L2AGO #3

ChuChu Rocket isn't a very long puzzle game, but it's definitely a distinctive classic that I keep coming back to every now and then. The puzzle mode consists of placing down directional tiles and running the simulations to ensure that your ChuChus (cartoon mice) make it to the rockets without the orange chompy cats catching your mice, running into your rockets, or your mice falling into pitfall traps. It starts out simply enough, but the later levels get quite cerebral and will definitely stress test your patience; fortunately, trial & error comes to the rescue and the ability to fast forward and stop simulations makes hammering out solutions much more straightforward. The real gem of ChuChu Rocket however, is in its multiplayer party mode. Up to four players can engage in the same arena to stuff as many ChuChus into their rockets as possible while simultaneously placing down directional tiles to both channel ChuChus towards them and orange cats away from them and into their friends' rockets. Combined with the occasional chance time events via Mystery ChuChus to shake things up (like Mouse Mania, which will cause a splurge of ChuChus to appear, or Speed Up which will really test just how well prepared you are), it's one hell of a chaotic fest. Oh, and you can create puzzles for your friends to solve too with its excellent in-game editor. Give ChuChu Rocket a try if you're looking for something different, especially if you just want a riot with some friends over the weekend!

People may be split on the Sonic series, but there is no denying that Sonic Team makes creative and interesting games, and this delightfully adorable puzzle game is no exception. The aesthetic is delightfully Y2K and the soundtrack is snappy and upbeat. With fun co-op/competitive multiplayer, a custom map editor, and even internet connectivity to where you can share your maps with people online, it's insane that this series doesn't have another installment or at least had this game ported to Steam. The only other releases are a GBA and a Mobile port and a new entry exclusive the Apple Arcade. I don't know how well it would sell nowadays, but I would welcome a Chu Chu Rocket comeback.

Listen: There are a lot of weird Dreamcast games, but this is one of my favorites. Frantic mutiplayer puzzle action from the insane minds at Sonic Team. A simplistic premise: despite all your rage, you are only mice in a maze. Evade cats by placing directional panels and reach the rocket to win.

There's three game modes at play here, each with their own appeal. Puzzle mode gives you 100 puzzles to solve, each with a premade layout and specific panels to use. Leave it to ChuChu Rocket to make the presentation so frantic and mesmerizing, though. There's often a real satisfaction to placing down the panels in all the right spots, and watching your handiwork in motion. Stage Challenge mode pits you in 25 stages of reflexive, real-time challenges. These are interesting, but they begin to show the cracks in ChuChu Rocket's formula. The cursor you move around to place panels is barely fast enough to react to a lot of the shit this mode will throw at you. However, the true strength in ChuChu Rocket is its multiplayer.

In multiplayer, you and three other players set down panels in an attempt to get as many mice as possible in your designated rocket within three minutes, while preventing cats from getting to your rocket. It probably goes without saying, but once four players are all in the mix, the game goes from frantic to downright chaotic. There's so much on-the-fly thinking, opportunities to gain a huge lead, or sabotage your friends, either by abducting their mice or redirecting cats. If someone collects a roulette mouse, it'll cause one of several gamechanging events to shake everything up further. But what if I told you that ChuChu Rocket has one more trick up its sleeve?

A decently robust online mode helps this game soar to even greater heights. You can create lobbies to host games, simply chat with strangers (this was weirdly acceptable in the 2000s, okay), or share puzzles that you created in the game's level creator. Yeah, you read that correctly. Potentially infinite puzzles to play/create, and the ability to potentially share them with anyone else who owns the game. For the record, fan-maintained servers allow these features to persist even to this day, you can set them up on official hardware (or just download Flycast, it's preconfigured for online play).

ChuChu Rocket may be limited in scope and kind of a one-trick pony, but I stand by the fact that it completely nails what it wants to do. I'd be remiss to not mention the soundtrack that accompanies it too, which is this bizzare, almost cosmic series of compositions from Tomoya Ohtani. Twangy guitar sounds, synthesizers, and breakneck percussion. I am dead serious when I say to reach out to me on Twitter/Discord if you wanna play ChuChu Rocket. I will always be down for a few rounds of ChuChu Rocket. The japanese advertisement for ChuChu Rocket lives rent free in my head.

I was in Sweden on a job. That's all you need to know.

For now.

I had 3 hours to kill and a nearby science museum had a games exhibit. Since it was the middle of the school day and a museum, there were no children using said games exhibit. I waltzed up to the dreamcast, a system I never had as a kid and booted up the strangest, most un-me looking game available. That was chu-chu rocket. Something in its fluid motion puzzles, struck me as gorgeous. It was fluid algebra. And that math seemed to see me. Write my problems into a simulacrum of saccrine colored, synchronized squeakers. It melted my cold, American heart and forced me to see the shining hope in that Scandinavian town. To make the most out of the problems I had. Because even when you feel like a scared little robot mouse or whatever, there's always a next cheese level or something. I dont know - listen i was dehydrated, it was a great fucking time though.

I cried walking out of the museum. I couldn't afford any other exhibit.