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Lumines Remastered

Lumines Remastered

By ···10 min read·Multi-source verified
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Welcome to Lumines Remastered, the vibrant puzzle game where you clear blocks by matching them into 2x2 squares. As the timeline sweeps across the screen, you’ll need to think fast and strategically to keep the screen clear and the beat alive. It’s a fantastic blend of music, rhythm, and puzzle-solving that’s perfect for quick sessions or deep dives.

This guide is here to help you master every aspect of Lumines Remastered. We’ll cover everything from the basics of clearing blocks and understanding special pieces to conquering the various challenge modes. Whether you're aiming for high scores on the leaderboards, unlocking all the Steam Achievements, or just want to understand the deeper strategies, we've got you covered.

Index

Index for Lumines Remastered guide covering block basics, game mechanics, strategies, Time Attack, and Puzzle mode.

Sections:

  1. Intro (Lumines pronunciation and terminology)
  2. Block basics (Types of blocks)
  3. Game mechanics (How the game works)
  4. General tips for placing blocks (Five key rules)
  5. Combos and the timeline (When to hold or drop blocks)
  6. Destroyer square strategies (Maximizing the rare square)
  7. Block frequency (Appearance rates and implications)
  8. Block strategies (Handling difficult blocks)
  9. The phases of the game (Three phases, three strategies)
  10. The pause button (Using the pause for a refresh)
  11. An aside (Comparison to Tetris)
  12. Time Attack Mode (Optimizing combos and block throwing)
  13. Puzzle mode and solutions (Tips and solutions)
  14. What's coming in future editions of this FAQ
  15. Thanks
  16. Postscript: The quest for the ultimate solution (difficulty noted)
  17. Copyright notice

0. Intro

Learn how to pronounce Lumines Remastered, understand the correct way to save your game progress and high scores, and grasp the definitions of 'block' and 'square' in this essential introductory guide.

Welcome to the Lumines Remastered guide! Before diving into the gameplay, there are three crucial things to understand:

Thing No. 1: Pronunciation

The game is pronounced "loo-men-ESS," as confirmed by its creator, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. This pronunciation stems from Japanese Katakana, where "Lumines" is phonetically rendered as "RU-MI-NE-SU." In Japanese, final 'U' sounds are often dropped, leading to "lumin-ess." The 'RU' sound is an approximation between English 'L' and 'R'.

Thing No. 2: Saving Your Game and High Scores

When you finish a game with a high score and are prompted to "load" a profile, SAY NO. This may seem counter-intuitive, but declining to load a profile is necessary to save your high score. After declining the load prompt, you will be asked if you want to save your game; SAY YES to this prompt. Always read and think carefully about any questions the game asks, as your saved progress and high scores are at stake.

Thing No. 3: Understanding Game Terminology

In this FAQ, a block refers to a 2x3 grid:

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|--+--|
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prepre

A square is one-fourth of a block, a 2x2 grid:

--
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--
prepre

Where to start reading this FAQ:

New to Lumines Remastered? Start here for a deeper understanding. Experienced players can skip to section 3 or 12.

If you have never played Lumines Remastered before, or if you are looking for a deeper understanding of the game, begin reading this FAQ from the start.

Players with about 20 minutes of experience looking for general strategies can skip the 'Block Basics' section and jump straight to section 3. You can also skip the 'Game Mechanics' section.

If you are stuck on puzzle solutions and have already searched for 'Clear All x2', please skip to Section 12.

1. Block basics

Learn the fundamentals of Lumines Remastered's block system! Understand the 6 basic block types and how their rotations create 16 unique block combinations.

Hey there! Welcome to Lumines Remastered. Let's dive into the absolute core of the game: the blocks themselves. It might seem simple at first, but understanding how these little guys work is key to mastering the game.

At its heart, Lumines Remastered is all about six basic block shapes. You've got your 'blankey', 'oney', 'twoey', 'deuce', 'trey', and 'quad'. But here's the cool part: when you rotate these blocks, they can actually form different unique shapes. So, while there are only five original block types, their rotations mean you're dealing with more unique block configurations than you might think!

  • Blankey: This one's straightforward. It doesn't change its shape when you rotate it. So, it's just 1 unique block.
  • Oney: This block shape can be rotated four different ways, giving you 4 unique block variations.
  • Twoey: Similar to the oney, the twoey also has four distinct orientations when rotated, resulting in 4 unique blocks.
  • Deuce: The deuce is a bit simpler in its rotations, offering 2 unique block shapes.
  • Trey: This block shape can be rotated into four different configurations, giving you 4 unique blocks.
  • Quad: Like the blankey, the quad doesn't change its appearance no matter how you spin it. It's just 1 unique block.

So, when you add up all the possible rotations, those five original blocks actually give you a total of 16 unique block combinations. It's a neat little system that makes the puzzle aspect of Lumines so engaging!

It turns out there's a bit of math behind this! If you think about a block made of four squares, and you consider all the possible ways those squares can be arranged, you get 16 combinations. It's like 4 squared (4x4), which equals 16. Pretty neat, huh?

Someone pointed out a more precise mathematical reason: each square within a block can be one of two colors, and since there are four squares per block, it's actually 2 to the power of 4 (2^4), which also equals 16. Thanks for that insight!

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