Years ago, during a PlayStation Network flash sale, I picked up Kurulin Fusion for a buck. A block-matching puzzle game for the PlayStation Portable, its sole claim to fame is the fact that Nobuo Uematsu served as musical director. The legendary composer, best known for his involvement with the Final Fantasy series, didn’t actually contribute any music for this game, however. Instead he provided instruction to Kenichiro Iwasaki, who arranged techno remixes of classic Johann Sebastian Bach compositions. Regardless of Uematsu’s level of involvement, the soundtrack was a delight and full of hummable earworms. The game, on the other hand…

Developed by Tokyo-based Lancarse, Kurulin Fusion is a puzzle game in the vein of Puyo Puyo. In other words, the action revolves around clearing similar colored blocks, but preferably by setting up intricate chain reactions. The premise of stacking blocks in such a way has always daunted me; I’ve never learned to properly play this style of puzzle game and accordingly, didn’t really enjoy this one. Without buying into this gameplay mechanic, Kurulin Fusion’s arcade mode turned into a low scoring, uneventful visualizer. Additional modes, such as a mission mode and multiplayer, introduced variety but swayed me none.

Was Kurulin Fusion worth a buck? Sure. The block-matching gameplay was executed well and the soundtrack was legitimately catchy. Considering my indifference towards this style of game however, that dollar probably would’ve been better spent on the soundtrack. A solid game, but not my cup of tea.