Pescatore Nintendo

Pescatore is a puzzle game by Sunsoft intended for the Nintendo Entertainment System that, like Sunman, saw the light of day neither in the land of the rising sun nor the home of the brave. Nor even in places in between, as was the case with several other Sunsoft titles of the time. Unlike Sunman, however, Pescatore was briefly revealed to the public in spring of 1991 at Nintendo's Shoshinkai Show.

The puzzle game was displayed side by side with titles such as Batman: Return of the Joker, Hebereke and Gimmick; the later two being later released in European markets as U*fouria: The Saga and Mr.Gimmick, respectively. Given the high quality of the games that Pescatore was sharing the stage with, it's understandable why this game was passed over for release, even in Japan.

Pescatore incorporates a theme of quirky little sea critters with googly eyes and simplistic character designs over bland border designs and a black background. At first glance, it's easy to dismiss the game as a blatant ripoff of Compile's PuyoPuyo series. In fact, the gameplay in Pescatore borrows the gameplay from PuyoPuyo, changes the rules slightly to require less skill and more luck, and winds up making everything complicated and frustratingly random.