PaigeFTW: ‘Pokemon Shuffle’: Worse Than Drugs
As a general rule, I try to steer clear of mobile games. I was never into Candy Crush, and Tsum Tsum fails to hold my interest for longer than half a level. I’m not a big fan of puzzle games as a whole, but I get particularly frustrated with the freemium model most of these titles utilize. I refuse to let time restraints or nickel-and-dime pricing impede on my addictions.
Pokemon Shuffle saw my objections and said, “OK, right, but this one is Pokemon.”
You can’t argue with that kind of logic.
This unholy amalgamation of Bejeweled and Pokemon, originally released for the Nintendo 3DS back in February, combines the joy of matching puzzles with the obsessive-compulsive mania of catching ‘em all. Every level pits you against a wild Pokemon, with every match you make inflicting damage. If you can whittle their HP down within a set number of moves, you have the opportunity to fling a Poke Ball and hope for the best. Everyone you catch gets added to your battle roster for future encounters.
Yes, Pokemon type matchups do affect gameplay, so you’ll want to pick the best team with the best skills for any given encounter. There’s a lot of strategic depth here, amidst the conventional annoyances of connecting with friends on Facebook or needing to wait for your hearts to recharge every 30 minutes.
There are some 160 Pokemon to catch in the game, including limited-time opportunities to try your luck against legendaries like Mew or Kyogre. Even if I know there’s only a 10 percent chance of catching Mew, damned if my heart doesn’t stop with every wiggle of that Poke Ball.
The game is free to play and available for iOS and Android devices. Don’t fight it. Just give in to its siren song.
