with you make you 3×3 square.
• Effects are what show up when you make 3x3 squares, the first and free one you get will be stars, when you make a 3×3 square stars will pop up almost like a congrations for making a 3x3 and then will be more and bigger stars that show up if you can keep a chain up. Some other effects include kitties, hearts, shooting stars and even Penko.
• You can unlock these and buy them with the coins that have been saved up in the journey.

Different shapes, different strategies: With five different shapes, strategize to create your ultimate chain without breaking the 3x3 stacks.

• These shapes are very much like Tetris shapes except there is a block missing somewhere on the shape, which makes it a little harder than Tetris in that sense.

Story

The Princess has disappeared! Someone must save her! As the Captain of the mighty ship Penko (which looks like a fat penguin), you will embark on a journey to return her to safety. She is flying through space and encounters many situations, she gets kidnapped by the evil Hell Metal, gets eaten by a big purple blob, gets sucked into a black hole and gets caught on a dark big king creature clothes. You have to save her from all this. Then you can return her to the king and collect the reward.

Development

Trioncube was developed by Namco. The game was chiefly designed by Kouji Asuna and was produced by Hideo Yoshizawa, known for his work on the Mr. Driller series of puzzle games. The idea for the game came to Asuna while he was at home, watching television after a bath. He had been working on a separate puzzle game at the time and was stuck on how to bring the project together. "Something just clicked in my head as soon as this certain shape appeared on the screen," he explained. "That was the moment Trioncube started to [materialize] in my head." Asuna wanted to make Trioncube unique by emphasizing large combos rather than clearing lines. Asuna considered utilizing the DS touchscreen for moving blocks, but chose not to because "it didn’t really feel natural or make things easier". The game's "cute" aesthetic was also intentional, evolving from a more basic interface to one the design team hoped would appeal to both younger and female players.

Reception

The game is said to be far too easy, with the slow pace of the game giving a lack of challenge and making it dull. ONM mentioned that the game was not as addictive as Tetris, and there were better puzzle games on the DS