Lumines II is a good sequel to Lumines, but not a great sequel, mainly because of the audio.

User Rating: 8.4 | Lumines II PSP
By RainbowBrite | Review Date:
Lumines II is a good sequel to Lumines, but not a great sequel, mainly because of the audio. There are still some original, techno-sounding tunes like the first game, but the mainstream music isn't great. Firstly, I don't particularly care for most of the mainstream tracks they chose, and my taste in music isn't that eccentric. Of the few I do like - well, if I wanted to listen to them, I'd much prefer to get out my iPod and listen that way. The fact that the music videos play in the background is basically irrelevant - how much of them you can see depends on how high your level of blocks is, and you can't really watch the videos if you want to succeed in the game. The music videos do mean that the light level of the game flashes a lot more, which I only found a problem when I was trying to play in the dark. I appreciate that they were trying to reach out to a bigger audience with the mainstream songs, but I really prefer unique soundtracks - music I've never heard before.

The other audio issue is the announcer. The robotic voice from the first game has been replaced by a female human voice. While it's certainly easier to understand what she's saying, it's a bit jarring in between levels. That, combined with the mainstream music, takes away from the zen-like flow of the original. In Lumines, I would often find myself really enjoying the music, but the second skin I encountered made me turn the sound off completely - I disliked it that much. The graphics are still great, however, and include some new block styles. The menus are more expanded now, including a tutorial for anyone who missed the first game. Challenge mode is now split into 3 versions - beginner, intermediate, and advanced, and if you beat those 3, a hidden 4th one will unlock. Each uses a different set of skins, so you're able to get more skins sooner in Lumines II. Included again from the first game are Time Attack mode, Vs CPU mode, and Puzzle mode, which all work the same as the first game. The new Mission mode includes 50 levels of varying challenges, from clearing the entire screen in a certain number of moves, or getting a certain number of deletes with one sweep of the timeline. 15 missions are available when you begin Mission mode - complete those to earn more.

Good and bad news for those who don't like some skins - now there's a Skin Edit mode where you can choose which skins you play and in what order. The bad part of that is you can't earn new skins in Skin Edit mode. There's also a sequencer to compose your own music if you're into writing new tunes. You can even share them via the wireless connection.

Two-player mode is now called Duel mode and works the same way as Vs CPU mode, except via an ad-hoc connection. You do need 2 copies of the game for this mode, although there's an option to send a demo of the game to someone who doesn't have it.

The main reason Lumines II is getting slightly lower scores than the original is probably what has been called the "Katamari Damacy" effect - the original game was unique and innovative, but the sequel rehashes similar themes and gameplay, so it's not unique anymore. Overall it's definitely a worthwhile buy, especially if you liked the original Lumines.

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