Suika Game

Suika Game[lower-alpha 3], also known as Watermelon Game, is a Japanese puzzle video game developed and published by Aladdin X, which combines the elements of falling and merging puzzle games. The game was originally developed for the company's digital projectors, but due to its success the game was released on the Nintendo eShop in December 2021 only in Japan. In October 2023, the game was given a global release. The concept originates from a Chinese browser game titled "Synthetic Big Watermelon" (Chinese: 合成大西瓜) that released in January 2021.

For the 2001 video game by Circus, see Suika (2001 video game).
Suika Game
Official artwork for the game, showcasing a variety of fruits available in-game.
Developer(s)Aladdin X[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
Publisher(s)Aladdin X
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
Release
  • JP: December 9, 2021
  • WW: October 20, 2023
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

The game involves the player trying to build a high-score through dropping fruits into a container without having them overflow out of the container. To earn points the player must combine two of the same fruits together, which creates a new fruit in the game's fruit cycle. The game allows players to view other player's ranks through an online leader board.

Two years after the game's release Suika Game exploded in popularity after being streamed by livestreamers, particularly by VTubers. The game was received well by critics who played it, praising the simplicity and charm of the game. The game achieved over two million downloads by October 2023 and became one of the most downloaded games on the Nintendo eShop the previous month. The game also became prone to unofficial versions being created.

Gameplay
A view of the container filled with fruit. Featured in the container are the five smallest fruits in the game as well as the titular Suika/Watermelon.

Suika Game is puzzle game focusing on stacking objects in a confined space, reminiscent to Tetris.[4] The player is tasked with dropping a wide range of fruits in a box and aim for the highest score without having a single fruit cross the line at the top of the box and overflowing out, or else the game would end.[5] In order to keep the fruits from overflowing out of the box, the player must match two types of fruits in order for them to merge into the next biggest fruit in the cycle, increasing the player's score. The bigger the fruits that merge the larger the point bonus is, with the largest merge the player can achieve is creating the titular suika/watermelon.[6] If two watermelons merge, they disappear from the box.[7] Suika Game has no time limit to rush the player with;[8] but unlike with games like Tetris, the fruits are affected by physics causing them to hit off each other and roll away from where they were initially dropped.[9] Sometimes the pressure released by two fruits merging can send a fruit out the box and ending the game.[10][11]

There are 11 fruits in the game and they go in a cycle from smallest to largest; cherry, strawberry, grapes, dekopon, persimmon,[lower-alpha 4] apple, pear, peach, pineapple, melon, and watermelon.[7] However, the fruits that the player can drop into the box are limited to the five smallest in the cycle. The order the player can drop the fruit is completely random, but they can see the fruit that is coming up one turn ahead.[13] For the Chinese "Synthetic Big Watermelon" browser game version, the order of the fruit is slightly different as the game features kiwis, lemons and mandarin oranges in its cycle.[14]

Suika Game also features an online leader board to compare other players' ranks online, being split between scores from "today", "monthly" and "overall". This leader board can keep track of the player's own score too.[13]

Development

Initially Suika Game was developed as a built-in application for the popIn Aladdin, a 3-in-1 ceiling digital projector developed by a branch of Aladdin X called popIn, in April 2021.[5] It was said to be well received amongst customers of the projector.[2] Aladdin X decided that due to the game's popularity on the projector,[15] as well as wanting to spread awareness of their projectors further, they would rework the framework of Suika Game to bring it to the Nintendo eShop on December 9, 2021.[15] During an interview with Nippon TV Aladdin X mentioned the idea of bringing the game to smartphones, however decided against it at the time due wanting the game to have "a better chance of standing out" amongst other apps on the market.[16]

The initial concept for this game originates from a Chinese web browser game developed by Meadow Science (Chinese: 米兜科技) called "Synthetic Big Watermelon". The game released in January 2021 and became a large success, with Synthetic Big Watermelon receiving more than 1.4 billion related search hits on Sina Weibo.[14][17]

