NoNoSparks: Genesis
By Kyh
|
April 18, 2012
Comments (20) | Views (14,633)
With a little innuendo stirred into the mix, Beardshaker Games brings a humorous take to nonograms (also known as picross) in NoNoSparks: Genesis. Most of the gameplay consists of solving the puzzles, and each puzzle you solve creates an element in a brand new world, which gives the game a Doodle God feel.
It starts out with the simpler things like sand and fish, but you eventually work your way up to bigger, more advanced puzzles and creatures (and then some). With easy-to-use mouse controls and an amusing pseudo-story, this will surely satisfy your picross needs while putting a smile on your face.
It's not often that I see a Picross game with a good theme behind it. Gemsweeper was one, and this is another. The Doodle God-esque feel of it and the multiple puzzles that you can solve really add to this game's quality. For a Flash game, this is one of the best Picross puzzle games I've seen yet!
I wanted to like this game, but I found a number of deep flaws in it. The largest of them was that the pictures were so abstract that I didn't in general have the sense of satisfaction that usually comes with finishing this sort of puzzle and going, "Oh, look, I just drew a fish!". Compounding that problem was the fact that the Xs that mark unused spaces were so dark that they constituted visual clutter that made it hard to parse the images.
The last problem was a kind of built-in cheat that I ended up using only on the last couple of pictures, when the squares were sparse and I was getting a little weary:
The numbers around the edges light up when a sequence of that length is marked off, which is standard in nongram-solving games--but in this case, it lights up only if it's the right sequence, which means that you can fairly easily try all the possibilities and have it tell you which one is right.
The concept is neat, but it's a shame about the execution.
I carefully didn't read Tahnan's spoiler until I spotted it myself. This is a deal breaker for me, it just makes it too easy so I stopped playing. Once you spot it, you just can't ignore it.
Pity.
This is so freaking funny! Not sure why
laser tyrannosaurus is from hell and bongo triceratops is from heaven
or why
Neanderthal Eve is from heaven and Eve 2.0 is from hell, while Adam is just the opposite
but it just makes me laugh my little tuckus off!
On the downside...no save? OK, that is a major oversight.
@ dsrtrosy:
Actually, the game saves automatically. When you come back, there'll be a continue option.
The deal breaker for me was that there is no way to turn off the music. I was playing while my daughter was watching a movie on my other screen, and we couldn't hear her movie because of the music in this game. I made it through 3 levels before I turned it off in frustration.
Looks cute though.
Kyh, when I come back it only gives me the Start option and makes me start over from scratch. So not sure about the auto-save. Would have loved that! I was pretty far along.
Hmm, another game not saving for you. I sense a recurring theme here, possibly pointing to an issue with your mac and/or flash player settings.
@chibidani
I cannot defend why it is not there from the start, but when you get to 5 or maybe 6, you get a rule book and there is a music symbol to mute just below and right of it.
So give it another try, if you like these sort of puzzles it is very good. and raises a smile or three along the way!
The whole reason for marking a square with an X is because you know it does not get filled in. I am starting to get very frustrated with the laggy controls filling in my X'd squares. This should not happen. The opposite goes for filled-in squares.
Also, the mute button should be available from the start screen. There is no good reason you need to play through several levels before that option becomes available.
And, as Tahnan and MdB pointed out, the glitch that only lights up the numbers if the row/column is correct is unforgivable and breaks the challenge of the game.
I suppose I'm in the minority that actually likes the in game hint system. Does it make it easy? Yes. Does easy=not fun? No. I understand that some people are disappointed at the lack of challenge this creates, but honestly, I quite like the fact that it's not as challenging as it could be. Without the hint system, I would not have gotten as far as I have.
Also, the man 2.8 update was the single most hilarious thing I've seen today. Bravo game. Bravo.
I know, Jay, and I've tried everything software related (everything has been deleted, re-downloaded, reinstalled--including browser, Flash, Shockwave and more), so it must be my computer. BTW, still can't get the other game I've been having such trouble with to open here at JIG, and yet it opens fine at another site. HOWEVER--does not save!
The "hint" system is definitely taking away some of the challenge - noticed today that
the numbers don't turn white until you've filled in ALL the appropriate whitespace, not just the one square before and after. Wondering how many spaces between the 3 and 2 in that 15 square column, now that you have the 3? Start filling in X's until the number lights up. No need to check the possibilities for the 2, you now know exactly where it will start.
Wish there was an option to turn that off - you can't 'unsee' it anymore than you can erase a spoiled solution from memory.
No, wait - I take that one back (thought it was working that way and then solved a puzzle where it didn't. Huh.) Still would like to be able to turn it off, though.
chibidani, there actually is a way to turn off the music. It's just really well-hidden! In either realm, whether Dr. Dog's or Dr. Vile's, there is a tiny button marked with a musical note. It's blended into the scenery very well. Pressing it will turn off the music without affecting the sound effects.
I was checking the comments here in case it was possible to get a no-go nonogram. I'm doing a 15x15 puzzle after
Eve 2.0, Adam 2.8 and the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. I'm in Dr. Vile's den again,
and doing the puzzle twice now I seem to have reached a point where there no further picross progress is possible. Wanted to find out if anyone else is encountering that.
Nope, all the nonograms are solvable. It was the last puzzle, and just as soon as I came back to it with fresh eyes I was able to solve it just fine.
Yep, the "hint" system ruins the game. I don't know why so many picross implementations insist on interface notifications when the player filled the row/column correctly - it's like they are all to eager to sabotage the entire game experience just so they could be sure the player won't get even slightly frustrated. Gr.
Other then that horrible flaw, a nice game. The music in the background becomes tiresome soon, and the pictures themselves are awful, but it's offset by the overall charming presentation and especially the visual representation of progress.
This is one game where I actually like the sequel (I'm assuming it's a sequel) better. IDK why, I just like The Ark better. Maybe because it's the first one I played and I'm just like that.
For some reason this game won't load for me on Firefox. Works on Chrome though.
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