Yeah, this would be a dead franchise to me if they introduced microtransactions.

On the flipside, Pokemon Picross did microtransactions very well. They advertised the game as Free to Start as opposed to Free to Play. The in-game currency of Picrites can be earned in normal play, and if you bide your time with the game, it is possible to have enough Picrites to play the full game at no charge. On the other end of the spectrum, if you buy enough Picrites to total a reasonable retail game price (about 15 US dollars) the in-game microtransaction store will be removed from the game, you will be given unlimited Picrites, and all of the game's free-to-play handicaps will be removed. I can't think of a better model for a video game, honestly. Especially a casual puzzle game like Picross on a handheld.