Kuru Kuru Kururin

"A great start for puzzlers on the GBA!"

Kuru Kuru Kururin is a fantastic little puzzler that adds a lot of fun in a crowded genre. No puzzle game has beaten the mighty Tetris for the original Gameboy system but the lovely Kuru Kuru Kururin poses a nice challenge for the top spot even if it does miss out on some aspects. One of the first things you'll notice in any screenshots of this game is that you play a rotating stick. Sounds rather silly, right? But prepare to overcome that detail and you will immerse in a puzzle game that works - addictive and fun.

Story
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Believe it or not, there is a basic story to this game. Your brothers and sisters have wondered off somewhere on their own and it is up to you to find them by hopping into your spaceship (yes, that is the rotating stick we are talking about) to various worlds to locate and bring them home. Simple story that only a puzzle game needs.

Gameplay
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The aim of the game is to go through each stage with your rotating spaceship and avoid hitting the sides to reach the exit. The controls are simple enough with up, down, left and right doing exactly what they do and you can control the speed by holding onto the A or B or both buttons. There are no complicated controls and the game is therefore made immediate accessible to anybody at any age without having to memorise any combos and so on. Spread across the courses, there are obstacles that may block your path, and there are springs that enable you to change direction to try and swerve around that tight corner that you overwise can't get through.

There is an adventure mode where you can go through each world and each stage to rescue your fellow siblings. There are 30 stages in total spread over ten differently themed worlds as well as a training course to allow you to get the grips with the controls before embarking on the adventure. The difficulty beefs up very quickly though and you will need to use your sense of timing in order to make it past the more difficult stages later on.

Alongside the adventure mode, there is a challenge mode that allows you to play fifty stages in order to try and beat the times set by the computer. And there will be rewards for being able to pass all the stages in the best way possible as well so there is incentive other than the addictive nature of the game to participate in the challenge mode.

And of course, what puzzle game would it be without the multiplayer option. These involves you trying to beat your friends by trying to make it to the exit first. Simple concept but effective indeed.

GRAPHICS

Cartoony graphics and stage backgrounds that neither clash or get in the way of the gameplay. A puzzle game does not need fantastic graphics and this game proves that you don't need to have good graphics to have a good time playing a great game.

MUSIC

Dotted around the game are cute and bouncy music to accompany you on your quest. Very nice to listen to them and suits the game's atmosphere and the personality of each type of setting/worlds are linked in very well. The sound effects are the usual 'boing' of hitting the spring and the sound of glass breaking when you hit your ship on an obstacle to many times.

OVERALL

A charming puzzle game with a lot to offer in terms of gameplay and addictiveness. It doesn't have the universal lasting appeal of Tetris but is fun nevertheless and trying to beat the best times is a challenge in itself. You should be able to find this game fairly cheaply now so if you want to find yourself a decent puzzler, then look no further than Kuru Kuru Kururin!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/13/03, Updated 01/13/03