Mario's Super Picross
Mario's Super Picross | |||||||
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![]() Japanese box art For alternate box art, see the game's gallery. | |||||||
Developer | Jupiter | ||||||
Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||
Platform(s) | Super Famicom, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U, New Nintendo 3DS), Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online | ||||||
Release date | Super Famicom:![]() Virtual Console (Wii): ![]() ![]() ![]() Virtual Console (Wii U): ![]() ![]() ![]() Virtual Console (New 3DS): ![]() ![]() ![]() Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Language(s) | Japanese | ||||||
Genre | Puzzle | ||||||
Rating(s) |
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Mode(s) | Single player | ||||||
Format | Super NES: ![]() Wii: Wii U: Nintendo Switch: Nintendo 3DS: | ||||||
Input | Super NES: Wii: Wii U: Nintendo Switch: Nintendo 3DS:
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Serial code(s) | ![]() |
Mario's Super Picross is the first sequel to the Game Boy game, Mario's Picross, and can be played on the Super Famicom. After the commercial failure of Mario's Picross internationally, this sequel was initially released only in Japan on September 14, 1995. The game plays much the same way as the first, except Wario appears in it and presents his own set of special rules, which also return in the sequel.
In December 2006, Mario's Super Picross was released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan. The game saw its first international release in September 2007 on the Virtual Console in Europe and Australia, albeit untranslated. It was later released on the Wii U's Virtual Console in April 2013, and the New Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in November 2016, in Japan, Europe, and Australia. Subsequent Picross games of this era, up until the game's release on Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online on September 23, 2020, were never released in the Americas.
Gameplay[edit]
Picross is a logic puzzle game in which the player uses a chisel and rock hammer to uncover pictures. In order to reveal the picture, number clues are given to show how many squares go in each row or column. For example, a "5" horizontally means that there are 5 consecutive marked squares somewhere in that respective row. If there is more than one number, they all appear in that line in their respective order, but there must be at least one blank square between them. The player can also label squares with an "X" if they believe the square should not be marked. Labeling squares with an "X" serves no purpose in the solution of a puzzle, and is only used to assist the player. New to Mario's Super Picross is the ability to mark the hint numbers along the sides of the grid at will, preferably as each consecutive group of squares is solved on that line inside the grid.
There are two sets of puzzles, each divided into several levels. In Mario's set of puzzles, the player is given a time limit. In puzzles with time limits, the player is allotted 30 minutes to complete the puzzle, and is penalized for time for each wrongly marked square; 2 minutes for the first mistake, 4 minutes for the second, and 8 minutes for each mistake thereafter. At the start of the round, the player has the option to use a hint roulette, which cycles through the grid to completely reveal one row and one column. Once started, the player also has the option to use another hint roulette at the expense of 5 minutes deducted from the timer; this can be used multiple times as long as there is enough time remaining. When the player runs out of time, the game is over and they must restart the puzzle. After clearing the first level of Mario's puzzles, the player is granted access to Wario's puzzles.
In Wario's set of puzzles, there is no time limit and the player isn't notified of mistakes or given any hints, making the puzzles harder to solve. There is still a timer, however, it only increments to show the amount of time taken on a puzzle. There is a new option in the start menu, exclusive to Wario, called "? Start"; a guessing mode where the player halts progress on the puzzle and can make temporary marks on prospective squares, which can sometimes be necessary due to the lack of hints and the complexity of Wario's puzzles. The player can decide at any time if they want to cancel the guessing mode and remove the temporary marks, letting them continue from a state prior to entering this mode. If the player correctly finishes the puzzle while in this mode, the puzzle is completed as normal.
Each set has 11 levels with 12 puzzles each, except Wario who has a hidden twelfth "Ultra" level with eight puzzles, which is unlocked by clearing Mario and Wario's special level. After Wario's ultra level is cleared, EX puzzles are unlocked for both Mario and Wario. There is a total of 300 puzzles in the game and puzzle sizes range from 5x5 up to 20x20 and 25x20, the latter being new additions to the series.
A two-player mode exists in the game as well. By performing any input on a second controller, a second player is entered in to the game, and players can then solve puzzles cooperatively. This feature would later return in Picross 2, Picross NP, and Picross S in which players can cooperatively solve puzzles or compete to fill the most squares.
