Lumines: Puzzle Fusion (PlayStation Portable)

One of the launch titles for the PlayStation Portable, Lumines: Puzzle Fusion is a unique take on the falling block puzzle game genre in which squares are cleared to the tempo of the music. One of its licensed songs, Mondo Grosso's SHININ‍ '​, would become representative of the game, and later, the series itself.

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Prerelease Info

Unused Graphics#

Main Menu#

Two unused selections, relating to a "Music Player" mode (possibly a sound test menu) and a "Sound Replay" mode, can be found within some of the main menu files, present at menu.dat in the original Japanese release, and at lang\(en/jp)\menu.dat in the US release, along with other used images relating to the menu screens. These are blanked out in the European release, save for the English language.

Stone#

A stone. Found among the block tiles of the skin Mekong, at skin\skin105_1p.dat and skin\skin105_2p.dat. Curiously, a similar stone can also be found unused in later games.

Level Up Graphic#

A somewhat bigger "level up" graphic comparing to the ones used in-game, including the variations in some skins. Found in every file present in the skin folder, save for the ones with IDs 201 to 303. This slot is blanked out in the European release.

Unused Code#

Several unused audio parameters are found in the .csv files between the many skins' audio files in this game, present in sound. They are labeled [SE_11] (fall5), [SE_12] (lvup), [SE_16] (dec_st) and [SE_18] (rap). Despite that [SE_12] is actually filled in the files of one skin, that being TALK 2 YOU (ID so_music01), the sound tagged in it, levelup.vag, never plays in-game, although it still exists (see below).

Unused Sounds#

levelup.vag

The aforementioned level up sound, which is coded but never actually plays in-game. Found in sound\so_music01.dat, along with other, used sounds and background tracks of the skin TALK 2 YOU. It would later be used in Lumines Remastered.

soundreplay.vag

An unused sound relating to the aforementioned "Sound Replay" mode. Found in sound\music_menu.dat, along with other, used sounds and background tracks of the main menu. This audio file is only present in the original Japanese release.

Regional Differences#

Company Logos#

In the original Japanese release, the logo of Bandai and Q Entertainment's Quest Beat label is shown, which would later be used for several more games. The other releases of the game opt to display both companies' logos separately, with the American and European ones also adding the logo of its publisher in those regions, Ubisoft. The Korean and European releases also add a disclaimer about internet connectivity.

JP	US	KR	EU

Game Logo/Title Screen#

In Japan, Lumines: Puzzle Fusion is simply known as Lumines; this change is reflected in the game's title screen and menu icon. The Korean release also uses the layout of that version, without the Japanese text below. Furthermore, the font used for "Press START button" is more generic in the European release.

JP	US	KR	EU

JP	US/EU	KR

Menu Screens#

• Internally, the main menu music consists of separate stems for each instrument in the Japanese version, which change dynamically as the player goes through the screens (much like the original skins), which was changed to separate audio segments in the localizations (much like the licensed tracks).
• Many wording changes were made in the localizations, such as "Single Play Mode" being changed to "1P Mode", and "Button Assign" to "Button Configuration". These changes are reflected in the audio as well.

JP	US/EU/KR
Sounds
"Single Play Mode"	"1P Mode"
"VS 2P Mode"	"2P VS Mode"
"Button Assign"	"Button Configuration"

Puzzle Mode#

• More wording changes in the localizations; "Delete 20 Over Blocks" was corrected to "Delete Over 20 Blocks", and "Big O" slightly altered to "Large O".

JP	US/EU/KR

• The 19th puzzle, which is a fylfot in the original Japanese release, was changed to an UFO in the localizations, likely to avoid confusion with the Nazi swastika. This also applies to its X2 version.

JP	US/EU/KR

Gameplay#

• Another wording change. In the original Japanese release, the "Single Color Bonuses" were known as "Unicolor Bonuses".

JP	US/EU/KR

Credits#

• The font used in the text is slightly bolder in the localizations.
• The credits music is slightly longer in the American and European, due to more staff being credited.
• The Quest Beat logo was removed in the American and European localizations, with a longer copyright disclaimer replacing it. Curiously, it was not removed from the Korean version, though the copyright year was still updated.

JP	US/EU	KR