I have never done any time trials but I love this game and so does Bescherelle. It's definitely one of my top played games on my 3DS and I'm pretty sure it is her top played game by far. Very addicting and although it took awhile, the puzzles have finally ramped up to the point where I struggle to get through some of them in the time limit.

Yeah, great little game. I never played it on the original Gameboy, but I downloaded it from the 3DS Virtual Console and I really like it. I'll have to try to improve my times on it. I can complete pretty much any puzzle, but it takes me a while to do so.

Awesome game--I love Picross! And there's no shortage of puzzles either. I've probably put a dozen hours or so into this and I just started the Star level puzzles. Picross is like a better version of Sudoku; it has the addictive nature without feeling like pointless busywork.

I love this game and have put an absurd amount of time into it. Here's my best times.

1) 2:44
2) 3:07
3) 3:22
4) 3:24
5) 3:28

@Zero

You're missing out on 1/4th of the puzzles in the game if you don't play the time trial. And you don't have to worry about how long it'll take to beat a level because there are no limits in this mode. It also won't tell you when you've made a mistake either. All that and the fact that it's randomized is why it's my favorite part of the game.

I beat the shit out of this game when it was released on the 3DS VC. It makes a great time-killer while listening to podcasts on the train.

It is lacking one or two features from Picross DS, but it's good.

Time Trial is a bitch and a half!

[insert more expletives here]

@TriforceBun
Why, though? Because you make a picture at the end? I don't necessarily disagree that Picross feels more 'worthy' of wasting time with, but I'm curious about the reason.

I mean, if you really wanna get reductive, pointless busywork could be applied to almost every game.

Where is there a Time Trial mode in Mario's Picross?

@Anand

It's more that with Sudoku, I feel like I'm just counting to nine over and over and over. It doesn't really feel like I'm using logic to determine where the numbers go--or if I am, it's very basic logic ("This has to be a nine or a three, and since the nine is in this column, it's a three" is about as complex as it gets unless I'm missing something). The picture is more the icing on the cake as it's a lot more attractive than a 9 x 9 grid of numbers. But the main thing is that Picross delivers more complexity.

I'm kind of ragging on Sudoku a lot--I like it well enough but when I played Picross, it sort of ruined Sudoku for me.

After you 'beat' the game, the Time Trial mode gets unlocked, I think.

@TriforceBun
I guess. But I think advanced Sudoku puzzles do require a bit more lateral thinking. Just like the more advanced Picross puzzles.

@gojira Yeah but I still have a ton of stages in the main game to beat. I don't even see a time trial mode.

Oh I see. I've just seen a good deal of other people say that they weren't going to bother with the Time Trial mode. Which really seems odd to me if you like the game. I think that people just assume it reuses the puzzles you've already done.

I need to revisit this and figure out techniques for later puzzles that don't involve me going "Hmm....well that's a lot of numbers...maybe I should chisel....HERE....d'oh."

I like Picross 3D but I've never played a regular Picross game. Perhaps I should track down a copy of Picross DS sometime.

I bought it on 3DS and just can't play it...the tiny screen size and grayscale visuals are killer on my eyes. Shame, I liked Picross 3D quite a bit.

gojira said:

I love this game and have put an absurd amount of time into it. Here's my best times.
1) 2:44
2) 3:07
3) 3:22
4) 3:24
5) 3:28

Must. Beat. Your. Times.

I guess I finished all of the stages today? More accurate is Shirley and I did since she beat a lot of the stages awhile back.

Don't think I will be doing time trials. Game is stressful enough.

@Zero

Déjà vu

gojira said:

@Zero

You're missing out on 1/4th of the puzzles in the game if you don't play the time trial. And you don't have to worry about how long it'll take to beat a level because there are no limits in this mode. It also won't tell you when you've made a mistake either. All that and the fact that it's randomized is why it's my favorite part of the game.

Seriously though, the Time Trials are worth playing if you enjoy the game. Don't be fooled by the name. Other than the fact that they don't correct your mistakes, the mode isn't any more difficult than the rest of the game. It's just setup for you to try to get a fast time. Kinda like time trials in a racing game.