Puzzles[edit]
Multiple puzzles were changed for the PAL Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online releases, possibly due to legal reasons.[13] However, the game's ROM serial code and revision number remain the same.[14][15]
Mario's Super Picross[edit]
Level 1 | |||
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マ (ma) | リ (ri) | オ (o) | の (no) |
ピ (pi) | ク (ku) | ロ (ro) | ス (su) |
Big Dipper | Sail Boat | Penguin | Mermaid |
Level 2 | |||
Glasses | Dolphin | Angel Fish | Northern Fox |
Post Box | Floppy Disk | Great South Gate | Key |
Rocket | Clock | American Football Helmet | Slot Machine |
Level 3 | |||
Magnet | Satellite Dish | Ruler | Electrical Outlet |
Onigiri | Kokeshi Dolls | Bottle Opener | Australia |
Sewing Machine | Flask | Medal | Ambulance |
Level 4 | |||
Golf Green | Festival Fan | Condor | Ghost Leg |
Diving | Dress Shirt | Weight Lifter | Fawn |
Opera Glasses | Music Box | Harp | Baby and Mama |
Level 5 | |||
Dinosaur Fossil | Microscope | Dog and Utility Pole | Gangster (Original) Mafia (Re-releases; rename) |
Votive Picture | Longhorn Beetle | Headphones | Strawberry |
The News | Hot Air Balloon | Gateball | Escalator |
Level 6 | |||
Gorilla | Fishing | Exercising Rabbit | The Thinker |
Tokyo Tower | Howling Dog | Weathercock | Horn |
Pumpkin | Marilyn Monroe (Original) Giant Tortoise (Re-releases) |
Hannya | Traveler in the Desert |
Level 7 | |||
Parakeet | Eel | Fountain | Sea Horse |
Frog and Willow Tree | Spider | Flounder | Balancing |
Origami Crane | Ptarmigan | Lighthouse | Praying Mantis |
Level 8 | |||
Picross | Camera | Garbage Can | Plesiosaurus |
Juice | Western Castle | Fox | Capitol |
Japanese Castle | Dandelion | Alarm Clock | Magic Lamp |
Level 9 | |||
Basketball | Eggplant | Palm Tree | Football |
Lantern | Kettle | Hydrangea | Tropical Fish |
King | Hang-On | Eagle | Woodpecker |
Level 10 | |||
Helicopter | Fishbowl | Treasure Ship | Grand Piano |
Flowers | Coat | Tulip | Water Mill |
Cyclist | Kendo | Sumo | Horse Racing |
Special | |||
High-speed Boat | Paint | Ice Skates | Binoculars |
Mount Fuji | Steam Train | Bee | Morning Glory |
Man Playing the Guitar | Egypt | Uchide-no-Kozuchi | Gymnastics |
EX | |||
High Wheeler | Kabuto | Boxing Gloves | Pocket Watch |
Chick | Coffee Cup | No Smoking Mark | Pelican |
Lucky Cat | Raijin | Snowman | Basketball |
Wario's Face |
Wario's Super Picross[edit]
Level 1 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Uninhabited Island | Sole | Bomb | Kozaru |
Cicada | Mosquito Coil | Thief | Dog |
Tutankhamun | Adobe Dwelling | Parasol | Harvest Moon |
Level 2 | |||
Orion | Tetris (Original) Hermit Crab (Re-releases) |
Bird's Nest | Shoshinsha Mark |
Moon Landing | Emergency Exit | Africa | Daruma Doll |
Killifish | Pop-eyed Goldfish | Old-Fashioned Delinquency | Doghouse |
Level 3 | |||
Fugu | Butterfly | Flying Fish | The Sun |
Army Ants | Bag of Money | Kappa | Iguana |
Devil | Mouse | Bat | Skunk |
Level 4 | |||
Uncle | Faucet | Flying Carpet | Pro Wrestler |
Tadpole | Mizaru | Fungo | Iwazaru |
Hippopotamus | Tiger | Kikazaru | Teru Teru Bōzu |
Level 5 | |||
Shogi | Owl | Dinosaur | TV Set |
Man Smoking a Pipe | Flamingo | Catfish | Roast Bird |
Monkey | Dodo | Grim Reaper | The Scream (Original) Chameleon (Re-releases) |
Level 6 | |||
Tea | Queen | Raccoon | Fishbone |
Jizo | Panda Face | Porcine Mosquito Coil | Myna |
Crescent Moon | Mole | Hurdle | Conductor |
Level 7 | |||
Tyrannosaurus | Crocodile | Ostrich | Viking |
Witch | Pegasus | The Americas | Lakitu |
Parent and Child Tortoise | Pinwheel (Wario Land) | Buffalo | Piggy Bank |
Level 8 | |||
Heavy Metal | Chicken | Badly Drawn Dog | Clown |
Maizō | Tanuki | Commuting | Squid |
Frog | Knight | Goboten | Mountain Gorilla |
Level 9 | |||
Kintarō Candy | Octopus with a Headband | Alien | Mountaineer |
Rock-Paper-Scissors | Whale | Tōyama no Kin-san | Kurikuri |
Giraffe | Tiny Wario | Reindeer | Ukiyo-e |
Level 10 | |||
Bowl and Chopsticks | Car | Mr. Bear | Cow |
Orca | Honey Bee | Excavator | Great Buddha |
Sheep | Scorpion | Tuna | Carriage |
Special | |||
Sunfish | Squirrel | Beach | Locust |
Lion | Tanuki Figure | Luffa | Scale |
Haniwa Horse | Princess Kaguya | Cherry Blossom | Sea Lion |
Ultra | |||
Waitress | Koala | Coelacanth | Backpack |
Tabby | Baby | Rider | Wolf |
EX | |||
