Pokemon Puzzle League Scoring FAQ (C) 2002 William Ornt Table of Contents ----------------- 0. Revision History, Legal 1. Introduction 2. Terminology 3. Scoring Charts 4. Scoring FAQs 5. Credits Revision History ---------------- V1.0 (current) Original copy of FAQ. Legal Info ---------- This FAQ is Copyright (C) 2002 William Ornt. At the current time I am giving GameFAQs and _only_ GameFAQs permission to post/publish my FAQs. Please do not e-mail me asking for permission to reprint this as it will not get a response. If you find this FAQ on another site (with or without this disclaimer) please let me know where it is posted, and I will deal with them personally. 1. Introduction --------------- Pokemon Puzzle League is the N64 remake of the classic SNES puzzle game Tetris Attack. The object of the game is to move various colored blocks around to line up at least three of the same color in a row, at which time the blocks are removed. As you play, more blocks rise from the bottom of the game board, and you must continue matching them as fast as you can to keep them from reaching the top of the playing field, at which time the game ends. There are also two-player vs. modes, a time trial mode, a puzzle mode, and a line-clear mode. The only information the instructions and the in-game tutorial provides about scoring is that making larger combos and chains (explained below) results in higher point values. Having been unable to find any detailed information about how one's score is calculated, I decided to figure it out on my own. This FAQ is the result of several hours of playing, as well as carefully working to earn specific sized combos and very long chains, and checking the scoreboard to see what each one is worth. I've also done some experimenting to find answers to some common questions about the scoring system in Pokemon Puzzle League. 2. Terminology -------------- There are two basic types of special maneuvers in this game: the combo and the chain. Both are important to accomplish as well as possible to maximize your scores. COMBO: When four or more blocks are matched up at exactly the same time. There are several ways to accomplish combos. The most basic way is to simply line up two in a row, leave a space, and put another block or two that matches. Then, put a matching block in between to make a 4 or 5 piece combo. (See figure A.) Another common way in which huge combos can be made is to line up several pairs of two in a row, with the matching blocks right above it. Then, remove a block in the row with the matches directly above and they will fall to create several groups of three, making one large combo. (See figure B.) XO XO | * X* X* | **O *** *X -> X* | OO* -> OOO X* X* | **X *** XO XO | XXOOO XXX | (8-combo) | (12-combo) fig. A | fig. B CHAIN: When a group of three or more blocks disappears, any blocks above it will fall down due to gravity. If any of these blocks lands in a spot that causes it to form a new group of three or more, these blocks will disappear as well, resulting in a chain. Chains get longer and are worth more points as long as you can keep them going. (See figure C.) * * O X O * O X -> O X -> O -> -> XX*** XXX O X X O**XX O**XX O**XX ***XX XXX (start) (2-chain) (3-chain) (4-chain) (5-chain) fig. C 3. Scoring Charts ----------------- Below I have listed all the different ways points are earned in Pokemon Puzzle League. Manually Raising Blocks: By pressing the L or R button, you can make the next row of blocks immediately come up. You get 1 point for every row you force up this way. Not much, but it can build up quite a bit in a long game. Clearing Blocks: Every time a block disappears from the game board, you get 10 points. The points are awarded as the blocks disappear one at a time. Therefore, in a time trial game, if the time runs out while a set of blocks is still disappearing, you get the 10 points each for each block that has disappeared, but you get nothing for the ones that didn't disappear before the time ran out. Combos: Generally, the larger the combo is, the more points it is worth. Also, the point values grow faster as the number of blocks increases. The table below shows two values for each combo. The first is the base score for the combo. These points are added immediately when the 4+ pieces are lined up. The second is the total you will have earned after all the blocks in the combo disappear (adding the 10 points per block to the base value). # of Blocks Base Pts Total Pts # of Blocks Base Pts Total Pts ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- 4 30 70 28 3,820 4,100 5 50 100 29 4,270 4,560 6 150 210 30 4,750 5,050 7 190 260 31 5,260 5,570 8 230 310 32 15,000 15,320 9 270 360 33 15,570 15,900 10 310 410 34 16,170 16,510 11 400 510 35 