Puzzle Link

Puzzle Link is a tile-matching game in which the player must clear away blocks which occupy some of a 9x10 block grid. The player clears these blocks by linking together two or more discrete sections of each block type. This linking is accomplished by firing one-block-width units of pipe from a player-controlled launcher at the bottom of the screen, which the player can only move left or right.

The pipes have as many varieties as the number of block types in a given level, and the type of pipe being fired is determined by the first block hit by the first fired unit of a new pipe. An existing pipe can be canceled.

Puzzle Link was first released in Japan only, as a black-and-white game for the Neo Geo Pocket on October 28, 1998. A version of the game was then made for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which was made available the following year in Japan, the US, and Europe.

Puzzle Link's colorful variant was one of the Neo Geo Pocket Color's launch titles, coming out on March 19, 1999, in Japan, just three days after the release of the console.

Puzzle Link received favorable reviews upon release:

IGN gave the game a 9.0 out of 10, subtitled 'Amazing.' IGN's Craig Harris wrote the review, saying, "Sure, it has the elements of games like Bust-a-Move and Tetris, but this is by far one of the most original takes on the genre I've seen so far. And it's a heckuva lot of fun to play, too".

A sequel to Puzzle Link was released in Japan toward the end of 1999; it was released in the US and Europe as Puzzle Link 2 the following year.