Wikipedia

Kururin Paradise

Kururin Paradise
DeveloperEighting
PublisherNintendo
DirectorsShinji Hatano
Tomonori Fujisawa
ProducersHiroshi Sato
Masato Toyoshima
ProgrammerYasunari Watanabe
ComposerAtsuhiro Motoyama
SeriesKururin
PlatformGame Boy Advance
Release
GenresPuzzle, action
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

Kururin Paradise[a] is a 2002 puzzle video game developed by Eighting and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the second entry in the Kururin series and the sequel to Kuru Kuru Kururin (2001). The game was released exclusively in Japan on December 6, 2002. North American and European releases of the game were planned, but later canceled. The game received generally positive reviews, with praise for its introduction of new gameplay mechanics and minigames. Kururin Paradise was followed by Kururin Squash! on the GameCube in 2004, and was later re-released on Wii U Virtual Console on December 9, 2015, also exclusive to Japan.

Gameplay

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See also: Gameplay in Kuru Kuru Kururin
This screenshot shows the Helirin flying through a wavy maze towards a key that unlocks an alternate path. The game's interface displays the player's time, the record time, and Kururin with all three of his hearts remaining.
Kururin piloting the Helirin through a maze to collect a key.

Similar to the first game, the player pilots Kururin in the Helirin, a helicopter that continuously spins as the player attempts to navigate through mazes to reach the goal at the end. If Kururin loses all three hearts in a level, it is restarted from the beginning.[2] The Adventure mode contains the game's story with 34 levels, some of which are accessed by unlocking alternate paths, and the Challenge mode contains 30 levels with the goal of reaching the goal as fast as possible.[3][4]

This screenshot features four versions of Kururin with different colors in a side-scrolling stage flying through clouds and avoiding spiked obstacles. The game's interface displays the player's time, with icons of the four Kururins between the start and goal of the stage.
Four players in the multiplayer mode playing a minigame involving Kururin flying solo from his helicopter.

Kururin Paradise introduces several new gameplay mechanics, including alternate paths and minigames. Keys can be obtained in levels, which unlock secret alternate routes inside a previously completed level. When the alternate path is completed, additional levels are unlocked on the world map.[5] In the Adventure mode, boss battles take place at the end of each world, but appear in the form of minigames.[6] Sixteen minigames are included in the "Mini-Game Paradise" mode, all of which can be played in multiplayer with up to four players using the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable. A majority of the minigames are based on achieving a high score or surviving a challenge given a certain time limit. One minigame features Kururin outside of the Helirin flying in a side-scrolling stage similar to the Balloon Trip mode in Balloon Fight,[5] where the player must control the bird to avoid obstacles.[7][8] The dedicated multiplayer modes similarly support up to four players. The racing mode from the original game returns, with players competing against each other to reach the end of a maze in the Challenge mode.[9] Players can give themselves a handicap by increasing the length of their vehicle or remove hearts from their character to accommodate the skills of different players.[6][10]: 23  A selection of magic tricks can be learned and performed with the Game Boy Advance system, which are obtained by defeating bosses. Each magic trick has an explanation on how to perform them for others, and after selecting the magic trick, the player must turn their system off and back on to activate it.[4][10]: 15  One of the magic tricks is a Love Tester, which references the Nintendo product of the same name.[5]

Plot

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Kappado, Tenko, Naporon, and Baron Magic of the Magic Group visit Kururin Village to put on a show. Kururin's family left to see the Magic Group since Kururin overslept and was concerned about his bedhead, but after waking up, he arrives late to an empty venue.[10]: 3  Assuming the Magic Group kidnapped his family and Teacher Hare with villainous intent, Kururin sets out on an adventure to rescue them.[11] When first encountering Kappado, he reveals that Kururin's family want to learn magic tricks from the Magic Group, and Kururin has to get them back by beating members of the Magic Group in a minigame.[12][6] After rescuing his father Totorin, it is revealed that Totorin was the leader of the Magic Group, as he wanted to teach Kururin some magic. In the end, everyone surprises Kururin by celebrating his birthday.[13]