16,800 17,150 12 450 570 36 17,460 17,820 13 500 630 37 18,150 18,520 14 550 690 38 18,870 19,250 15 700 850 39 19,620 20,010 16 760 920 40 20,400 20,800 17 850 1,020 41 21,200 21,610 18 970 1,150 42 22,000 22,420 19 1,120 1,310 43 22,800 23,230 20 1,300 1,500 44 23,600 24,040 21 1,510 1,720 45 24,400 24,850 22 1,750 1,970 46 25,200 25,660 23 2,020 2,250 47 26,000 26,470 24 2,320 2,560 48 26,800 27,280 25 2,650 2,900 49 27,600 28,090 26 3,010 3,270 50 28,400 28,900 27 3,400 3,670 Do you notice a pattern near the end? 20,400 points for a 40-combo is the largest value pre-programmed into the game. Afterwards the game simply adds 800 more points for each additional block. Therefore, you can calculate the value of a 40+ block combo with the formula P = 20,400 + ((B - 40) * 800) in which B is the number of blocks cleared and P is the number of points earned. Chains: The longer you can keep a chain going, the more points it is worth. Each time a chain is extended, the points for that portion of the chain are immediately added to the score. The value of a portion of a chain starts at 50 points for the x2 portion, and continues growing to the maximum of 1,800 points for the x13 and subsequent portions. The chart below indicates the value of each portion of a chain and of the entire chain up to that point. Value of Total to Chain Part This Part This Point ------------------------------------ x2 50 50 x3 80 130 x4 150 280 x5 300 580 x6 400 980 x7 500 1,480 x8 700 2,180 x9 900 3,080 x10 1,100 4,180 x11 1,300 5,480 x12 1,500 6,980 x13 1,800 8,780 x14 1,800 10,580 x15 1,800 12,380 Again, there is a point at which the value stops increasing: 1,800 for x13 and larger chains. So, to calculate the total value of a x13 or larger chain, use the formula P = 6,980 + ((L - 12) * 1,800) in which L is the length of the chain and P is the total number of points earned. Chain Bonuses: Normally, when you line up a group of only three pieces, you get no immediate points (just the 30 when the three blocks disappear). However, if you are in the middle of a chain, manually lining up another group of 3 or more pieces will give you points equal to the value of your most recent chain part. For example, if you are at x5 in an active chain, and you line up 3 pieces, you will get 300 points for matching the pieces. Similarly, if you are at x9 and line up 5 pieces, you will receive 950 points immediately (900 for the current chain part and 50 for the 5-piece combo). By clearing several sets of blocks during the later part of a long chain, you can earn lots of bonus points in addition to the normal value of the chain. 4. Scoring FAQs --------------- Here are some answers to some common questions about PPL's scoring system. Q. Are there bonuses for doing combos and chains together? A. No. If a chain creates a combo as well when it falls into place, you are simply awarded the value of the combo plus the value of the chain part. No extra points are awarded. Q. Can you make one larger combo by lining up a separate group of three or more just as a chain falls into place, creating a group of three or more? A. Yes, but the timing must be PERFECT. You have to line up your group of blocks at EXACTLY the same time as the chain's blocks line up, otherwise it will be counted as two separate, smaller combos. Q. What is the maximum score? A. The score counter maxes out at 999,999 points. After that it remains at 999,999 until the game ends; there is no rollover. Q. Is the scoring system the same in all modes of play? A. All modes that use scoring (marathon, 1P and 2P time attack, 1P spa service) all use the same scoring system. Point values are the same regardless of whether you are playing in 2D or 3D, as well. Q. Is the scoring system the same in Pokemon Puzzle Challenge (GBC) and the original Tetris Attack (SNES and GB)? A. The scoring system works the same way in PPC as it does in PPL. In Tetris Attack, the point values for combos are considerably lower, and there are no points awarded for the 14th and further parts of a chain (due to a programming bug; they were supposed to be 1,800 points apiece.) 5. Credits ---------- WilliamPorygon (me), for doing the research and taking the time to write this FAQ. Tetrisattack.net, for the information on TA's scoring system and reminding me about the chain bonuses (which I had totally forgotten about). CJayC, for his work on the GameFAQs site and taking the time to post this. ...and many thanks to all the PPL players who took the time to read this FAQ. If you find any errors, omissions, or have scoring-related questions not covered here, please drop me a line at Porygon311@msn.com. Make sure to mention this FAQ in the subject line, otherwise chances are good it'll get trashed without being read.