Puzzled

Puzzled, known as Joy Joy Kid (ジョイジョイキッド) in Japan, is a 1990 falling block puzzle game developed for the Neo Geo by SNK. It was released for a home port in 1994 and again as a mobile game in 2008.

Gameplay
The protagonist, Rudd or his female companion, is riding through a long tower whilst in a hot air balloon. Players have to clear the floating line of blocks surrounding him or her by using the falling blocks to destroy them (similar to Tetris). Leftover blocks carry over and affects the lines below it for possible chain reactions. When the L-Ball gauge is filled at the center of screen, players can press a button to trigger a circular energy blast around the balloon. This should only be used sparingly since the gauge takes awhile to recharge again. If the player cannot clear the stage within a given time or if the blocks pile too high, the game will end.

The tower's floors changes based on which character the player chose to start the game with, each of them having 60 floors for their path (120 altogether). Ideally, two players can experience the entire game in one playthrough. Stages -which act as the game's chapters- are divided by 10 floors and act as the divider point for which route the player wants to take. At given times of the tower, the player will sometimes need to perform platform jumping sequences to proceed forward.

Critical Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Puzzled on their December 15, 1990 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles such as Carrier Air Wing and Raiden.

The graphics of Puzzled were described as being simplistic and unremarkable but well-designed and efficient. The sound effects were also considered minimalistic but enjoyable for a game of this type.

The game's multiplayer portion was criticized for not featuring any interactions between the two simultaneous players.

Videos
Puzzled