Kururin Squash!

Kururin Squash! is an action-puzzle video game developed by Eighting and published by Onion Media. It was first released for the GameCube on October 14, 2004 in Japan. It is the successor to Kururin Paradise was also the only title of the Kururin series with 3D computer graphics. The game was later added to the Backwards Compatibility program of the Xbox 360 for original Xbox games.

The Xbox version gained Platinum Hits status, the GameCube version gained Player's Choice status and the PS2 and PSP versions gained Greatest Hits status which is only given to games that have reached considerable sales milestones.

Premise
The Kururin family won the grand prize at a local lottery, which sent them on a cruise around the four countries of the world. The entire family enjoyed the trip, but upon returning home, they suddenly realized that they had returned with only three members of the family; Kururin, Kakarin, and Totorin. All of Kururin's siblings had disappeared during the trip! Kururin sets off to the four countries on the special helicopter "Helirin" in search of the others.

Gameplay
The player controls a slowly spinning stick called the Helirin, and must maneuver it through a series of mazes without touching the walls. If the stick hits any wall or dangerous object three times it will shatter, forcing the player to start over again. The player controls the stick's direction and 3 levels of speed, but the continual rotation of the stick makes the task difficult. Bonus points are awarded once the player has successfully completed a level, and a gold star for completing the level without any crashes. If the player succeeds to complete the level without any crash, and also succeeds to have all the coins of the level, he will be awarded with a rainbow star, which represents the perfect run for a stage.The game also records shortest times taken to beat each level.

The game starts off with simple training levels, where instructions are given on how to play and get around the first corners. After this tutorial there are eight levels in each stage which progressively increase in difficulty and length. The main objective in the puzzle mode is to collect coins, and the objective in the race mode is to finish each maze within a target time frame. Multiplayer can include up to four players in a split-screen frenzy, or a battle mode where players must collect coins while holding off their opponents with various weapons.

Unlike the previous titles of the series, Kururin Squash! introduces water levels with power-ups that make the Helirin work like a submarine, use guns, punch with boxing gloves, create tornadoes, or use flame-throwers. Bosses are also present at the end of each stage.

Reception
Like its predecessors, Kururin Squash! received mostly positive reviews from critics. It was praised for its simple yet addictive gameplay and items that are used.

Nintendo World Report, then known as Planet GameCube, gave Kururin Squash! a 9.5 out of 10, and said "Kururin Squash mixes elements from the previous games -- that is, the guiding of a constantly rotating stick through a maze without hitting anything -- and adds new helicopters that cause the player to think a bit more carefully when guiding them."

Nintendojo gave the game a 9 out of 10, and stated that "At a time when most developers are relying on the tried-and-true formulas, Kururin Squash offers a fresh and welcome – not to mention inexpensive (under $40) – experience."

Eurogamer rated the game a score of 7 out of 10 points. The reviewer was less impressed about the game unlike its predecessors and stated that it'll captivate you for as long as it lasts, but don't be surprised if it then spins off onto a shelf with only a duck in a helicopter's chance of ever returning to the fore.

On review aggregator site GameRankings, Kururin Squash has a score of 77.69% for the PlayStation 2 and a 79.45% on the Xbox.

Trivia

 * As stated above, this is the only title of the Kururin series with 3D computer graphics.
 * The Xbox version has some differences from other versions.
 * The graphics are in higher resolution than the other versions, with much higher quality textures, improved lighting, and a more stable framerate.
 * The Xbox version added 16:9 cropped widescreen support, which basically means 12.5% of the screen is removed from the top and bottom.
 * This is odd as the PlayStation 2 actually has a chip to display in widescreen.
 * This version supports 5.1 Dolby Digital audio output, unlike the other versions, which only support Stereo audio.
 * The Xbox version has an Xbox Live feature to download new levels for the challenge mode, it also featured online multiplayer.
 * This is also odd as the PlayStation 2 had several games with online multiplayer.