The new Lumines “will be to Vita what the original was to PSP”

I’ve said it so many times as to sound like a broken record, but Lumines is still my very favourite PSP game – and really the only reason I still own a PSP. According to developer Q Entertainment – also behind this year’s incredible, mind-bending “shooter” Child of Eden – the new Lumines, subtitled “Electronic Symphony” is a true evolution of Lumines winning puzzle formula.

Yes Please!

“What we’re creating now is completely new, featuring an all-new visual engine, all-new music,” said Q entertainment’s James Mielke to CVG at this year’s Tokyo Game show. “It’s a true next-gen Lumines for the VITA, as much as the original Lumines was at the time for PSP.” Of course, it’ll utilise the new gadgetry in Sony’s new handheld. “The rear touch screen can also be tapped, causing synchronized percussion effects to play,”  while the game “also features touchscreen controls in addition to standard D-pad controls.” The game will also use the Vita’s internet functionality for more social espects, though I can’t say that excites me much.

What does get me going is the emphasis on interesting, eye-catching visuals – one of Lumine’s strongpoints. “The entire visual engine, says Mielke, “has been created from the ground up. If you liked what you saw in Child of Eden, I think you’ll really enjoy the visuals in this Lumines. When we first started discussing bringing Lumines back, [Tetsuya] Mizuguchi (Q Entertainment’s chief creative officer) said to me that he thought that this Lumines should have even greater visual impact than Child of Eden. As you can imagine, that’s a pretty tall order, but it’s also what we set out to do.

One of the problems with Lumines’ first sequel on the PSP was the use of popular music (from the likes of Gwen Stefani and The Black Eyed Peas among others) that actually detracted from the experience. It’s something that’s been addressed in Electronic Symphony.

“The soundtrack will be a combination of both licensed music and original compositions from Q’s own sound team, but I think you’d be surprised at the number of licensed tracks we’re putting into the game. I know some people will read "licensed music" and assume we’re just throwing a bunch of club tracks into the game and calling it a day, but I can assure you that it’s quite different.”

Uncharted: Golden Abyss , Resistance: Burning Skies and Little Deviants look nice  and all, but this is the game that sold me o the Vita. I put way, way too many hours in to Lumines, and the announcement of a proper sequel got me giddy. Read the rest of the interview here.

Last Updated: September 16, 2011