'Pokemon Shuffle' now available for iOS and Android

Promotional art for "Pokémon Shuffle" www.pokemon.com

Match-3 puzzle game “Pokemon Shuffle” is now available for download on both iOS and Android devices worldwide. The game was originally a free-to-paly title for the Nintendo 3DS and has proven to be a very popular title for the handheld. Consideirng how popular Match-3 puzzle games are for mobile devices, it makes sense to bring it the popular game to smartphones and tablets.

“Pokemon Shuffle” is still free-to-play for mobile devices and features a stamina system like in most free games, as reported by Pocket Gamer. The game has a few in-app purchases, including special power-ups for fights and premium pokeballs, which will presumably carry powerful Pokemon. Those not willing to pay can simply grind through the game to get the power-ups.

Gameplay-wise, the mobile title plays like most Match-3 games, so players have to match three Pokemon heads to attack the opponent. The mobile title does incorporate some gameplay mechanics from the original “Pokemon” games, so players can catch other Pokemon, train them and eventually evolve them into more powerful creatures.

Some players have criticised the game for making players rely on in-app purchases to succeed, especially when the fights become much tougher later on. This hasn’t stopped other Pokemon fans from downloading the game, however, and it continues to be one of the most downloaded games from Nintendo’s eShop.

The move is an interesting one by The Pokemon Company, as Nintendo announced earlier this year that it would be entering the mobile gaming market. This isn’t the first “Pokemon” game to hit mobile devices, as the “Pokemon Trading Card Game” was released last year and is still available for download.

Nintendo Life noted that it would be interesting to see how well the game does on mobile devices, as it was a smash hit on the Nintendo 3DS. The game was downloaded four million times on Nintendo’s handheld; now that it’s in mobile devices, it might do just as well or even better.

In the meantime, mobile players can check the game out for themselves and see if they like it or not. The game is available in the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

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