Nintendo Switch – Lumines #210

A game I’m still not sure if I enjoy or not…

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Lumines Remastered – Nintendo Switch – Released: 6/26/18 – $14.99

Review

Lumines is not a new game to me but to be honest I don’t have the fondest memories of it growing up. I did own this game on the PSP but it was a bit more basic than what is here today. The PSP had way too many games to enjoy to be stuck playing a rhythm game for hours at a time so as quickly as I purchased it, I sold it. I don’t even remember having it for a very long time. Looking at my PSP games, the only one I have a lot of memories of is watching Cowboy Bebop the Movie on it. Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite animes so being one of the few PSP games I still have is not really much of a shock.

I decided to give Lumines another shot on the Switch and the feelings are still very mixed. The music aspect is really nice and the puzzle aspects are on point but my biggest issue is the constant change of background and the HD rumble. If you really want to know what this game is like playing with HD rumble, go to a blender and put both hands on it while someone presses pulse in a rhythmic fashion. It feels just like that and it drove me nuts but I love it. The constant change in backgrounds were more of an issue though as someone who doesn’t have any issues with flashing lights and things quickly changing, this slowly started to hurt my eyes.

This is a game you will easily spend hours as I ran through the challenge mode several times in a row which is why I am writing this at 2 AM. I wanted to get how I felt about the game right away as I am playing it for the first time reviewing. Typically my reviews are based on how I feel a few days later but after it has sat and bubbled a bit. Lumines is a very weird puzzle music game that has a rhythm to it. A line will slowly pass through the entire screen and any blocks that are in a set of 4, 6, 8, etc or in a 3×3 block will disappear as the line passes through them.

This method of rhythmic timing is a sweet spot of not being too much but always trying o rotate pieces to fit them into the right spots. When things get rough though a bomb block will appear that will be one of the two colors. If it lands on a matching color it will link all blocks of the same type if they are touching. After the line passes, all of them will disappear together. In the challenge mode, your job is to get to level 100 which isn’t easy and reminds me of some Tetris games that will end Marathon after you reach a certain level.

Lumines Remastered isn’t just the challenge mode which to be honest would have been fine with me since the other modes aren’t very exciting. They cause more headaches as they are all either based on speed or puzzles. You have time attack, puzzle, and mission mode. I really don’t recommend puzzle mode as they get dangerously hard after only a few stages. You will need to create pictures using the blocks and I haven’t been able to get pass #5 out of 100. Mission mode is a bit easier but still just as brutal but playing it will help you do better in the challenge mode.

The mode that gave me more issues than everything else in this game is the Vs CPU or 2P Battle. These modes are the best and worst rolled all up into one. Fighting against the computer is a nightmare as unless you are a Lumines god or have a ton of luck you won’t be able to easily beat any of the computers. Currently I am stuck on CPU #4 and I can’t seem to beat her at all. While 2P Battle is amazing fun but it is missing online support. A mode that greatly needs it as playing this with another human player is like trying to go easy on someone that has just started playing a competitive game. It isn’t very fun but when matched with someone who is equal to you it is a great time.

Final Thoughts

Lumines is still a game that I have very mixed feeling about. The best part about this game is the price for $15 you are getting a ton of content but you will likely find the same enjoyment from this version as all the other versions. Which there are many so give them a try before forking over your $15 since most of them can be easily purchased for a few bucks if you have a console that already has one of them.

Cocktail: Lumines – Stage 1

1/2 oz Kinky Gold

1/2 oz Almond Milk

Pour the Kinky add a drop of Grenadine for color then layer Milk on top

My Gameplay Footage:

Slowly uploading gameplay this weekend! Sorry for the wait!

Trailer:

End Credits

Eh so close to work now and it hurts so much. I love being able to do reviews all the time and whenever I want. I have a good solid week before the students start coming in so I might be able to squeeze in another normal week before it becomes very limited. If anything I will be streaming more often at night for at least an hour. Reviews will be toned down to 2-3 a week unless I get someone to help out. I can’t pay anyone which is an issue as no one will want to work for free and I am in no position to say that my website will look good on a resume. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the review and I’ll see you in the next one!