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Columns Crown (GBA)
The Sega classic comes to a Nintendo system, updated, better, and handheld.
By Eric Bratcher | May 31, 2002

75
The Lowdown: This handheld remake of Sega's classic doesn't innovate much, but it's still one of the best puzzle games ever made.
Pros: Perfect single-player gameplay; new power-ups; head-to-head support.
Cons: Graphics could use a little tweaking; not as many new gameplay styles as Tetris Worlds.

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Platform:  Game Boy Advance
Game Type:  Puzzle
Developer:  WOW Entertainment
Publisher:  THQ

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With all due respect to Zelda, Metroid, and the world's most twinkle-toed plumber, it's hard to imagine Nintendo's original NES achieving its staggering level of success without Alexey Pajitnov's original masterpiece, Tetris. Sega's Genesis-based answer to Tetris was Columns, a similar, yet distinctly different puzzle game that earned its own fair share of devoted players. Now, over a decade later, Sega and Nintendo have put aside those competitive years (with some help from THQ) and an updated version of Columns is available on the Game Boy Advance. It's enough to make you want to hold hands and sing Kum Bai Ya -- if you can put down your GBA long enough.

The basic premise of Columns Crown is easy to grasp, but full of subtleties and strategic opportunities that continue to emerge as you play (as is typical of all the great puzzle games). Differently colored crystals fall from the top of the screen to the bottom, in groups of three. Unlike the blocks in Tetris, crystals in Columns Crown don't have different shapes, and they cannot be rotated -- there are always three crystals, arranged in a vertical column.

You can, however, adjust the order of the crystals. For instance, if a descending row contains one red crystal, with a blue one just above it, and another red on top of that, the simple press of a button can switch it so the reds lie together at the bottom and the blue rides on top. The object is to arrange crystals of the same color into rows of three or more at the bottom of the screen, either horizontally, vertically, or even diagonally. When you do this, the crystals vanish, just like a row of blocks in Tetris. If you fail in your task, the crystals pile up, and if the center column reaches the top of the screen, your game is over. Simple? Yes. But also deep and addictive.

There are three single-player modes in Columns Crown. The first is survival mode, which is nearly identical to classic Columns. There is no time limit, no opponent to outlast, and no specific goals -- you simply play the game for as long as you can. As with Tetris, the gems fall more quickly as you progress, so the challenge steadily increases. Occasionally, momentary relief arrives in the form of a new kind of crystal -- "black magic" crystals, which looks like a group of three bombs (or ball bearings -- take your pick). When this item touches a gem, it removes every gem of that color from the playfield. This can be a big help, but the reprieve rarely lasts long.

The second play mode is something called flash columns, in which the player starts each round with a number of gems already onscreen. One or more of these gems will have a flashing frame around them, indicating that these are the gems that must be removed in order to end the level and move on. This mode gives the game a slightly different feel, and is actually great practice for the multiplayer game, as it will enable you to hone your skills at clearing out problem areas.


Flash mode begins with a few crystals already onscreen.
The most important single-player mode in Columns Crown, however, may be the mode titled simply "Vs. CPU". In this mode, the player faces off in a series of head-to-head crystal-demolishing duels with a steady progression of wacky enemies. This is also the mode where Columns Crown's story becomes most important: Princess Dazzle wants to become the queen, but to do so she must locate 24 magic gems to mount in the Columns Crown. She has four already, and gives two to each to two of her schoolmates: a young male alchemist named Jade and his partner, a female sorceress named Ruby. The ultimate object of the game is to use one of these two characters to collect the other 22 gems so that one character has all 24 and the magic crown can be repaired. These gems can be earned by performing well in any of the three gameplay modes, but vs. mode is where they are most useful. Why? Because in the land of Columns Crown, magic gems are actually power-ups, and are they key to ruining your opponent's day.

Next:   Manipulating magic »
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