Gimme more to review: "Kurulin Fusion"

As stated on our most recent episode of Jurassic Radio, I downloaded this surprisingly cheap PSN title because it was being touted for musical involvement from Nobuo Uematsu. When I first downloaded it, I didn’t care what the content of the game was, I just wanted to hear something different from Uematsu.

Turns out, the music was actually synth-arranged J.S. Bach music, and the individual who did the actual arrangement was Kenichiro Iwasaki. So Uematsu is listed as the “sound director” of KURULIN FUSION. What does that mean? Did he pick which Bach songs should be arranged? Did he do synth manipulation? I have absolutely no idea. And I don’t really care; this game shouldn’t be sold on the laurels of its soundtrack. It’s good music, but it turns out my misguided purchasing habits allowed me to stumble into a decent puzzle game.

This is a “pieces drop from the top, make awesome formations” kind of puzzle game, akin to TETRIS or DR. MARIO. I specifically mention Dr. Mario because every piece you’re given is a rectangular block with a split down the middle (essentially, two squares). Now, in Dr. Mario, the goal was to throw colored pills at viruses, which already existed in the field of play, and match up virus and pill color to defeat the viruses. Extending the Dr. Mario analogy, the two types of “things” that can be on either side of a piece are orbs and blocks. Orbs are like the viruses, and blocks are like the pills. Except, in Kurulin Fusion, all it takes is one pill to kill as many viruses as are adjacent to it, or to another virus that is adjacent to the pill (i.e. — possibility for massive chains).

Let’s drop the Dr. Mario analogy, because the similarities end here. The orbs and blocks come, sometimes in the same piece, but sometimes orbs are paired, or blocks are paired. Statistically, you are given more orbs than blocks. Different modes of play determine how many colors appear, but the max is four: red, blue, green, yellow. Every possible combination of piece imaginable will be given to you, except for one: putting an orb and a block of the same color in one piece is never done. You can get two orbs of the same color, or two blocks, but never the two types thrown together when they’re the same color.

The rules of the game are simple. You’re dropping pieces in a contained space, and clearing orbs by sucking them into blocks earns you points. If your pieces spill out over the top of the field, it’s game over. Also, after a certain number of pieces drop, a row of randomized orbs and blocks will appear at the bottom and push everything up one row. In arcade mode, every 15 levels goes in a speed cycle: start slow, then speed up, til at level 15 (or 30, or 45), you’ve reached “pieces drop instantly” speed. After clearing this, at the next level, the pieces drop slowly again. However, the rate at which new rows of random crap appear at the bottom continues to accelerate with each level.

The game looks like this: a 9x12 grid and lots of color.

Keys to becoming an expert player essentially involve playing big risk/reward games. You see, the “block” pieces can be fused. Put two blocks of the same color next to each other, and they become one rectangle. You can have blocks that take up one, two, four, six, and nine squares total. The larger the block, the more points you get. And the massive nine-block will destroy all orbs of the same color, regardless of positioning. Also, setting up chains (block sucks up orb, pieces above drop, more block/orb destruction continues) is a way to earn big points.

My favorite form of the game is the mission mode. There are 30 stages in mission mode, and each one has a different objective. Sometimes it’s as simple as “don’t lose in a given amount of time.” Other times it’s “destroy so many orbs,” or “build a fusion block of a particular size,” or a variety of other objectives. And each of them comes with a time limit. The challenges get harder and harder, and they are tons of fun. Unfortunately, a skilled player (such as myself) can clear all 30 challenges in an afternoon. After that, there really isn’t much left to do with the game. Except play multiplayer, which doesn’t have random match setups… you need to have friends also playing the game. What a shame!

For its price, it’s a great game. I just want more objective-based challenges. And hey, maybe add a fifth color that corresponds with a larger field of play? There’s plenty of room to expand, and I’d be fine paying more money for it.

Played: 4 hours, no multiplayer
Platform(s): PSP (PSN)
Price: $4.99