If you are a familiar with Tetris Attack then you are already familiar with Into the Blue. The difference between this newly released independent homebrew title and the Nintendo classic is, well, subtle to say the least. While the two games appear to be identical, they are quite dissimilar at the same time. Not just graphically, but that core gameplay element that made Tetris Attack such an iconic is changed in Into the Blue, making it feel like a whole new game.

The developer of Into the Blue makes a point of clarifying what inspired his new homebrew Game Boy game. It is not Tetris Attack.

Instead, Into the Blue was based on a title that predated Nintendo’s twist on match 3 puzzles by a few years. A title by Namco of Japan for the Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis in North America).

Megapanel was never released for anything other than the Sega Mega Drive, and it was not brought to anything outside of Japan. Such a shame because once you watch a gameplay video you will wonder why didn’t Namco, or someone else, bring this over.

In Tetris Attack you had a two block icon to swap pieces and only could swap left and right. To bring down pieces, you had to rely on combos and other pit opening moves. In Into the Blue, and Megapanel before it, you can swap pieces much like you could in Bejeweled. The difference is, it is like a sliding puzzle game as your cursor will always occupy one space and can never be moved to a space without a panel there to swap with. That is where the challenge comes in and changes Into the Blue completely away from what Nintendo produced.

Judging by the success of puzzle games as gamers got older, it is almost a guarantee that Megapanel would have grown in popularity, though crucial sales may have been lower than needed to sustain interest in it.

Sadly, considering the market that Sega was going for was older than Nintendo’s fan focus we still did not get a port of Megapanel.

Ah well, we have Into the Blue for the Nintendo Game Boy and it is completely free. There is not even a donate button or Patreon begging on the developers website. Just a completely free, labor of love, game for puzzle fans.

How much cooler can you get than that?

Head over to the Green Screen website and check out Into the Blue and their other game, Retroid (previous coverage).

Want to rock Into the Blue or other freeware titles on your physical Game Boy? Check eBay for a flash cart.

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams