Toon-Doku

Last updated
Toon-Doku
Toon-Doku box art.jpeg
Developer(s) Dragon's Den Unlimited
Publisher(s) Majesco Entertainment
Director(s) Joseph Sutton [1]
Producer(s) Robert Cooper [1]
Artist(s)
  • Alison Rementer
  • Andrew Bado
  • Maciej Kuczynski [1]
Composer(s)
  • Jason Robinson
  • Joseph H. Goldstein [1]
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release
  • EU: April 10, 2007
  • NA: April 16, 2007
  • AU: October 12, 2007
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Toon-Doku is a 2007 sudoku puzzle video game developed by Dragon's Den Unlimited and published by Majesco Entertainment for the Nintendo DS. Directed by Joseph Sutton, the game was first released in North America and Europe in April 2007, with an Australian release following in October later the same year.

Contents

Toon-Doku was received generally negatively by critics, who criticized the game for having poor controls, as well as its replacement of numbers with symbols.

Gameplay

A typical puzzle within the game. Toon-Doku gameplay screenshot.jpeg
A typical puzzle within the game.

Toon-Doku follows the same principles as the logic-based puzzle Sudoku. In Toon-Doku, players have to fill a 9×9 grid with different symbols; however, no line or 3×3 subgrid can feature multiple of the same symbols. [2] [3] One of Toon-Doku's main gameplay points is the player's ability to draw custom symbols for use within the games puzzles. The game also has several unlockable symbols, which can be obtained by completing certain puzzles. [4]

Toon-Doku features three main single-player modes: the instant mode, where players can play over 250 different sudoku puzzles, the stage mode, which features nine different levels, each with eleven puzzles, and the "Vs. CPU" mode, where the player competes against a CPU. [5] Levels in the stage mode end with a boss fight, where an enemy can hide some of the boxes in the player's grid. [6] Additionally, the game also features a multiplayer mode, where the player can hide some of the boxes in their enemies grids, similarly to the game's boss fights. [7] [8]

Development and release

Toon-Doku was developed by the American video game development studio Dragon's Den Unlimited. [9] The game was published by Majesco Entertainment. [10] The game was intended to be more suitable for younger players than traditional sudoku, which was attempted via the game primarily using symbols, instead of numbers. [7]

The game was first announced on January 24, 2007, by its publisher, Majesco, with a scheduled release of April later that same year. [8] [11] Toon-Doku released on April 10, 2007, in Europe, [12] with a North American release following on April 16. [13] The game released in Australia on October 12. [14]

Reception

Toon-Doku received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. The aggregator calculated a normalized score of 39/100, based on six critic reviews. [15]

The game has been criticized by multiple reviewers for primarily using symbols instead of numbers. [2] [4] JC Fletcher of Engadget wrote that the use of symbols makes it harder to solve puzzles, due to it being easier to know that a number is missing in a line, as opposed to a symbol, using a walrus as an example. [17] Jeuxvideo.com 's Jihem was more positive towards the use of symbols, while still writing that the idea wasn't original, due to it being used in children's newspaper, as well as another sudoku Nintendo DS game, Zendoku . [6]

Several critics have voiced a disliking towards the game's controls. Eric Bratcher of GamesRadar described the controls and interface as "clunky", in addition to criticizing how it's hard to tell which symbol is which, due to the Nintendo DS' "fuzzy screen". [3] Jihem disliked the game's use of the Nintendo DS stylus, as he felt it was inprecise. [6]

Critics have enjoyed the amount of content included in the game. Jonathan Metts of Nintendo World Report rated the game's lastability 8.5/10, writing that the game's randomly generated puzzles leads to "infinite possibilities". [4] Bratcher listed unlocking symbols and the game's length as two of its best points. [3] Jihem mirrored Bratcher's sentiments, writing that unlocking images in the game feels more complete than other aspects of the game. [6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Based on 6 reviews.

