Never Writes About:
Lumines Arise
- 46 Trophies
- How many hours are in 4 months?
- I'm terrible at it
Impostor. That’s what I am. That’s what this Platinum represents. I’m a Lumines poser. A pretender, perpetrating myself as a professional puzzler, proudly peacocking and parading around my Platinum prize prominently in some pathetic production that any people poor enough to perceive it would probably pronounce it plainly preposterous. And they would be right. Let me explain.
I was always aware of Lumines, but never played it. I remember it being a big thing on the PSP 20 years ago. Despite being a fan of all sorts of puzzle games, the look of Lumines never grabbed me. I never understood what was happening on the screen. (Despite Platinuming the game little has changed in that regard.)
I watched the reveal trailer last June and was slightly more intrigued, and then in December, on a whim, I decided to buy it. I wanted a fun puzzle game that maybe I could play with my wife. She seemed interested in it. I think we played the demo but I don’t recall. I had no intention of even attempting the Platinum. It was just going to be a fun puzzle game we would play every now and then to pass the time. That was my intention when I bought it.
So what changed? Nothing. Nothing changed that was the problem. You see, I have an addiction issue. I have an addiction to getting Platinums. Stop laughing. It’s something I’ve been trying to curtail these past few years with little success. If I play a game, I have to Platinum it. It’s pathological. I thought I could “retire” once I hit 400 Platinums. I did slow down but I still play the same way, and with the same intentions. I think the problem is it’s still fun for me overall. But I don’t like that I will still Platinum a game I’ve ceased having fun with rather than just putting it down and walking away. I have managed to do so, albeit rarely. If a game is absolutely not for me, I can let it go. Or if a game is too broken. I’m thinking of Kane & Lynch 2. I’m thinking of Goodbye Volcano High. (although I might go back to the latter)
With Lumines Arise, it became evident to me very early that this was a game that was not really for me. I loved the visuals and the harmonious way they vibed with the cool soundtrack. But I was, and to this day remain terrible at this game. Like atrociously bad. I can not wrap my head around how to get better. I would fail so many times. But I would still have a good enough time playing it. I liked it a palate cleanser after playing something more action heavy or emotionally draining.
I’m not even sure why I finally looked up a trophy guide for it. Probably my addiction nudging me from the back of my brain. But I was surprised to see that the guide writer considered the difficulty to be a 4/10. So low for such a challenging game? Was I just the lone loser who was terrible at it while everyone else thrived in Lumines Land? Yes. Yes I was. But also there was the saving grace of Stress Free Lumines. And I should point out the guide author does point out that without Stress Free Lumines the difficulty would be an 8 or 9 out of 10.
Stress Free Lumines is a set of accessibility settings that make the game much more approachable but also kind of break the structure of the game. In Lumines, the point is to make squares from squares. There are always two types of square, and you must form at least a 2×2 square of the same type of squares. 2×2 squares made from a random combonation of the 2 types of squares fall from the top of the screen, and you must arrange them so they somehow form the 2×2 square of the same type. They must be matching in order for the ‘timeline’ line that passes over the play area to clear the square. If the play area fills up you fail. The blocks fall faster and the timeline moves faster the further you progress.
Did that make sense? I doubt it but Stress Free Lumines removes much of the, well, stress from playing. There are 3 ‘types’ to choose from. Type 1 stops squares from falling, allowing you to place them at your leisure. Type 2 removes the fail state, instead wiping the play area clean of squares when they stack to the top. Type 3 is the combination of types 1 and 2. None of the trophies are disabled when using the stress free modifiers, which is great.
I don’t tend to use many accessibility options when I play, but I love that they are there for more and more games and I love even more when they are not implemented as a cheat. There are some games that disable trophies for using a setting that may make the game more accessible to someone with an impairment of some kind. And as we age as gamers, I promise you will need these settings eventually. Unless of course you plan on stopping this hobby you love. An example of a setting I always use now is HOLD instead of Tap. I’ve been gaming a long time and I am simply tired of mashing a button to turn a wheel or open a gate or whatever. It is beneath me.
And so, armed now with my stress free modifiers I decided to feed my addiction and Platinum Lumines Arise. And everything was going swimmingly. Trophies were popping. I was vibing to the music. All was well. All was stress free. Until I ran into the brick wall that was Combo Master.
Combo Master tasks you with getting a combo 15 times in a row. A combo, in Lumines Arise, involves forming 4 distinct squares at least 2×2 in size, or one 3×3 or larger square. This has to be done for 15 consecutive timeline passes. A timeline pass happens very quickly, depending on the level. I didn’t time it but the best level to achieve this trophy, “Reflection,” seems to start at about 10 seconds. Maybe 8. And that’s what sickos describe as very slow! So 8-10 seconds to make four squares. To compound the difficulty, there is no way to know how many combos you have done! The game does not track it onscreen. And further more, your honour, the game gives you little feedback as to when a combo is actually achieved! You will see the word “Bonus” in the background, and a large arrow, also in the background! My poor brain can not work like that.
I stopped going for other trophies in Lumines Arise. Why bother if I couldn’t get this one? Not getting Combo Master meant not getting Platinum. That is the strength of my conviction. Okay, of my addiction. I couldn’t let it go, though. I practised for months. Whenever I had an extra 15 minutes I would try this trophy. I couldn’t do it. I could not keep track of everything on my own, all at once. What was I to do?
I did what I have done many times throughout my life when faced with adversity: get my wife to help me. She is usually quite keen to do so, especially when it comes to gaming. She likes seeing the things I miss. An extra set of eyes can do wonders in most situations. With her guidance, I was able to achieve in minutes what I had been attempting for 4 months! She was able to keep track of what squares would count, something I couldn’t do, as well as keep track of how many I had done. She also could direct me to where I should be making squares as the timeline quickly approached, freeing me to move and make squares. And we did it. We did it and I got my shiny silver trophy, and then eventually after some tedious grinding for Loomi or something, I got my even shinier Platinum.
Did I deserve it? Did I earn this Platinum trophy? These are not for me to answer. I cast these questions to the wind, stare at my shiny prize, and smile.