Yoshi's Cookie

Once you have a good idea that makes money, one will exploit in every possible way. See Bullet-Proof Software, best known for developing Nintendo's 8-bit Tetris games. In the 90s they came up with horrible spin-offs like Welltris (Tetris in a well), Facetris (Tetris with Faces) and Hatris (Tetris with hats) and sued every other developer that dared to make a game involving stacking up falling pieces. They could have easily been set aside as a so-called "one trick pony,' if it weren't for their other brilliant creation: Yoshi's Cookie.


At first glance, Yoshi's Cookie could also easily be mistaken for an average Tetris clone, baked without any inspiration in Bullet-Proof Sofware's oven. But that would do great injustice to this excellent puzzler.

In Yoshi's Cookie, different types of delicious snacks come in rows from the top and the right side of the screen. They probably come from some kind of devilish cookie baking machine that Mario is controlling in the right top op of the screen. It's possible to slide cookies in a row from the left to the right or vice versa and in a column from the bottom to the top or vice versa. It's the player's task to make a row or column of the same cookies to make them disappear. You fail when you're too slow and cookies reach the side or top of the screen. When you made enough cookies disappear, you go to a next level. It's a very simple concept, but it works extremely well and turns out to be very addictive.


Yoshi's Cookie's visuals are simple and clear; it's nice they added Mario in the right top of the screen controlling the cookie machine to liven things up (though it doesn't add anything practical). The music is an ever-repeating tune that can get a little annoying, but one that gets stuck in your head nonetheless. You'll find yourself whistling it at random moments. Controls are excellent and there's also a topnotch versus-mode to play against your friends.

All in all, Yoshi's Cookie is one of the best puzzle games I have ever played. It's accessible yet challenging, addictive and fun. Get and it you'll be hooked.