Related Research Articles

<i>A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia</i> 1989 NES video game

A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia is a puzzle-platform game developed by Imagineering and published by Absolute Entertainment for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The video game was released in North America in 1989, in Europe by Nintendo in 1991 and in Japan by Jaleco in 1991. A Boy and His Blob follows an unnamed male protagonist and his shapeshifting blob friend on their adventure to save the planet of Blobolonia from the clutches of an evil emperor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudoku</span> Logic-based number-placement puzzle

Sudoku is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. In classic Sudoku, the objective is to fill a 9 × 9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3 × 3 subgrids that compose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9. The puzzle setter provides a partially completed grid, which for a well-posed puzzle has a single solution.

<i>Meteos</i> 2005 video game

Meteos is a 2005 tile-matching video game developed by Q Entertainment and published by Bandai for the Nintendo DS. It was produced by Q Entertainment founder Tetsuya Mizuguchi and designed by Masahiro Sakurai. Meteos was inspired by the video game Missile Command (1980), the film The Matrix (1999) and the television series 24 (2001-2010).

<i>Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!</i> 2005 puzzle video game

Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an edutainment puzzle video game. It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. Nintendo has stated that it is an entertainment product inspired by Tohoku University professor Ryuta Kawashima's work in the neurosciences.

<i>Tetris DS</i> 2006 video game

Tetris DS is a puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS on March 20, 2006, in North America, April 13, 2006, in Australia, April 21, 2006, in Europe, and April 27, 2006, in Japan. An installment of the Tetris franchise, the game supports up to ten players locally, and supported online multiplayer of up to four players using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection prior to its discontinuation.

<i>Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!</i> 2005 video game

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!, known as More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an edutainment puzzle game and the sequel to Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (2005). It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. Before the game begins, the player must perform a Brain Age Check to determine their brain age, which ranges from 20 to 80, to determine approximately their brain's responsiveness. A brain age of 20, the lowest age that the player can achieve, indicates that the player's brain is as responsive as that of an average 20-year-old. After the player is told their initial brain age, they can complete a series of minigames to help improve their brain's responsiveness, after which they can run Brain Age Check again to determine their updated brain age.

<i>Sudoku Gridmaster</i> 2006 video game

Sudoku Gridmaster is a Touch Generations puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS, released on March 23, 2006 in Japan, June 26, 2006 in the United States and October 27, 2006 in Europe. It was developed by A.I and published by Hudson Soft in Japan and by Nintendo in the rest of the world.

<i>Bust-A-Move Bash!</i> 2007 video game

Bust-A-Move Bash!, known in Europe as Bust-A-Move, is a bubble shooter tile-matching video game released exclusively for the Wii, as part of the Bust-a-Move series. It is the first Bust-a-Move game released on a Nintendo console after Bust-a-Move 3000, released in 2003 on the GameCube.

<i>Zendoku</i> 2007 video game

Zendoku is a 2007 puzzle video game developed by Zoonami and published by Eidos Interactive for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable handheld consoles.

<i>Bust-a-Move DS</i> 2005 video game

Bust-a-Move DS, known as Pullback!! Puzzle Bobble in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Happy Happening and published by Majesco Entertainment for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console.

<i>Planet Puzzle League</i> 2007 video game

Planet Puzzle League, known as Puzzle League DS in Europe, and as Panel de Pon DS in Japan, is a video game for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console in the Puzzle League Panel de Pon visual matching puzzle game series. In North America, Planet Puzzle League is part of the Touch! Generations brand; in Japan, Panel de Pon DS is marketed in the general Touch! brand. The publisher for the game is Nintendo, and the developer is Nintendo's second-party developer Intelligent Systems, creator of the original Panel de Pon and its cult classic English-language adaptation Tetris Attack. The game was released in Japan on April 26, 2007 in North America on June 4, 2007, and in Europe on June 29, 2007.

Puzzle Series is a series of puzzle video games by Hudson Soft.

<i>Picross DS</i> 2007 video game

Picross DS (ピクロスDS) is a puzzle video game developed by Jupiter and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the second Picross game to be released by Nintendo in Europe and North America after Mario's Picross suffered a commercial failure in regions outside Japan, where many Picross games have been released for several Nintendo consoles. Like other Picross games, it presents the player with a series of nonogram logic puzzles to solve. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in North America, Europe and Australia.

<i>Cake Mania</i> Multi-platform time management video game

Cake Mania is a cooking time management video game developed and published by Sandlot Games in 2006. Some ports of Cake Mania have different titles; the Wii version is known as Cake Mania: In the Mix!, and the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions are titled Cake Mania: Bakers Challenge. Cake Mania received mixed reviews from critics, with some reviewers praising the game's 'addictive' and 'simple' casual gameplay, while others criticized this as being 'repetitive' and 'shallow'.

<i>Mario Party DS</i> 2007 video game

Mario Party DS is a 2007 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the second handheld game in the Mario Party series, as well as the last game in the series to be developed by Hudson Soft, as all subsequent titles have been developed by NDcube. The game was later released on the Virtual Console for the Wii U in April 2016.

<i>Trioncube</i> 2006 video game

Trioncube, fully titled Kimochiyosa Rensa Puzzle Trioncube in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Bandai Namco Games and released for the Nintendo DS.

<i>Gauntlet</i> (cancelled video game) Unreleased Nintendo DS hack and slash video game

Gauntlet is an unreleased Nintendo DS hack and slash dungeon crawl video game developed by Backbone Entertainment, based on the 1985 arcade game by the same title. The game was originally announced in April 2008, and was scheduled to be released later that year.

<i>Brain Age Express</i> Series of educational video games

Brain Age Express are three educational puzzle video games developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare download service. They are the third series of games in the Brain Age series, and are repackaged versions of both Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! and Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! games, featuring both old and new puzzles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Majesco Entertainment</span> American video game publisher and distributor

Majesco Entertainment Company is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, and was a privately held company until acquiring operation-less company ConnectivCorp in a reverse merger takeover, becoming its subsidiary and thus a public company on December 5, 2003. ConnectivCorp later changed its name to Majesco Holdings Inc. on April 13, 2004.

<i>Sudoku Mania</i> 2006 puzzle video game

Sudoku Mania is a 2006 sudoku puzzle game developed by Frontline Studios and published by UFO Interactive Games. Released on June 30, 2006, Sudoku Mania received "generally unfavorable" reviews from critics, having a score of 25 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic. Critics criticized the game's controls for being "disappointingly" "simplistic" and "obtuse".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Toon-Doku - Credits". AllGame . Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Harris, Craig (May 25, 2007). "Toon-Doku Review". IGN . News Corporation . Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bratcher, Eric (April 25, 2007). "Toon-doku review". GamesRadar . Future plc . Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Metts, Jonathan (June 11, 2007). "Toon-Doku Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Toon-Doku - Overview". AllGame . Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Jihem (November 26, 2007). "Toon-Doku test on DS". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  7. 1 2 GamesIndustry International (January 25, 2007). "Sudoku Gets A Whole New Look As Majesco Entertainment Announces 'Toon-Doku' For The Nintendo DS(TM)". GamesIndustry.biz . Eurogamer Network . Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  8. 1 2 jkdmedia (January 24, 2007). "Majesco Announces 'Toon-Doku' for the DS". GameZone. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  9. ↑ Orry, James (January 25, 2007). "Cartoon and Sudoku the perfect mix on DS". VideoGamer.com. Resero Network. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ Androvich, Mark (September 11, 2007). "Majesco Q3 financial results". GamesIndustry.biz . Eurogamer Network . Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  11. ↑ Seff, Micah (January 25, 2007). "Majesco Announces Toon Doku". IGN . News Corporation . Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  12. ↑ Thorsen, Tor (April 11, 2007). "Shippin' Out April 9–13: Super Paper Mario, PS3 MKII". GameSpot . CBS Interactive . Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  13. ↑ Karabinus, Alisha (April 16, 2007). "DS releases for the week of April 16th". Engadget . Weblogs . Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  14. ↑ Kozanecki, James (October 8, 2007). "AU Shippin' Out October 8-October 12: Project Gotham Racing 4, The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass". GameSpot . CBS Interactive . Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Toon-Doku for DS Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Toon-Doku". NGamer . No. 12. Future plc. August 2007. p. 65. Zendoku is much, much better.
  17. ↑ Fletcher, JC (April 10, 2007). "Toon-Doku threatens to break our brains". Engadget . Weblogs . Retrieved August 31, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.