There are few videogames that have gone through as much of an identity crisis as this one. The first incarnation of the game was released in 1995 as Panel de Pon for the Super Famicom (the Japanese version of the Super NES). It was soon released in the U.S. under the name Tetris Attack. The multiple fairy characters in Panel must have been deemed too girly for the U.S. as they were replaced with characters from Yoshi's Island. A few years later, the game was revived on the N64 as Pokémon Puzzle League, this time with Pikachu and his buddies cavorting in the background.

Finally, two years ago, Nintendo stripped away any sort of licensed characters and released the game as half of the barebones GBA release, Dr. Mario & Puzzle League. After all these years, it seems as though Nintendo has decided to stick to the Puzzle League name with the release of Planet Puzzle League on the DS. No matter what name it goes by, however, this is easily one of the best (some would argue the best) puzzle games every made.

The gameplay is relatively similar to other block-centric puzzle games out there. This time around, a stack of multicolored blocks rises from the bottom of the screen. To clear the blocks, you must match up three or some of the same colored pieces. The trick is, you can only swap the positions of blocks in their rows -- you can't move them vertically. Matched pieces disappear, causing any blocks above them to fall down and fill the empty space left behind.

Here's where the game's outstanding combo system comes into play. If falling blocks happen to land in a position where they link to three or more of the same color, they'll clear as well. Once you learn how the system works, you can chain some rather impressive combos together. The blocks can be arranged before "triggering" the combo or, if you're especially quick, you can shift other blocks around while ones that you've matched are disappearing, thus having another match waiting when everything settles.

Take Out the Trash

If you're playing against an opponent (either the computer or another person), creating combos will send garbage blocks to the top of their stack. Left unchecked, these garbage blocks will quickly cause the stack to rise off the top of the screen and end the game. Clear blocks that are touching them, though, and the trash will be transformed into regular blocks. As the change is taking place, you have the opportunity to rearrange the blocks in your pile so that new combos are formed once the change is complete. This will, of course, result in a massive garbage block being dropped on your attacker. Matches between skilled players can consist almost entirely of these giant blocks being traded back and forth until one person is finally overwhelmed. It's an immensely satisfying combo system, and the ability to completely turn a game around when all seems lost makes for extremely exciting matches.

This time around, the core gameplay has been applied to a plethora of modes, giving PPL a lot of variety. Typical stuff like playing for a high score, clearing a set amount of blocks, or until your stack reaches the top of the screen is mixed with more original modes like dealing with constantly falling garbage blocks or attempting to cause as many blocks to rise from the bottom of the screen as possible. The "Daily Play" mode ties the game into Nintendo's Touch Generation series by presenting three timed games that can only be played once per day. Your results are then charted a la Brain Age. It's a cute little extra that shows that Nintendo can turn just about anything into brain training.