Review by: Danielle Riendeau

It’s hard not to love Atlus sometimes. They bring over interesting (and often charmingly odd) games from Japan (and Chile, in the case of the recent, bizarro Rock of Ages); that are almost always worth playing and talking about. While the timing is less than ideal for Mahjong Cub3d (this is a tiny little title in a big sea of October blockbusters), it certainly carries on that tradition. An innovative 3D take on the classic Chinese matching game, it’s attractive, packed with content, and addictive in the best way.

The core game has been around longer than Chess, and it’s insanely easy to learn. There is a selection of tiles before you, each with a pattern on its face. You need to pick “free” tiles (those without tiles blocking their faces or bordering both left and right sides) and match them. The game ends when you match everything (that’s the win state) – or the puzzle has no further possible matches (losing). Cub3d takes that basic formula and translates it into 3d space, creating elaborate free-floating towers and cubes out of tile blocks. The basic rules are the same, only instead of scouring a huge playing field for tiny symbols; you are flipping, scrolling and twisting your structure around to make your matches.

The whole experience is touchscreen-free – no doubt set up this way to highlight the 3D effect. You rotate the camera with the circle pad and either the L or R trigger, select your tile of choice with the circle pad and A button, and zoom in and out with the D-pad. That’s about it – the controls and mechanics are as simple and easy to grasp as can be.

There are three modes – Cube (where you’ll spend the most time), vs., the multiplayer battle mode (with one cart download play), and classic, which pits you against the traditional array of 140 tiles on an isometric playing field. Cube and vs. are the stars of the show – with Cube playing host to three tiers of challenges: alpha, beta, and gamma, each with varying degrees of complexity.

There’s one glaring error that keeps classic play from being as awesome as the rest of the game – that utter lack of touchscreen controls. While this works wonders for the flashier 3D modes, classic tasks you with matching 140 tiny little tiles – selecting them with the circle pad is a total chore and the inability to really control the camera makes for an eyestrain-inducing experience. I tried it a few times, but inevitably found myself going back to the better-implemented core game.

Ultimately, this is the type of title that will live in my handheld for months, like Honeycomb Beat and Planet Puzzle League before it – a simple, wildly addictive puzzler with great presentation and a boatload of content. It brings a nice twist to a classic game, looks great in 3D, and totally distracted me from the massive release field this October – not bad for a “little port” from Japan.