The game received little attention after the game's launch onto the eShop until September 2023;[18] in which the game garnered an increase in popularity, with GamesRadar+ comparing the sudden popularity to Among Us in 2020.[4] Cited as one of the main causes of the game going viral was due to coverage by Japanese streamers starting in May 2023,[17] with 2.84 million hours watched monthly and ranking 82nd most watched game on Twitch in September 2023.[4][5] VTubers were particularly noted for the game's success,[11][19] with members of VTuber companies such as Hololive Production cited as bringing millions of viewers to the game.[4] In the west, livestreamers CDawgVA, LilyPichu, Ludwig and QTCinderella were credited to have also helped increase the game's popularity outside of Japan.[20][21] Additionally, Aladdin X believes the success and popularity of the game derives from the game's "cute and friendly art that appeals to a wide audience", as well as the game's simplistic rules.[5][16][22]

Due to the game's popularity many English speaking news publications, such as Polygon, published articles on how to obtain the game using a Japanese Nintendo Account.[23][19][5] On October 20, 2023, Suika Game was released globally onto the eShop unannounced,[21][24] however the game was initially untranslated from Japanese.[25][26] English language support was later added in an update released on October 24, 2023.[27] Alongside the translation, the game was given a Halloween theme which changed the game's visuals, such as turning the watermelons into pumpkins, as well as adding Halloween music.[28][29]

Reception

Critical reviews

Suika Game was often compared by critics to other popular puzzle games, such as Tetris and Puyo Puyo.[9] News publications such as IGN Japan and Automaton Media made the comparison to the indie puzzle game Threes!.[17][32] In Nintendo Life's review of the game, they described the game as "2048 with physics".[30] Julia Lee of Polygon made a similar comment that it was "like a mix of Tetris and 2048 but with adorable fruit". However even with the comparisons, Lee still praised the game claiming that the game has her flipping her emotions more so than other similar puzzle games she has played, although not full sure why. She speculates the game's illustrations, physics and motivations as possible reasons.[10]

One of the main praises of Suika Game was its charm. In his review of the game, TouchArcade's Shaun Musgrave wrote that the game does a lot to work as well as it does and positing that the game is "hard to resist". One of the main aspects he focuses on is the game's overall charm, citing that the game is "absolutely adorable" and the music in the game is catchy. Continuing on, Musgrave adds that the game's physics lead to unexpecting outcomes, making the game more exciting and dangerous for him.[31]

Another aspect of the game that critics praised was the way the game handled strategy. Japanese website ITmedia wrote that the game was perfect for both children and adults to understand, adding that they believed that the game was "super simple yet deep". They explained that whilst the controls were simple the physics could cause unexpected outcomes, allowing the game to have a welcoming premise but also have a steep difficulty curve.[33] Mitch Vogel of Nintendo Life mentions in his review that when playing overtime the player will learn to optimise placement, making it harder for players to resist replaying. Vogel also mentions that one thrilling aspect of the game is when accurate placements can lead to a chain reaction combo.[30]

Sales

In the span of a month starting in early September 2023, Aladdin X announced that Suika Game had been downloaded 1 million times on the eShop.[18][34][35] Additionally the game also managed to maintain number 1 on the My Nintendo Store over multiple days between September and October 2023, beating out titles such as Pikmin 4, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Vampire Survivors.[7][36] This led to Suika Game becoming the most downloaded game on the store for the whole month of September that year.[37] The company had also announced that the game had been downloaded 50,000 times more than before it's popularity increased.[5][16] As of October 16, 2023, the game has been downloaded 2 million times in Japan.[38]

Unofficial versions

Due to the success of Suika Game, it caused many unofficial versions of the game to pop up online. One of the most notable versions is a free web browser version with the same name; with websites such as Polygon, Rock Paper Shotgun and VG247 considering it a great alternative for people who weren't able to make a Japanese Nintendo account, or don't have a Nintendo Switch, although noting that the physics and presentation aren't the same as the Switch version of the game.[23][20][39] Outside of the browser version, Aladdin X warned customers that there were many smartphone games trying to imitate Suika Game with some even using art from the official versions.[32][40] One particular clone managed to reach number one on the Japanese App Store in the free games' "casual" section, prompting Aladdin X to request Apple to take the clone off the service.[1]

Notes
  1. Was originally known as popIn.[1] popIn is now its own branch of Aladdin X.[2]
  2. Additional porting development done by Esquadra Inc.[3]
  3. Japanese: スイカゲーム
  4. It is currently disputed whether it is a persimmon or an orange.[12]

References
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  2. Serizawa, Takanori (October 4, 2023). いつのまにか流行ってた「スイカゲーム」って何だ？　開発元に聞く意外な素性とスマホ移植の可能性. ITmedia (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
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