One thing I will say about the mobile indie offerings at Tokyo Game Show this year: there were more than a few matching puzzle games. I’d imagine it’s because it’s one of the few areas where an indie developer can hope to match up (har har) with the big dogs and maybe make a good go of it. One of the games I tried out that fits into this category is Persia and the Puzzle of Magic, which is currently available in Japan and will be making its way to the West in the future.
In this one, you play as a girl named Persia and need to make your way through each stage. Generally speaking, you’ll do this by matching keys that unlock the door, and then making your way to that door. Oh right, I forgot to mention: Persia herself is on the puzzle board. She can be attacked by enemies, and if she gets hit enough times, you’ll fail the stage. You’ll also fail the stage if you can’t finish it within the allotted number of moves.
Getting the door open isn’t that difficult, at least in the stages I played. Getting Persia to it is another matter, as the forces of gravity can be awfully cruel. You can attack enemies, but unless you get the drop on them you’ll usually take a hit if you’re too close. There are also sometimes side goals to accomplish, and you may need to complete them to finish the stage. Son of Musgrave recorded me playing the game a bit, but it was filmed in portrait and I am so bad at video editing that I am not sure how to flip it around. So, you know. Tilt your neck a little. Not too far. TouchArcade accepts no liability if you do anything weird, or if you don’t.
Persia and the Puzzle of Magic has enough twists on the match-3 formula to keep it from feeling too familiar, and I think those who enjoy strategic puzzle games will want to give it a try when it finally makes its way Westward. As the game is already out in Japan, it’s obviously complete and properly polished. It just needs a good localization and it should be all set. We’ll bring you more word on this one when we hear it.
