Lumines: Puzzle Fusion[a] (pronounced as "Loo-min-ess")[1] is a 2004 puzzle game developed by Q Entertainment and published for the PlayStation Portable by Bandai in Japan and by Ubisoft elsewhere. The gameplay tasks players to arrange descending two-colored 2×2 blocks to create 2×2 squares of matching color. A vertical line called the "time line" sweeps across the field, erases completed squares, and awards points. Each stage has a skin that affects the background, block colors, music, and the speed of the time line.
Lumines: Puzzle Fusion is the work of video game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who had worked at Sega. Katsumi Yokota contributed to the graphic designer and assisted Takayuki Nakamura with music composition. Mizuguchi originally wanted to make a music-heavy Tetris-style game, but licensing issues prevented this so he created a new concept for Lumines. Mizuguchi was inspired to make a music game on the PSP, one of the few handhelds on the market with a headphone jack. The game was released as a launch title for the PSP in Japan in December 2004, North America in March 2005, and Europe in September 2005. It was later ported for mobile phones, Microsoft Windows, and the PlayStation 2 (PS2); a high-definition remaster was made for the PlayStation 4 (PS4), the Nintendo Switch, the Xbox One, Windows, and Amazon Luna.
Lumines: Puzzle Fusion sold over half a million copies in North America, Europe, and Japan, and was awarded "Best Handheld Game of 2005" by multiple media outlets. Several publications recognized it as one of the top games of 2005 and one of the best-ever launch titles. It was praised for its music and gameplay; multiple reviewers described it as addictive and drew comparisons with Tetris. The ports received less praise than the original version; critics commended the mobile phone version for its new features but criticized its poor sound quality, while the PS2 port was criticized for omitting some songs present in the original. Reviewers complimented the remastered version for enhancing the quality of sounds and visuals but were disappointed that an online multiplayer mode was not included as a new feature. The game spawned numerous spin-offs and sequels for multiple platforms, becoming the first entry in the Lumines series.
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