Genre Puzzle video game | ||
 | ||
First release Gunpey (WonderSwan)JP: March 4, 1999 Latest release Gunpey (PSP)NA: November 14, 2006JP: January 11, 2007EU: March 30, 2007AU: April 13, 2007 Games Gunpey, Gunpey | ||
Gunpey series stage mode stage 01
Gunpey (グンペイ), often written as "Gun Pey" or "GunPey", is a series of handheld puzzle games released by Bandai. It was originally released for the WonderSwan, and has been ported to WonderSwan Color, Playstation, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. The game was named as a tribute to the developer of the game, Gunpei Yokoi. He is known for developing several handheld consoles such as Nintendo's Game Boy, Virtual Boy, and Bandai's Wonderswan system. In the series, players move line fragments vertically in a grid in order to make a single branching line connect horizontally from one end to the other. The objective of the game differs by what game mode players choose.
Contents
Gunpey review
Gameplay
Gunpey features a 5×10 grid and line fragments spread across it varying from shape such as caret (∧), inverted caret (∨), left slash (＼), and right slash (／). The players are only able to slide the line fragments vertically, either to move them or switch them with another segment. The goal of the game is to piece the broken lines together to form a connected line from one end to the other. After a line is completed, the line will glow, allowing players to connect any additional branching segments to achieve a combo bonus. A bonus is also awarded when all of the line segments are cleared from the playing field.
Reception
Famitsu magazine scored the WonderSwan version of the game a 33 out of 40. Retro Gamer ranked the original WonderSwan game #2 on its "Top Ten WonderSwan Games" praising its simplicity and variety of modes it offers. DefunctGames gave the game a B+ noting its different tone of gameplay compared to other puzzle games from its time. DefunctGames also gave a B+ for the WonderSwan Color version,Gunpey EX, noting its simplicity and functionality of both controls and graphics, however criticizing the music quality. Modojo gave Gunpey EX a 3 out of 5 giving it a mix review stating, "The fact is Gunpey's focus on individual circuits instead of complex combos coupled the clunky vertical shuffling of the wires made it an experience I couldn't lose myself in, like so many other titles. Still, it's good to see that the puzzle genre still has life left, and Gunpey EX is a fairly robust package."
NintendoLife gave the game a 6 out of 10 stating, "The concept just isn't compelling or additive enough to grant the game classic status and the developers haven’t really added anything to change that." GameSpot gave both the DS and PSP version a 7.7 out of 10 stating, "Not only is it fun and challenging, but it's got a crazy sense of style and a rewarding level of difficulty." Eurogamer gave the PSP version 7 out of 10, praising its level designs and difficulty but criticizing the time it takes to play the game. IGN gave the game a 6.1 out of 10 stating,"Gunpey is a somewhat fun puzzle game, but it'll never reach classic status because it's one of those games that relies too much on random placement of tiles." IGN however gave the PSP version a less favorable review criticizing the gameplay for it being dull and boring.