Bad Guy's Mark | Terrible Guy | Bad Guy's Eye | Gallant Mustache |
Sideburns of Yours Truly | Ear of Yours Truly | Mark of the Hero | Beautiful Eyes |
Helmet of Yours Truly | Gloves of Yours Truly | Tiny Wario's Head | Shoes of Yours Truly |
View of the Moon | Pansy | Bunbuku Chagama |
Reception[edit]
Reviews | |||
---|---|---|---|
Release | Reviewer, Publication | Score | Comment |
SNES | Marcel van Duyn, Nintendo Life | 9/10 | "Mario's Super Picross is more of the same, but that's not bad at all, since, well, it's Picross! Whether you've played Picross before or not, Super Picross must be played — It's arguably the best in the series. Unlike the unforgiving first games, it's great whether you're a beginner or an expert, its difficulty starting off on the gentle side before ramping up as more puzzles are completed." |
Aggregators | |||
Compiler | Platform / Score | ||
Metacritic | [N/A] | ||
GameRankings | [N/A] |
Staff[edit]
- Main article: List of Mario's Super Picross staff
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario's Super Picross.
Media[edit]
- For a complete list of media for this subject, see List of Mario's Super Picross media.
Names in other languages[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
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Japanese | マリオのスーパーピクロス Mario no Sūpā Pikurosu |
Mario's Super Picross |
Trivia[edit]
- Mario's Super Picross utilizes a "high resolution SD mode". While still constrained to the 224 lines of standard definition TVs, the horizontal definition of the images is doubled to 512 so that pixels twice as thin can be displayed. In order to better show such images on modern displays with square pixels, the horizontal lines need to be doubled to restore the apparent aspect ratio. This mode is only used for screens that use text to allow a higher level of detail to display the kana characters. The puzzles themselves and the menus are in the standard Super Famicom resolution, 256x224.
- The solutions of the first eight puzzles spell out "マリオのピクロス" (ma-ri-o-no-pi-ku-ro-su), which translates to "Mario's Picross."
- Luigi's face appears in the background of levels 2-4 of Mario's Super Picross if they have not been 100% cleared.
External links[edit]
- Official Japanese Super Famicom Website
- Official Japanese Virtual Console Website (Wii)
- Official Japanese Virtual Console Website (Wii U)
- Official European Virtual Console Website
- Official Website from Jupiter (English/Japanese)
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.jupiter.co.jp/e/product/game/snes/s_picross.html
- ^ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_msp/index.html
- ^ a b https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Super-Nintendo/Mario-s-Super-Picross-752112.html
- ^ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/titles/20010000001006
- ^ Nintendo UK. (October 31, 2016). Mario's Super Picross - Nintendo eShop Trailer (New Nintendo 3DS). YouTube. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/titles/50010000041703
- ^ Nintendo (September 16, 2020). NES & Super NES - September Game Updates - Nintendo Switch Online. YouTube. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ @NintendoEurope (September 16, 2020). "#DonkeyKong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, Mario’s Super Picross plus more #SuperNES and #NES games will arrive on 23/09 for #NintendoSwitchOnline members!" Twitter. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ @NintendoAUNZ (September 19, 2020). "#DonkeyKong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, Mario’s Super Picross plus more #SuperNES and #NES games will arrive in the evening on 23/09 for #NintendoSwitchOnline members!" Twitter. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Nintendo. NES & Super NES - Nintendo Switch Online (Shown in Copyrights) Nintendo Korea. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Nintendo 公式チャンネル (February 10, 2021). ファミリーコンピュータ & スーパーファミコン Nintendo Switch Online 追加タイトル [2021年2月]. YouTube. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ Nintendo. [1]. Family Computer | Nintendo Switch Online | Nintendo Switch | Nintendo. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ https://tcrf.net/Mario%27s_Super_Picross
- ^ Mario's Super Picross Original ROM information
- ^ Mario's Super Picross Re-release ROM information