As with all puzzle releases it’s the simple ideas that make for the most memorable game play. ChuChu Rocket! is a fiendish take on Lemmings where you must guide the mice (known as ChuChu’s) safely to your den, as each one arrives you are rewarded with a point. The player with the most points wins the match, but due to the cut and thrust nature of the experience a leader cannot be assured of victory until the timer reaches zero.
The game area is divided into a grid structure and the ChuChu’s will fly across this in a stream of activity. You can guide them by laying down a series of arrows, pushing them towards your goal area. Various power ups are introduced that bring a variety of effects such as slowness, speed or extra cats. These feline abominations like nothing more than eating up any ChuChu’s that fly across their path. They will also follow any arrows causing great damage to your cunning plans, so what could be a problem can be turned into a devastating weapon.
ChuChu Rocket! supports up to four players and this makes for an incredible combination of fun and drama, as you try to hijack opponent’s plans and divert ChuChu’s towards your area. As your rivals are trying to do exactly the same thing, events unfold rapidly and in a hectic fashion. The end often brings a sense of relief never mind any satisfaction of victory.
Today’s gamers who did not experience the Dreamcast online may find it hard to believe the performance the console extracted from a 33.3k unit and a dial-up connection. ChuChu Rocket! is not a visually intense game, although it is distinctive thanks to Sonic Team’s usual artistic talents, it relies more on fluid and rapid game play. Online matches were very popular and only interrupted by the occasional suggestion of slowdown, when the screen became cluttered. Even after the release of further online titles for the system, ChuChu Rocket! remained popular not only because of its availability to all, but also its addictive qualities. The main song was just as memorable and burrowed its way into your sub-consciousness long after you turned the console off.
Sadly the option to jump online today no longer exists but ChuChu Rocket! is far from an extinct dinosaur. The main offline mode supports up to four players and Sonic Team included a demanding puzzle option that already has Gamestyle near breaking limit. Also included is the option to create your own puzzles with a detailed creation mode. Back in the day it was possible to download new levels from the Sega home page onto your VMU and keep the experience fresh.
With Sega confirming that many Dreamcast classics are set to arrive via the PS3 and Xbox 360 online stores later this year, we can but hope for a ChuChu Rocket! revival, which is long overdue. This is a game that defies the passing of time and with only a brief appearance on the GBA in 2001 it’s ripe for rediscovery.
