The visuals of Puzzled look a lot like Tetris and the core gameplay is the same:[5] the player controls tetrominos falling from the top of the screen, and filling a horizontal lines clears it.[6][7] However, the objective is to clear a vertical path for a hot air balloon initially trapped at the bottom of each level, enabling it to fly off the top of the playing field and moving up to the next level of a tower.[8][9]
The tower is divided into multiple floors, with 10 levels per floor, totaling 60 different puzzles.[10][11] Some levels feature varied obstacles like robots floating around the puzzle to attack the balloon, regenerating blocks, and gold blocks that need to be cleared multiple times before disappearing.[8] The player can also use a power-up called an "L-Ball": a meter fills up as lines are cleared, and once ready, the player can trigger a lightning ball to explode outwards from the balloon's current location, removing surrounding blocks.[8]
Development and release
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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.[23]
The graphics of Puzzled were described as being simplistic and unremarkable but well-designed and efficient.[6][10] The sound effects were also considered minimalistic but enjoyable for a game of this type.[6][10]
The game's multiplayer portion was criticized for not featuring any interactions between the two simultaneous players.[10][11]
Notes
^Also known as Joy Joy Kid (Japanese: ジョイジョイキッド, Hepburn: Joi Joi Kiddo) in Japan.
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