Game Revolution: "Puchi Puchi Virus comes from NIS America of Disgaea fame, and I think we all know what that means-humorous, over-the-top, weird-ass anime stylings, good presentation, and high but ultimately nonlethal doses of what is known in highly specialized circles of radiology as "WTF Radiation"... probably.
A virus unfortunately named "Puchiris" is spreading through town, turning people into all manner of strange-if-not-particularly-threatening creatures. As medical-child-prodigy Doctor Kevin, it's your job to get down into the body-battlefields of your patients at the viral level, eliminating ever-growing hordes of viruses (or 'virii', as the game insists)-thereby turning your patients back to normal humans from whatever odd-ass, guitar-wielding panda or whatevertheheck the virus turned them into in the first place."
+ Unique spin on action puzzle gameplay
+ Amusing patient files
+ Great poppy presentation
+ Rewards a unique pattern-recog eye...
- ...until it gets completely out of control
- Gets ridiculously fast, ridiculously fast
- Challenge level plateaus pretty quickly
GV writes: "Saying that there's an overabundance of puzzle games on the DS would be an understatement, but as is the usual case with Nintendo platforms, many of them are ports or remakes, barely scratching the surface of what the handheld has to offer. Built from the ground up for the DS's touch screen, Puchi Puchi Virus is an incredibly zany and entertaining puzzler. However, while the mechanics of the puzzles aren't worth ignoring, the actual accolades should go to the writers and localization team, not the designers."
Review Busters writes: "While the list of budget Nintendo DS games begins to grow it is hard to find a good one. Sometimes you can take a risk and find a gem, but how many others have you bought before that gem? Just save yourself the time and effort and pick up Puchi Puchi Virus. The puzzle mechanics are great and the games story is quite amusing. This game should be a must own for all puzzle fans".
Ultimately, Puchi Puchi Virus is a solid puzzle game that's great for anyone tired of the myriad others on the DS. If you're worried you'll tire of its gameplay, well, you just might, but thankfully there's enough strategy and fast thinking required in Puchi Puchi Virus that you'll probably get your money's worth in random replays. It's far from revolutionary, but Puchi Puchi Virus is unique enough to warrant a purchase for anyone looking for a little $20 fun.
