Daedalian Opus

Nintendo console exclusive

The game is essentially a series of 36 jigsaw puzzles with Tetris-like pieces known as pentominos that must be assembled into a specific shape. The puzzles start off with rectangular shapes and simple solutions, but the puzzles quickly grow more complex, with odder shapes like a rocket ship, a gun, and even enlarged versions of some of the pentominoes themselves. Each level is timed, and once the timer is started it cannot be stopped until the level is finished. One starts off the game with only three pentomino pieces, and at the completion of each early level, a new piece is awarded to the player. At the final level, the player is given the 2x2 square O tetromino and must complete an 8x8 square puzzle.

Released: 20 July 1990
Platforms: Game Boy MSX
Genres: Puzzle Strategy
Developers: Tokai Communications
Publishers: Sunsoft
Modes: Single-player
Country: Japan
Languages: English

About

Daedalian Opus (冒険!パズルロード, Bōken! Pazuru Rōdo; Adventure! Puzzle Road) is a puzzle video game for the Game Boy that was released in 1990. It was developed and published by Vic Tokai.

›Story

The acinent land of Daedalus is governed by symmetry and time. It is a land where your progress will be severely tested by the challenge of myriad shapes and blocks.

It will take the art of Daedalus and the power of your mind to solve the confounding riddles of the blocks.

To be beaten is ordinary, to achieve victory is an art.

Keywords

single-player only
single-screen level

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game is essentially a series of 36 puzzles with pentominos that must be rotated, flipped, and assembled to completely fill a specific shape. These puzzles have been compared to tangram puzzles. The puzzles start off with rectangular shapes and simple solutions, but the puzzles quickly grow more complex, with odder shapes like a rocket ship, a gun, and even enlarged versions of some of the pentominoes themselves. A lot of trial and error is required. Each level is timed, and once the timer is started it cannot be stopped until the level is finished.

Each level takes place on its own island, and solving the puzzle will build a bridge that allows the player to cross to the next island. The levels begin by providing only 3 or 4 pieces, but more are acquired over the course of the game, until all 12 pieces are acquired. You do not always need all of the pieces to finish a level. At the final level, the player is given a 13th piece, and must complete a 8x8 square puzzle. The 13th piece is the 2x2 square tetromino.

Development

The name of the game, "Daedalian Opus", refers to Daedalus, the mythical character of Greek legend who created the labyrinth. The game contains no labyrinths whatsoever.

A faithful fan version was later coded for the MSX computer system by Karoshi Corporation in 2006 for the game development contest MSXdev'06.