ARIKA’s follow up to the block dropping puzzle game Jewelry Master Twinkle is out and brings with it some nice value. The new version, Jewelry Master Twinkle Light, cuts down on fluff but still features the same basic gameplay of the original at a much more palatable 80 Microsoft Point price.
Gameplay
The gameplay is simple, drop the blocks consisting of gems and stones into position in typical block dropping game fashion. The gems and stones can be made to disappear in two different ways. Gems are done away with by boxing them in using stones. Once a gem has been boxed in, it and all other gems of the same color will instantly disappear. The stones, which come in different shapes and sizes, will only disappear when a full row of stones is constructed.
The game presents itself as some sort of block dropping date simulator and I have no idea how the two of these things are supposed to go together. Unless of course, you’re talking about dropping the ol’ I block in for a Tetris, if you know what I mean. All that really seems to happen in Jewelry Master Twinkle Light is your “date” occasionally rambles about pickles or going for a ride on a Ferris Wheel as you score more points. I never really make it past talking about going on the Ferris Wheel though, so I suppose, in that sense, it is a pretty accurate dating sim.
The controls are fully customizable and even in their default configuration work well enough. I didn’t run into any major annoyances other than an occasional accidental instant block drop caused by nudging the thumb stick in the up direction. Really though, once you are aware of this particular control nuance it is easily avoided.
“Jewelry Master Twinkle become easier and re-release ! The jewels drop one after another. Join the jewels and enclose by the stones to erase ! The Graphics and the scenarios are changeable. It will depend on game play. You can enjoy the game kind of like a date. The game system has been changed. It’s Especially recommended for beginners ! “
The above is the developer’s description of the game on Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace. The bold portion of the description seems erroneous as the only visuals I saw that were customizable were in the screensaver mode which allowed you to change the background color. The references to change in scenarios seem exaggerated as well, since the only gameplay that seemed to change what your “date” says to you is how far through the linear scripts you get. This is more then likely a result of a bit of copy/pasting from the previous full versions description and possibly some language barriers.
Audio Visual
The visuals of JWTLight are quite nice, the anime girl is nicely drawn and the backgrounds are animated and lively. One note worthy difference from the original is the inclusion of only one of the original girls. On the same topic, there are no male dates either, which may be a deal breaker for some out there.
The music of the game is descent enough for its stripped down nature, which is a good thing considering there appears to only be one track.
Summary
The price tag sells this one, at 80 Microsoft Points its production qualities are a bargain. There are a lot of less developed block dropping puzzle games out there at the same price, so if you are looking for a bargain in this genre I recommend checking it out.
Michael Klucher took some time while he was on his way to GDC to write up a detailed post regarding the XNA Game Studio 4 development platform. The most noteworthy information for those of us who aren’t of the developer persuasion is the following bit pertaining to the upcoming Windows Phone 7 Xbox LIVE experience:
