Spinning ships.....what will be next? (Kuru Kuru Kururin (GBA))

Member Name: martial_loh

Product:	Kuru Kuru Kururin (GBA)
Date:	05/08/01 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original, Colorful

Disadvantages: Music........grrrrrrrrrr. ....

This title is probably the most original of the Gameboy Advanced starting line up. It isnt a spawned sequel, nor is it based on anything else.
Basically there are a series of maze like courses that you must navigate your ship through. Simple? NO SIREE! THe catch of the game is that your ship is a pole like object that is constantly spinning around. You're not allowed to let it touch the sides of the track at any time - you have some sort of shield gauge - which decreases on contact with the wall. When this gets to zero, you die.

The mazes are very well designed - they start off really easy - so that you like the game, then they get progressively tougher. On the earlier tracks, there are plenty of "breathing" spaces - where you can let your ship rotate to its optimal position, before setting off on the rest of the maze. However on the harder levels, you'll find that you have to think really quick on your feet - because the mazes are almost continuous without rest-gaps. These levels have to be attempted several times before you'll ever get through -noone I know can get far in the game on one attempt. I should say that the highlight of the game is that it is very addictive.
The low point is that certain mazes are way too hard for humans to play on.. maybe if I grew another brain fully dedicated to the processing of gaming thoughts, I'd be able to complete the title!! A map of each level would be handy, if you are too stuck......but i think that would spoil some of the fun and surprise! Due to the high level of frustration, I would not recomend you play this game if you have low patience levels. This puzzle game is good, but due to the nature of its gameplay, the replay value will never be as high as, say, Tetris or Puzzle Bobble.
The graphics are very colorful - they lack the nasty jagged sprites that you used to see on the old gameboy (thanks to the improved resolution) and the characters are very cutely designed. The sh
ip you control moves well enough i suppose!
The sound is too child-like for me, but I think that it does suit the game - Rock and Roll wouldn't really do the job......!
Controls are pretty good and responsive, but you might find yourself with a hunched back after playing this game for too long..
As i said before, I wouldnt expect this game to last you more than a month or two (tops)...you might want to buy the game second hand or something like that - £35 is too high a price for such a short-lived puzzle game. Spend a tenner on tetris (for GB) instead...much better game! It just goes to show that even originality is sometimes not enough for a game to be super-successful!

Summary: