Lumines II

Gameplay of Lumines II with "Heavenly Star" music video playing in the background

Lumines II uses the same core gameplay as the original Lumines: Puzzle Fusion with new features included. The objective is to move, rotate, and drop blocks to form 2×2 squares or larger of the same color (referred to as a colored square). A verticle line known as the Time Line sweeps across the field from left to right and erase the colored squares; awarding the player points to their overall score. Erasing four or more squares will add a bonus multiplier to the player's overall score. If the blocks reach the top of the board, the player loses.[1]

All the modes from its predecessor return: Challenge Mode, Time Attack, Puzzle, VS CPU, 2P VS Mode (renamed Duel Mode).[1] Challenge mode has been modified and expanded to four classes: B, A, S, and Enduro. Class B is designed for beginners, Class A for intermediate players, and Class S is for advanced players. These classes can be played up to three full laps. The Enduro class uses all the skins with no time limit and can only be unlocked after completing at least one lap of the first three classes.[2] Time Attack adds a new feature that allows players to record and save their playthrough to be viewed in the Replay Theater.[1][3]

Lumines II introduces three new modes: Mission Mode, Skin Edit Mode, and Sequencer.[1] In Mission Mode, players are given various tasks to complete, such as erasing all existing blocks using two squares or a specific number of blocks in a set of time.[4] Skin Edit Mode allows players to create their own custom playlist using skins previously unlocked in Challenge mode. Skin Edit Mode is divided into two settings: Single Lap where players can select up to ten skins and compete for the top score; and Endless Lap where players can select as many skins as they like and can play endlessly without a time limit.[2] The sequencer allows players to create their own original background music and sound effects from one of four base music types. With each base music, Players can save up to 20 original music sequences with each base music used. Up to four skins created from the sequencer can be ported into Skin Edit Mode. Lumines II also introduces the option to customize the HUD and a tutorial with tips and strategies as well.[1][3]

During development of Lumines II Tetsuya Mizuguchi was influenced by music videos and wanted to incorporate music videos into the game.[5][6] Mizuguchi was influenced by music videos and wanted to incorporate many music videos into the game. Mizuguchi explained in order to showcase his vision for Lumines II, the development team needed to find music and videos with the right tone, mix and energy to incorporate into the game.[7] When Mizuguchi couldn't find a music video involving people cheering, he produced his own that resembled hand-drawn animation.[6]

For the original development of Lumines: Puzzle Fusion, audio had to be completed before finalizing the skin's design. Yokota decided to do a different approach with Lumines II and Lumines Live!. Instead, skin designs took priority in order to provide more concrete suggestions for the audio. Yokota stated this made greater variation possible for the music tracks.[8] A total of 100 songs were initially planned during development of the game. Mizuguchi emphasized the content in Lumines II over the first one with it having more skins and songs than the original and further explained that he wanted to push the UMD to its limits. Mizuguchi also emphasized that he wanted the game to have its own original atmosphere and stylistic experience, different from the original. Mizuguchi described Lumines II as a party and described himself as a party organizer to make the biggest party experience on the PSP.[9]

To promote the game's release, Q Entertainment released a demo titled, Lumines II: Taster version for Windows on November 22, 2006, from the game's North American official website.[10] In Japan, a PSP demo was made available to download from the game's Japanese official site on April 27, 2007.[11] On the Japanese release of the game, a launch party event was taken place at the Daikanyama Air club to promote its release. Music artist Suigirumn whose music was featured in the Japanese version of Lumines II attended the event as the DJ. The first 50 attendants who brought a copy of the game were able to attend for free and the first 30 were also given a free T-shirt.[12]

The game was released in North America on November 2, 2006, and in Europe on November 17, 2006.[13][14] The Japanese version was released much later on February 15, 2007.[15] The Japanese version adds new tracks from artists such as Ken Ishii, Genki Rockets, and Def Tech, however, removed New Order, Missy Elliot, and Beck.[16][17]

In Japan, a deluxe version was released on the same day as the standard version. It was made available for preorder via Sega Direct and included decorative stickers and a CD soundtrack titled, "Techriders / Exclusive Tracks for Lumines II".[18] Sega ran a raffle contest between February 15 to February 21, 2007, for three contestants to receive Deluxe version, a T-shirt, and a poster signed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi.[19] Q Entertainment also collaborated with Angel Love Online to promote the game. Players of Angel Love Online could implement Avatars from Lumines II as their character profile picture.[20]

A single for the song, Heavenly Star by Genki Rockets was released on the iTunes store on December 15, 2006.[21] Another soundtrack was released by series composer Takayuki Nakamura on December 31, 2007, titled "L.II remixes".[22] The album was released by Nakamura's sound design company Brainstorm and included tracks from Lumines II and the original Lumines: Puzzle Fusion game.[23] Nakamura used his experience as a sound effects designer to make such noises as crashing waves and ticking clocks an integral part of the Lumines remixes albums.[24]

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 81/100[25] Review scores Publication Score Edge 6/10[26] Eurogamer 6/10[27] Game Informer 9/10[28] GamePro 8/10[29] GameSpot 8.4/10[30] GamesRadar+ [31] IGN 9/10[2] PALGN 8/10[32] Pocket Gamer 9/10[33] GameDaily 10/10[34]

Lumines II was well-received among a number of critics. A common compliment from reviewers was the new features introduced in the game. Pocket Gamer praised the new features introduced in Lumines II, specifically the Sequencer and called it "brilliant"."[33] IGN gave similar praise to the new features and claimed it is better than the original, stating "Lumines II has managed to expand on just about every facet of the first game"[2] GameDaily provided positive feedback on the game's content, stating, "Lumines II does what any great sequel should do by improving on the original while staying true to the franchise's spirit".[4] GameSpot also gave the game a favorable review although had minor criticisms of the new modes for not feeling fresh. One particular feature that was criticized was the skins that use music videos for their respective licensed songs, due to not able to enjoy them as much as during gameplay.[30] PALGN appreciated the Skin edit mode and sequencer features allowing them to customize the order of the skins and also create their own beats.[32] GamesRadar+ noted the addition of music videos adding more challenge by distracting the player from the gameplay and appreciated the choice to enhance the previous features from its predecessor rather than reinvent itself and fix what wasn't broken.[35] In contrast, Edge was critical of the game. In particular, Edge criticized the music video levels for the background skins being inspired by the video instead of the songs.[26]

When reviewing the song selection, it received mixed reviews. Pocket Gamer noted that the enjoyment of the game depended on the song selection, but also stated that it's still possible to be entranced by the music one normally hates by being entranced by the gameplay.[33] Eurogamer was more critical and were also aimed particularly at the choice of including western songs into the game and the original was the better option.[27] PALGN was also disappointed in the song selection for a western audience, but didn't consider the addition to ruin the game.[32] GameSpot noted that the new soundtrack may scoff at the new notable artists, but noted the soundtrack is robust, well-around, and able to appeal to a larger audience.[30] Game Informer shared similar sentiment to GameSpot, stating that the soundtrack isn't made up of "Top 40 Countdown" and uses underground music alongside returning songs.[28] GameDaily stated that the songs from the "tried-and-true" music artists were considerably old and don't have the same impact from when initially released, however, noted that the songs work well with the overall theme and feel of the game.[34]

Lumines II won the Special Class award and Song Collection in the 2006 NAVGTR Awards.[36] The song implemented into the game, Heavenly Star by Genki Rockets, was nominated for Best Song in the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards and 2006 NAVGTR Awards.[37][36]

Translation

Citation

• Official US website
• Sony website