Lumines II

Music, light and colors merging into a hypnotic rhythm - that is roughly how you could describe the magic that Lumines brought to the genre of falling blocks. Lumines II expanded this formula and confirmed that the union of a puzzle game with music can be just as addictive as any action hit.

The foundation remained ingeniously simple. Blocks made up of four squares in two colors fall from the top, and the task is to arrange them so that same-colored squares form. Crucial, however, was the so-called timeline, a line of light that swept across the playfield in time with the music and only erased the created shapes as it passed. In this way the game synchronized with its backing track and every clearing of blocks became part of the composition.

The sequel expanded the offering with licensed songs and music videos, so each environment, the so-called skin, had its own visual and audio identity. As the player progressed, the music and graphics changed and a stream of moods arose that resembled an interactive music album more than a classic puzzle game. This symbiosis of image and sound was absolutely defining for the series.

Behind the concept stood Tetsuya Mizuguchi, a creator known for combining gameplay with the synesthesia of sound and image, whose signature marked his other famous titles as well. Lumines was created as one of the flagship games for the handheld's launch and became one of its most characteristic representatives, which the sequel directly followed.

Lumines II showed that a puzzle game need not be merely a dry exercise for the brain but a full-fledged sensory experience. For anyone who wanted to play something on the go that is easy to learn and hard to put down, it was the ideal choice.

Why play: A hypnotic union of block stacking with music and light that turns a simple puzzle game into an unforgettable sensory experience.