Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition

Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is a 2015 role-playing puzzle video game for Nintendo 3DS developed by GungHo Online Entertainment. It is a compilation of Puzzle & Dragons Z (2013) and Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (2015) from the Puzzle & Dragons series for North America and Europe. Before the bundled game was announced, the first game Puzzle & Dragons Z^[a] was released in Japan on December 12, 2013, and Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition^[b] was released in Japan on April 29, 2015.^[1] The bundled game was released in May 2015 for North America, Europe, Australia^[2] and South Korea.^[3]

On May 3, 2013, GungHo revealed a spin-off for the Nintendo 3DS named Puzzle & Dragons Z during the Puzzle & Dragons Fan Appreciation Festival 2013. The game was released in Japan on December 12, 2013.^[4] Gameplay is identical to the mobile game, but it adds role-playing elements such as towns and non-player characters.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition for the Nintendo 3DS features characters from the Super Mario series in gameplay similar to that from Puzzle & Dragons Z, including an overworld and story. It was released on April 29, 2015, in Japan as a standalone title.^[5]

The bundled game for North America, Europe, Australia, and South Korea was first announced on January 14, 2015 and was released on May 22, 2015.^[6]

In Puzzle & Dragons Z, the player takes the role of a prospective young Dragon Tamer in Zed City of the Dracomacia^[7] continent. The game begins on the day the player is to take an exam in order to become a Dragon Tamer; the player follows two of their friends — another prospective Dragon Tamer, Nick, and an established Dragon Tamer, Sara — to Zed City's Ranger HQ, where Dragon Tamers are issued commands and study monsters, and where the Dragon Tamer test is administered. The player, alongside Nick, receives a "D-Gear", an item which allows them to digitally store monsters, and afterwards is allowed to hatch Eggs containing their first three monsters. In the training area, you find the hidden temple of life, and meet a dragon named Syrup. An evil organization named Paradox comes, and their leader Dogma claims he's attempting to rework the world itself. You must then go defeat the five Skydragons to stop Dogma. Throughout this journey you meet five Paradox agents with the titles "Genius" Jilen(Wood) Junjun and Moomoo(water) Rivera(fire) Hiyomaoro(Dark) and Ayame(light). It is revealed they plan to use Divine death Dragon Arkvelza to separate the dracomacian continents. Dogma's servant Enigma, controls Dogma, and turns into ultimate entity Enigma with Arkvelza's power. Syrup reveals himself as life Skydragon Zerclea, and defeats Enigma, leaving Dogma to reflect on his actions. After the main game is completed by the player, a new continent is revealed, and you are ordered to explore it. You learn the continents have a connection to the legendary Earth Dragon King Avalon. At the end of the first area you find a "Dark" version of the Night Skydragon Elysium. Your orders are now to go around and defeat the dark skydragons, otherwise they may be capable of splitting apart the continents again. You eventually learn Avalon's original name Enigma. 15000 years ago, Enigma first set sight on the continent of Dystopia at the cave of good hope(it was renamed that by him to preserve his legacy). He eventually went to the floating ancient tree island Yggdrasil, and found out about the infinite orbs on there. He decided to build towers to reach these floating islands. The villagers of his hometown, Golden land Eden wished for this to stop, and pleaded with the skydragons to help them stop(the floating islands were originally there home, but was taken over by Enigma). Enigma learned that the villagers were planning to try and use the skydragons to stop him, and so he tried to think of a plan that could help him stop the rebels. He then met a dragonoid named Avalon, who taught him about soul transfer(he used it in the present day to get his original body), but most importantly, skydragon duplication. He created five dark skydragons of greater power than the original skydragons to guard the floating islands and the stockpiles of infinite orbs. He then came up with a second plan to create an "orb shortage", this lead to many dragons(and humans) to panick. Once they actually caused a real orb shortage, he returned to Eden, with his new powerful dragons under his command, he destroyed Eden, and made it his brand new capital golden land Eden. The skydragons, after fleeing Eden, sent there protector dragon, Avalon Drake. Enigma however, had been studying the use of technology implanted into dragons. His greatest creation, Destroyer dragon Apocalypse, was used to fight Avalon Drake, since Avalon drake is less powerful than the skydragons, Apocalypse easily defeated Avalon Drake, he then implanted Avalon Drake with technology, creating guardian dragon Avalon Drake, now with the purpose of guarding his tomb. After this was completed, he turned the moutainous houses on the borders of Eden to become "cogwheel temples", temples created to draw out fire, water, wood, light, and dark orbs respectively. Avalon preceeds to go and take over the five floating islands. After achieving this, he ends up going to the Dracomacian continents(they bordered Dystopia before being sealed off) He then made it to the area he named Avalon, there, he faced off against the dragons of the dracomacian continents he has not controlled. The skydragons meanwhile got the creator of the universe Prime Dragon Eidos(who was residing in the fabled zero zone at the time) to devise a plan to stop Enigma. After Enigma had finished constructing his nightmare castle Avalon, Eidos arrived, and with Arkvelza, Zerclea, and the five Skydragons Horai, Nirai Kanai, El Dorado, Elysium, and Shang-Ri-la, and separated his body from his soul, and took his body to Avalon for it to be laid down. As an extra precautionary measure, Dystopia was sealed off with a magic barrier, and the only way he'd be capable of coming back is if Zerclea was capable of repiecing a piece from the Nightmare castle Avalon. In present day, when you arrive to the fabled Golden land Eden, you find that Avalon has come back to life. The dragon named Avalon who had taught Enigma body swap magic plans to continue Enigma's work. You fight Guardian dragon Avalon Drake, and Avalon retreats. Avalon Drake, being immortal due to the new technology, will now stay there forever. After defeating the new Avalon, Dogma appears, claiming he heard rumors of a new villain planning to destroy the world(this villian being Avalon). Syrup explains you already defeated Avalon. Dogma is enraged you defeated another villain, and he claims when the hero least expects it, he'll return, and will take over once again. When heading back to HQ, you're told there's no more missions, and you're free to explore as you please.

The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[8] IGN's Kallie Plagge awarded the game a score of 7.9 out of 10, stating "Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition is the shining star alongside the less successful Z."^[9] PC Magazine's Jordan Minor also praised Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition while disliking the companion character TAMADRA [sic]. He states that "Whereas Super Mario Bros. Edition uses its RPG components to enrich a pick-up-and-play puzzle game, Z tries to be a full-blown RPG that happens to center around puzzles." He also states the artwork feels uninspired in Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition.^[17]

As of July 30, 2014, the game had shipped over 1.5 million copies.^[18]

Main Character: Male or female depending on what you decide your gender as at the beginning. You recently joined the dragon tamers along with your friend Nick, you were chosen by life skydragon Zerclea, who travels with you under the name Syrup.

Nick: Your friend, he loves eating and even wears a shirt with a chicken drumstick on it. He adds comic relief to the story. It's implied he becomes friends with Hiyomaoro after defeating Elysium.

• Official website