At long last, developer Jupiter has announced that Picross S: Genesis & Master System Edition (releasing in Europe as Mega Drive & Mark III) will be hitting the Nintendo eShop on August 5, 2021. Available for $9.99 / £8.99 / €9.99 / 1,000 yen / HK$79, the title is a mash-up of nearly 60 different Sega classics in the style of Picross (aka, picture sudoku).
Containing around 480 different images, this iteration of Picross S will feature four different game modes. These are regular Picross (300 Puzzles), Mega Picross (shared with regular), Color Picross (30 Puzzles), and Clip Picross (150 Puzzles). If the title wasn't evident, players will be treated to puzzles focused on Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, Out Run, The Revenge of Shinobi, Golden Axe, Bonaza Bros., Altered Beast, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Phantasy Star, and more!
Curiously, the trailer above mentions a "character editor," but then doesn't detail what that means. If we're able to create our own puzzles using various Genesis sprites, that would be excellent. I'd probably just make Streets of Rage images, but the possibilities are endless!
Something about the simple joy of Picross has always relaxed me. Ever since Nintendo released that free My Nintendo Zelda themed Picross app, I've discovered the joy of solving picture puzzles. Sudoku can be a little abstract for my liking, but solving puzzles themed around my favorite video games? That's a sure fire way to keep me engaged. I'm definitely very interested in this and hope it ends up being good.
Source: YouTube