Before the Sony PSP no other handheld console was able to compete in any way against Nintendo’s own line of portable consoles. The company was in their prime coming off of the ultra popular PlayStation 2. Sony could do no wrong, and the PSP had everything going for it. For the most part it succeeded. Sure it didn’t dethrone Nintendo in the portable market, but it still sold quite well especially at launch. One of the best moves Sony made was ensuring the system had a quality puzzle title at release. The original Tetris showed that this was integral to the success of a handheld.
Lumines from Q Entertainment filled this niche, and quite well at that. It never reached the same heights as the original falling block puzzler, but it was still plenty popular. Today we’re going to take a modern look at this classic. Let’s go!
As I’ve already mentioned, Lumines is a side view falling block puzzle game. You guide falling squares left and right as they fall from the top of the screen until they land on the bottom. You line up blocks of the same color to eliminate them, but it’s game over when the blocks reach the top of the screen. This may sound like the same old formula Tetris introduced to the world years before, but Lumines introduces some interesting new ideas to the mix.
For starters the falling pieces come in just one singular shape. They’re all square. These are however composed of four different block sections per piece, and these are divided into two different colors or patterns. This sounds simplistic especially when compared with something like Tetris Attack, but strategy is remarkably complex.
These come in different arrangements, and you can rotate them by pressing the X button. The blocks always remain square however so you’re really just changing the arrangement of the squares within it. There are only a few separate compositions. Either you have a two by two, three by one, diagonals, or a square of all the same color. Instead of just filling out rows you instead have to line up squares of like blocks at which point they combine into a whole square.
You can of course go bigger with this and make larger rectangles and squares. This increases your score and at the same time eliminates larger sections of the play field. Because Lumines uses only two colors at once (or patterns in some cases) it’s easy to spot eliminations at a mere glance.
There’s one further step in eliminating them however. A line, called the ‘vertical line’ constantly sweeps slowly from the left side of the screen to the right. The solid squares are only eliminated once this passes by them. Admittedly this sounds insignificant, but it’s actually integral to gameplay and a big part of what sets Lumines apart from its contemporaries. You can continue adding to a solid block, but must do so quickly before the line crosses over them. The squares also do not stick to each other horizontally.
This means you can strategically cause half of your block to fall to the bottom. This means the playfield will have absolutely no gaps at any point because gravity pulls all the blocks as far down as they can go. I quite like this method because it makes for more relaxing gameplay when you don’t have to worry about gaps.
And the next thing that makes Lumines different from other puzzle titles is the music. Yes, the audio actually plays a big part in gameplay. You have electronic music playing in the background, and the placement of each block, as well as eliminating them results in various sound effects that fit the soundtrack. It almost feels like you’re actually composing music as you’re playing. Lumines draws you in to the rhythm of the music and effects, and it dictates the flow of gameplay. I know it sounds odd but Lumines draws you in to a trance-like state while playing.
Aside from games based completely around rhythm mechanics I haven’t experienced this on the same level. It’s absolutely addictive and extremely relaxing to play. I can’t say the same thing for any other puzzle title. Lumines is truly one of a kind (not counting the sequels of course).
Finally, the graphics also have a major effect on gameplay. Up to this point I’ve mentioned how the blocks are divided between different colors and patterns, but it’s more significant than that. In the most basic modes you start with just white and orange blocks. As you reach certain score levels you move on to the next stage. This is completely seamless.
The graphics and music change which can be jarring, but it’s a really interesting effect. These skins offer surprising variety. While sometimes the sections of block just change color or shape, other times they become simple patterns. The background music as well as the sound effects also change. It just adds to the trance-like nature Lumines induces. Even as someone who has red/green color blindness I never had a difficult time telling the pieces apart.
There’s not a lot of content here, but for this type of game that’s no problem at all. You do however get several different modes of play which is nice. The basic mode of play is Challenge. This is what I’ve described up to this point with changing skins and increasing speed. You also have the option to play with just a single skin should you choose. This is perfect if there’s a song and graphic design you particularly like.
Time attack mode is just as it sounds. You have a limited amount of minutes to play and compete for the high score. Puzzle is a bit different as you’re tasked with composing different pictures using the falling blocks. It’s interesting, but only as a diversion. Lastly is versus where you compete with another player. This is entertaining but personally I think Lumines is best played solo.
Lumines is all about aesthetics. The graphics and audio add a lot to gameplay and make this feel almost like a rhythm game. With that said the visuals are absolutely mesmerizing. Lumines is not very technically impressive. With its 2D visuals it doesn’t push the hardware particularly hard. This however is a case of style shining through. It’s one of the best looking games on the PSP. Lumines is bright, colorful, and oozing with style. All of the different themes make a lot of sense despite how abstract some of them are.
I also really love the transitions. These are almost seamless and are jarring in the best way possible. I love Lumines’ style, and it looks amazing on the small screen. The music is also really good. It’s all electronic, and the sound effects change to match the song playing in the background.
