More block-shoving than Resident Evil

Simple as it is, Kickle Cubicle’s flexible approach makes it far more unique than puzzlers like Lolo, Cratermaze or Chew Man Fu. Kicking ice blocks around expands the field of play, and Kickle can create and destroy squat ice pillars that alter the flow of enemies. Some stages also employ revolving hammers that bat ice around stages, and others have fields of springs that bounce cubes back and forth. Even when the solution’s obvious, it’s often fun just to play around with a level.

And there’s no lack of new challenges. Kickle Cubicle has far more levels than its arcade sire, and loses little in the translation. Some details were dropped (the enemies in the arcade game widen their eyes in shock just before blocks slam into them), and Kickle, upon clearing a level, no longer squeals “Yatta!” as “DREAM!” flashes on the screen, but that may be for the best. Sadly, the arcade game’s stage-select feature is preserved only in the Japanese release of Kickle’s 8-bit conversion.

Slippery Slopes

Kickle Cubicle’s one real failing is apparent in its first world, an overlong introduction in which most of the puzzles unravel as long as you stand still, freeze enemies, and kick them into place. Things don’t get justly challenging until the game’s “Toy Land,” where the designers play sadistic little contests with both reflexes and traditional puzzle-solving.

Another surprise comes at end of each of Kickle’s four worlds, when the game trots out a giant boss character. It’s a rare feature for a puzzle game (and one that Lolo 3 later borrowed), but the bosses are a bit lazy: all of them have the same basic methods of attack, and only the unimposing Wizard King, a snowman in a bucket hat, puts up any real fight.

But Kickle’s really about the puzzles, and it eventually delivers good ones. Even after you’ve gone through the main quest and rescued a very Peach-like princess, there’s a special mode with even tougher levels.

Image Fight

Had Kickle hit the NES shortly after its arcade debut, it could’ve caught on much as Lolo did. But it arrived in 1990, when Mega Man 3 and Castlevania III and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II and other such sequels were dominating the system. It didn’t help that Irem’s lower-than-average production runs destined most of its catalog for obscurity; Metal Storm, the company’s best NES game, met a similar fate.

And while Metal Storm’s since gathered fans, Kickle Cubicle’s still largely unappreciated. Perhaps Kickle’s too cutesy. Perhaps the game’s too easy at first. But it’s one of the best puzzle games on the system, and it’s a prime candidate for GameTap or the Virtual Console. Even if it’s still just a minor cult hit, Kickle does Pengo proud, and the rest of the block-shoving world with it.