were not released in those regions until Picross DS in 2007. The success of Picross DS resulted in worldwide Picross releases, as well as a re-release of the game on the Nintendo 3DS online store's Virtual Console. The game also became a reward for the Club Nintendo loyalty program. Reception Mario's Picross received positive reviews upon its release. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly criticized the game's focus on logic and reasoning instead of rapid button presses, saying it makes the game boring to play after the first few puzzles. GamePro gave it a more mixed review. They criticized the repetitive music and the fact that Mario does not appear in the main graphics, but acknowledged that the game is "undeniably addicting, especially if you love numbers". Marcel van Duyn of Nintendo Life cited the game's addictive nature, volume of puzzles and soundtrack in his review. The reception of the Mario's Picross Virtual Console re-release, however, was more positive. Lucas M. Thomas for IGN looked on the game positively, specifically referencing its amount of puzzles as a strength. Mike Rose of Pocket Gamer stated that although the game has sometimes unintuitive controls and always has the Hint system default to 'yes', the game represents the Mario series well and is a workout for the brain. Andrew Brown of Nintendo World Report criticized the localization of the game and the game's attempt to fit on the small screen of the Game Boy, reasoning that Mario's Super Picross or Picross DS would be a better choice for first-time Picross players. Chris Scullion of Official Nintendo Magazine praised the game's use of characters from the Super Mario series, although he felt that Mario's Picross would feel like a "slight step backwards" to those who had already played other Picross games. A reviewer with Jeuxvideo.com stated that the game is a "blend of logic, drawing and Nintendo", rating the game well. Despite a large advertising campaign by Nintendo the game failed to sell well in America and Europe, leading the game's sequels to be confined to Japan. As a result, the game is seen as something of a cult classic in English-speaking regions. The main criticisms aimed at the game was the size of the grids; due to the small size of the Game Boy screen, the game's puzzle grids are restricted to being just 15 by 15, when puzzles four times that