NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains

As far as these Suika-like games go, this one feels unique. The timeless Namco arcade sound effects and voxel versions of classic arcade sprites are nostalgic and really release that dopamine when scoring a big combo. Some stages are definitely better than others (seriously that 3-second background music loop on XEVIOUS should have been reworked). I particularly enjoyed the Suika versions of MAPPY and THE TOWER OF DRUAGA and now I'm curious to play the original arcade games. I binged this game over just a few days since it's easy to play "just one more round" only for a few hours to pass without realizing it.

Yup, it's twice the price of Fruit Mountain and plays pretty much identical...but the addition of familiar Namco characters and the rng 'spin to win' for various unlocks does give the game a lot more appeal than just chucking various fruits into a bowl. Weekly/monthly/all time leaderboards are also present to stretch out the longevity and it plays great on a Steam Deck (4k/60fps when docked). My only minor gripes are that the raised edge of the bowl feels a bit low, making it a little too easy to send a ball out of play - and I wouldn't say no to an option that allows you to tilt the camera. Those things aside, Legendary Mountains is highly replayable and equally as highly recommended if you're looking for a bit of arcade-style action....but if you're not into the whole leaderboard thing then £15 might be too much of an ask due to it's very samey gameplay loop.

It's Namco Suika! for what it does it is really fun all around, saying this as someone who's trying the suika genre for the first time i ended up spending a lot more time than i expected here. It is very short but fun PROS: - suika = addictive gameplay loop - Namco characters in a suika came oddly has a really good charm to it - The goat Pac-Man and my other goats mappy dig dug druaga and xevious - Customization choices in the mixture mode - Collection mode emphasizes collecting voxel characters - Post-launch content with a multiplayer mode CONS: - Wish the pac-man theme had more features from other games or options like background music from the CE series since it feels empty when compared to the other game themes featured - no option to view or zoom into individual voxel pieces smoothly - Feels a little bit overpriced for what it offers If the game goes on sale, it's worth a shot!