The Puzzle & Dragons franchise has been a great example of how to adapt a mobile hit into something that makes more sense on traditional gaming platforms. Puzzle & Dragons Z built a compelling progression scheme without relying upon gacha mechanics or pure psychological trickery, and Import Game of the Year 2016 Puzzle & Dragons X stepped up its depth and presentation to rival some of the best RPGs on the platform.

Which makes it that much more inexplicable how wildly Puzzle & Dragons Gold misses the mark.

After taking a bit of time off, the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series is back in time for Tokyo, and for a Japanese game, representing itself well for the host country is clearly important. It’s not a good time to phone it in, so it makes sense that this release could draw your eye. How does it manage, given increased expectations? Let’s get into it.

In most instances, a retro re-release project is about capitalizing on nostalgia. It’s about letting players revisit old favorites on new platforms, and the comfort of the known being preserved for future play. And Sega’s no stranger to that, both with this Sega Ages series and its compilation efforts in general. At least for those of us in the West, though, Sega Ages Ichidant-R is different. It’s an unknown artifact delivered to an audience to let them learn more, and it’s exactly the sort of effort that fans of Japanese games should applaud.