Sparkle 2

Genre: Match-3 Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

Sparkle 2, released in 2013 on mobile devices and then ported in 2014 to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, 2015 to PC and PlayStation 3, 2016 to Xbox One, 2017 to Nintendo Switch, is a Match-3 Puzzle game in the same vein as genre classic Zuma. This game has a great deal in common with its predecessor, Sparkle Unleashed. So much so, in fact, that much of the text of that review has been copied over here, with the details changed where appropriate

The gameplay here is derived directly from Zuma, which has you aiming colored balls at a snaking line of balls to make matches and clear them to keep the line from reaching an end point. To be fair Zuma was not the originator of this style of Puzzle game – that was most likely the 1998 arcade game Puzz Loop. However, Zuma refined that formula, added a few genre conventions that have become staples, and now it is Zuma that most games in this style copy.

As I have often lamented, Zuma is not available on Nintendo Switch. Nor is Puzz Loop, for that matter. Which means that players seeking out that sort of puzzle game have to be content with one of numerous copycat games, which vary in quality. Some are lazy cash-in games, while others, such as Zumba Garden, are surprisingly good to the point where they actually manage to rival Zuma itself. However, perhaps I have been remiss in my approach to this corner of the Puzzle game genre, because until now I have not turned my attention to the first and likely most prominent series of Zuma-style copycat games, the family-friendly Sparkle franchise.

Unlike Sparkle Unleashed, Sparkle 2 has players shooting out from a stationary position, exactly like Zuma, removing one of the distinctions the prior game offered to set it apart from Zuma. What’s more, this game ditches the prior game’s excellent RPG-style upgrade system, instead just having everything unlocked at the start, adding only a few additional passive upgrades to choose between after completing a few levels in the game’s campaign mode. Honestly, I felt like this removed something special that the prior game had, and replaced it with something more mundane. Oh, but at least the game’s completely disposable story is back… hooray…

The presentation here is still good, making use of some beautiful, detailed 2D visuals with some really nice detail in the little balls as they roll along, backed by a decent orchestral and choral soundtrack… but this time it’s far less impressive, because so much of it was obviously just recycled from the previous game.

Yet for all the special elements this game removed that its predecessor had, it still managed to fall flat in the exact same two places the prior game did. First, the multiplayer – there isn’t any. And second, this game completely misses the opportunity to provide score-chasers a compelling reason to keep coming back – there are no scores in this game, and while there is a survival mode to see how long you can last, you’re not actually shown a clock to gauge your results against, only a nebulous star rating.

Overall, Sparkle 2 seems superfluous, a soulless rehash of a game that was already a copycat, albeit a good one. None of this changes that at its core Sparkle 2 is still an enjoyable game, but when it’s done nothing but copy its superior predecessor, the only reason you would choose this game over Sparkle Unleashed is if you demand that it play more like Zuma, with a fixed location to fire from. If not, you’re better off sticking with the previous game.

tl;dr – Sparkle 2 is a family-friendly Match-3 Puzzle in the style of genre classic Zuma, and it pretty much just takes the previous game, Sparkle Unleashed, and changes a few things small things, resulting in a worse, more derivative game. It’s still enjoyable, but there’s no reason to play this over the previous game.

Grade: B-

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