My Nintendo Picross offers several puzzle modes accessible from the main screen. The first is regular Picross, the second is Mega Picross, and the third is Micross, in which players must assemble a larger image from numerous smaller puzzles. Each mode has different graphics and music. When first starting the game, the player is walked through a tutorial by the character Midna, who also serves as the game's "hostess".[1]
Release
My Nintendo Picross was initially planned to be a limited-time offer, and would have been removed from My Nintendo on October 1, 2016. However, Nintendo eliminated the expiration date soon before the game was due to expire, and allowed the game to be redeemed indefinitely.[2]
Reception
Neal Ronaghan of Nintendo World Report said that the game lacked any sort of Zelda twist besides its graphics and music, but that the theme alone was "a hell of an enticement". He called the tutorial "great" and "one of the better entry points for this style of puzzle game", praising its inclusion of Midna. He also called the game's controls and options "polished", comparing them to a full Picross e game. He called the game's biggest downside that the normal puzzles and Mega Picross puzzles made the same images, recommending it heavily to Zelda fans, but saying that it would likely not be interesting to players "swimming in other Picross games".[3]
Thomas Whitehead of Nintendo Life rated the game highly, saying that a high amount of effort went into making a "quality" audio-visual experience. He cited the helpful tutorial, calling the broader game "limited but charming". Noting that the game had "a surprising amount of content", he praised the inclusion of multiple modes, but criticized the lack of a zoom option, believing overall that it "[set] the bar high".[1] Jenni Lada of Siliconera largely praised the game, calling Midna's personality "spot-on" and saying that the sound design helped "make the game". She called the game's main flaw that marking panels worked differently than most Picross games, hurting the player's muscle memory if they were an experienced player.[4]
Legacy
While Pokémon Picross and My Nintendo Picross, both Nintendo collaborations, released in quick succession, the games never received a Nintendo-based follow-up, with Jupiter Corporation left to release non-themed Picross games or collaborate with other publishers. In 2023, Norichika Meguro, managing director of Jupiter, stated that while the company wanted to collaborate with Nintendo, it was more difficult than ever before due to how protective they are of their intellectual property.[5]
