Mario's Picross

Mario's Picross is a 1995 puzzle video game for the Game Boy. Developed by Jupiter and Ape and published by Nintendo, it is a compilation of nonogram logic puzzles. The game stars Mario as an archaeologist who chisels away at puzzle grids to form pictures. It released in March 1995 in Japan and North America, and in July of the same year for Europe and Australia. The game received mixed to positive reviews, with reviewers citing its length and addictive nature as a positive, but its grid sizes and absence of typical Mario elements as a negative. Although the game sold well in Japan, the game flopped in Western regions. As a result of this, the game was followed by two sequels, Mario's Super Picross and Picross 2, released only in Japan. The next Picross game published by Nintendo to be released in Western regions would be Picross DS in 2007, twelve years later. Due to its limited sales, the game is somewhat of a cult classic. The game is also available on the Nintendo 3DS through its Virtual Console service.