It seems for as long as there’s been handheld gaming devices, there’s been puzzle games to go along with them. Nintendo’s Gameboy had Tetris, followed later on by Puzzle Bubble, then when PlayStation joined the handheld race with their PlayStation Portable, along came Lumines. Lumines for most people has been the only serious competitor to Tetris and holds a lot of nostalgia for PSP owners. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a PSP owner who didn’t own the game.
With a symphony of follow up games on various other platforms and a direct sequel on the PSP itself, it’s hard to deny the success spawned off the first game, particularly outside of Japan. So for those of you out there reminiscing about playing Lumines on the go once again, it seems PlayStation’s golden child back.
While this isn’t the first time a developer has tried to bring Lumines to mobile devices (Lumines Mobile was released in 2006 by Gameloft, while an iOS version called Lumines Touch Fusion was released in 2009 by Q Entertainment) it is the first time it has received such a warm reception from fans. You wont be let down by the transition to touch controls – finally – and it could be the main reason for its success this time round.
Mobcast have already released their paid version of the app, Lumines: Puzzle & Music on the 1st of September to rave reviews, which is a fairly straight forward single-payer rendition of the game. Basically, you play through the game’s albums, each with a series of skins having their own look, sound, and tempo, or you can simply choose any skin you’ve previously unlocked and work away at it endlessly.
Also included is a classic album which contains six favorite skins from the original PSP game, one of which being the rarely-seen Shinin’ by Mondo Grosso. The classic album luckily comes fully unlocked for those just wanting to relive the memories of the original game.
It plays and feels like Lumines should for the most part, giving you eye catching visuals with rhythmic and unforgettable music. With the ability to unlock new and exciting music and avatars as you play through the game, you’ll be able to level up those avatars as you go, increasing the effects of the specific ability of each one.
With future plans to release a free to play version as well, I’m sure there will be no shortage of downloads for this app on either the iOS or Andriod marketplaces. Check out the trailer below!
About the Author
Rachel Humphreys
Rachel (Trance) is a long time gamer full time nerd without a plan... When she's not playing on some manner of console or handheld device she can be found enjoying popculture life to its fullest.
