Art Style: PiCTOBiTS

Art Style: PiCTOBiTS
Developer	Skip Ltd.
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS
Release date	DSiWare: January 28, 2009[?] May 18, 2009[?] May 22, 2009[?] May 22, 2009[?] Nintendo 3DS (eShop): June 6, 2011[?] June 6, 2011[?] June 6, 2011[?] June 6, 2011[?]
Language(s)	English (United States) French (France) German Spanish (Spain) Italian Japanese
Genre	Puzzle
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - Three years and older CERO: - All ages ACB: - General
Mode(s)	Single player
Format	Nintendo DSi: Digital download Nintendo 3DS: Digital download
Input	Nintendo DS: Stylus Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad

Art Style: PiCTOBiTS (known as Art Style: PiCOPiCT outside of the Americas) is a puzzle game released on DSiWare in 2009. Throughout the game's 30 stages, the player tries to assemble 8-bit sprites from Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System games.

Gameplay

In the game, blocky pieces of non-uniform shapes and sizes called "megabits" fall on the touch screen. When a falling piece hits something and stops, players can tap the individual blocks, known as "bits", within the piece and place them in a palette, then transfer them into different spots on the screen. Blocks can be cleared when a falling piece hits something in such a way that it creates a rectangle. When blocks of each color are cleared, they travel to the top screen and are assembled into a shape, always of a sprite from a Famicom/NES game; when the sprite is fully assembled, the player has beaten the level. If the player fails to clear enough bits in time, and bits accumulate at the top of the screen, preventing new megabits from falling; if the player cannot clear the way in time, the game is lost. In order to prevent this, players can either manually move bits with the palette, or they can use a POW Block button, which causes all the blocks to fall to the bottom of the screen, but forfeits one of the spots in the block palette.

Whenever players clear megabits, they get coins, which appear using their sprite from Super Mario Bros. These coins can be used to purchase dark levels, which contain other sprites from the game in their corresponding light level. Beating a stage with a score above the stage's target will put a Super Star icon next to the score display.

Levels

The following are the Super Mario-themed levels.

Levels

Level	Mode	Sprite	Game	Notes
Level 1	Light	Small Mario	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Ground Theme plays.
Level 1	Dark	Luigi and a Koopa Troopa	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Ground Theme plays.
Level 2	Light	Underground Goomba	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Underground Theme plays.
Level 2	Dark	Buzzy Beetles	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Underground Theme plays.
Level 6	Light	Mario	Wrecking Crew
Level 6	Dark	Eggplant Men	Wrecking Crew
Level 13	Light	Red and gray Cheep Cheeps	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Underwater Theme plays.
Level 13	Dark	Bloopers	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Underwater Theme plays.
Level 14	Light	Bowser	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Castle Theme plays.
Level 14	Dark	Bowser	Super Mario Bros.	During this level, an arrangement of the Castle Theme plays.
Level 15	Light	Toad	Super Mario Bros.	During this stage, an arrangement of the "Course Clear" and "Ending" themes play. Additionally, the blocks spell out "THANK YOU MARIO! BUT YOUR PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE!".
Level 15	Dark	Mario, Peach, and Toad	Super Mario Bros.	During this stage, an arrangement of the Course Clear and Ending themes play. Additionally, the blocks spell out "THANK YOU MARIO! YOUR QUEST IS OVER. WE PRESENT YOU A NEW QUEST. PUSH BUTTON B TO SELECT A WORLD".

Profiles

Nintendo eShop description

Americas: Your goal in Art Style: PiCTOBiTS is simple: clear large blocks that fall from above ("megabits") by combining them with "bits" (square blocks) of the same color. Add in the ability to pick up bits and place them anywhere on the Touch Screen, and you'll quickly find that strategy is critical to your success. By clearing the bits, you gradually reveal each stage's hidden game character—look for favorites from classic NES titles—and earn coins that can be spent to unlock DARK stages or to listen to the game's soundtrack in MUSIC mode. This grand mix of familiar elements and new gameplay leads to the uniquely enjoyable experience that is PiCTOBiTS.
Games in the Art Style series feature elegant design, polished graphics, and pick-up-and-play controls, creating an experience focused purely on fun and engaging game play.

United Kingdom/Australia: Jump into the world of PiCOPiCT and put your brain to the test with this colourful new puzzle game on Nintendo DSiWare. You have blocks of six different colours, and the idea behind the game is to build up pictures of classic NES Nintendo characters.

The blocks are known as PiCTOs and you can place them freely on the screen using the stylus. You have to use these PiCTOs to erase the Deca PiCTOs (groups of PiCTOs) falling from the top of the screen by combining blocks of the same colour together.

If you can erase the PiCTOs and complete the picture then you clear the stage. With its warm NES style graphics and immersive 8-bit music, in PiCOPiCT, you can experience a world where the old and the new coexist!

Gallery

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  Logo

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  Title Screen

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  Gameplay of Stage 1, featuring Mario from Super Mario Bros.

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  Gameplay of Stage 14, featuring Bowser from Super Mario Bros.

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  Gameplay of Stage 6, featuring Mario from Wrecking Crew

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  Completed Stage 2: Goomba from Super Mario Bros.

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  Normal and Dark Mode

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  Music Mode

Media

Super Mario Bros. Part 1

File infoMedia:PiCTOBiTS SMB Part 1.oga 0:30

Super Mario Bros. Part 2

File infoMedia:PiCTOBiTS SMB Part 2.oga 0:30

Super Mario Bros. Part 3

File infoMedia:PiCTOBiTS SMB Part 3.oga 0:30

Super Mario Bros. Part 4

File infoMedia:PiCTOBiTS SMB Part 4.oga 0:30

Super Mario Bros. Part 5

File infoMedia:PiCTOBiTS SMB Part 5.oga 0:30

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Trivia

• On the Game Over screen, the background's design is a reference to the "pulse line" pattern featured on early Famicom game cartridges.
• Midway through every level, a musical cue from Super Mario Bros. plays and the stage's background music increases in tempo, despite there being no timer in this game.