Lumines (PSP)

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Lumines
cover_psp_lumines.jpg
Publisher:	Ubisoft
Developer:	Q Entertainment
Alternative Title:	None
Release date:	JP: 12/December/2004 NA: 22/March/2005 EU: 01/September/2005 AU: ?
Genre:	Puzzle
Number of Players:	1-2
Rating:	ESRB - 10+ PEGI/ELSPA - TBC CERO - CERO-rating
Platform:	Sony PlayStation Portable
Media:	UMD
Online Functions:	no
Amazon:	UK US De Fr Jp Ca

Gameplay

Lumines is a falling block puzzle game with a musical twist. Made by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who has previously created similar music/other genre hybrids with great success (and has since then also produced Meteos).

Lumines contains two main play modes, challenge and puzzle. The gameplay in the challenge mode is very simplistic as usual in these kind of games, blocks fall from the top of the screen, this time in 2x2 squares where each block in the square can have one of two colors. You have to connect four blocks of the same color in a square formation, and then additional blocks in pairs (to make "nested" 2x2 squares) to mark them for "clearing", but this is where the twist comes in.

A triggerbar goes across the screen and clears the "marked" blocks it passes, in time with the music of the current skin (more on skins later), thus making it more difficult to make big combos (connecting more than 4 blocks ) on a faster song. The falling speed of the blocks increase over time. A interesting thing that this brings with it, is that suddenly a slower song can appear, and you get more time to make decisions and some space for relaxation.

The skins is what makes the game special, both in the way previously mentioned and as a reward for doing good in the game. Covered in the skins is not only music, but background picture, sprites and fonts.

There are bonuses for screen clear and one color clear.

The puzzle mode requres you to build predetermined shapes out of a single color within a predetermined timeframe to clear the level.