RPGCast – Episode 510: “The Anna Marie Seal Of Mediocrity”

QoTW: Wild Arms 1 & 2 for the Playstation had an “artistic” font that was difficult to read; it didn’t help their localization issues at all. Later Wild Arms games, including the remake Wild Arms Alter Code F, had much more eye-friendly fonts.

I’ve been having a blast with PictoQuest, because I enjoy nonogram puzzle games such as the Picross series (which also got two recent Switch releases, Picross S3 and Picross Lord of the Nazarick). The RPG elements of PictoQuest, such as using items or obtaining more health, can easily be ignored. I think they’re mostly there so that players unfamiliar with nonograms can get a little extra help if they want it.

The PictoQuest gameplay adds a little more challenge to traditional nonograms, usually to solve a puzzle before a monster knocks the hero out. Some “sidequests” have an additional challenge, such as to solve a puzzle within a (generous) time limit, or to solve a puzzle while making no mistakes. Some of PictoQuest’s puzzles are bigger than the largest nonogram puzzles of the Picross series (which caps out at puzzles that 20×15 squares).

The PictoQuest story is cute with the occasional joke, but it’s mostly an “excuse plot”. PictoQuest isn’t a story-driven puzzle game like the Puzzle Quest series; it’s a puzzle game with a little bit of story for added flavor.

PictoQuest also has a solidly above-average soundtrack, especially by puzzle game standards. It’s a “must-have” for nonogram fans, in my opinion.