Development and release

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Kururin Paradise was revealed to be in development in May 2002 prior to its appearance at E3 2002.[14] The previous directors, Hiroshi Sato and Masato Toyoshima, returned as the game's producers. Shinji Hatano, the producer of Kuru Kuru Kururin, became one of the directors alongside Tomonori Fujisawa. Additionally, character designer Yōichi Kotabe worked with Yoshitaka Ikeda to create the members of the Magic Group.[15] The game was announced in Japanese, North American, and European markets.[16] An English-translated version of the game was showcased at E3 2002, the first time a game in the Kururin series was announced in the North American market.[7][9][17] This version of the game, however, was not planned for release, and the European version was canceled at a later date.[18] A Chinese version of the game was developed for the iQue Game Boy Advance, but was unreleased.[19] On December 9, 2015, Kururin Paradise was re-released on Wii U Virtual Console, in which the game remained exclusive to Japan.[20][21] One of the members in the Magic Group, Naporon, makes a cameo appearance in the Eighting-developed Master of Illusion on Nintendo DS.[22]

Reception

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The game received generally positive reviews, with the game being considered an overall improvement from its predecessor.[6] Critics praised the graphics,[5][8] as well as the abundance of inventive minigames in both single-player and multiplayer modes.[8][18][6]

Many critics claimed the game is much more difficult than Kuru Kuru Kururin, sometimes requiring split-second precision to navigate the mazes.[6][18] Regarding the game's difficulty, Kurt Kalata of Hardcore Gaming 101 wrote "[i]t’s definitely meant for veterans of the first game, but it’s ultimately a much more satisfying experience", relating to the added depth in the level design.[5] Similarly, Nintendo Difference claimed that while initially difficult, the controls eventually become intuitive and don't harm the gameplay experience.[18]

Daniel Bloodworth of Nintendo World Report complimented the game's art style, citing it as "cleaner, more colorful and has a specifically hand-drawn look".[8] He also highlighted certain minigames such as "Mowrin" for being a particularly clever use of the series' gameplay formula in minigame format. The Mexican Club Nintendo magazine claimed it to be "one of the simplest and most addictive games" they have played.[9] In a retrospective review, Adam Riley of Cubed3 described it as one of the best Japanese-exclusive Game Boy Advance games.[24]

Sales

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The game sold 3,508 copies after three days.[25] During its initial launch week, it sold 7,801 copies, marking the only time it would appear among the top thirty Japanese game sales.[26] Kururin Paradise sold a total of 80,404 copies in Japan from release to December 22, 2003.[27] It would eventually become the twenty-sixth best-selling Game Boy Advance game in Japan released in 2002, and one of Nintendo's lower-performing titles on the system.[28]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: くるりんパラダイス, Hepburn: Kururin Paradaisu

References

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  1. ^ "Kururin Paradise". Kotaku. February 11, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  2. ^ "Kururin Paradise sur Gameboy Advance". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  3. ^ "Famitsu Cube + Advance (2002-12)". Famitsu. December 21, 2002. p. 44.
  4. ^ a b "Nintendo Dream Issue 80". Nintendo Dream. December 21, 2002. p. 74-75.
  5. ^ a b c d e Kalata, Kurt (May 18, 2010). "Kururin Paradise". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Karweg, Bastian (June 2, 2005). "Kururin Paradise - Nintendo GBA Spiel". Planet Gameboy.de (in German). Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "E3 2002: Hands-on: Kururin Paradise". IGN. May 24, 2002. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d Bloodworth, Daniel (June 13, 2002). "Kururin Paradise Hands-on Preview". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c "Club Nintendo Año 11 Nº 07". Club Nintendo (in Spanish). July 2002. p. 22.
  10. ^ a b c Kururin Paradise Instruction Manual (PDF) (in Japanese). Eighting, Nintendo. 2002. pp. 1–28. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  11. ^ "Wii U Virtual Console software – Kururin Paradise". Nintendo (in Japanese). Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Eighting (December 6, 2002). Kururin Paradise (Game Boy Advance) (in Japanese). Nintendo. Scene: World 1 cutscene. Kappado: マジックのタネをのぞくからす~ / かえしてほしければ... このゲームで勝負だよ~
  13. ^ Eighting (December 6, 2002). Kururin Paradise (Game Boy Advance) (in Japanese). Nintendo. Scene: Ending cutscene.
  14. ^ Trunks (May 30, 2002). "Kuru Kuru quoi ?". Gamekult (in French). Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  15. ^ Eighting (December 6, 2002). Kururin Paradise (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits.
  16. ^ Bramwell, Tom (May 28, 2002). "Spinning Bird Kururin!". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  17. ^ Bloodworth, Daniel (May 21, 2002). "Kururin Paradise Preview". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d e Pierre (October 28, 2003). "Test de Kururin Paradise". Nintendo Difference (in French). Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  19. ^ Eighting (March 25, 2019), Kururin Paradise (iQue) (Prototype), Internet Archive, retrieved November 11, 2025
  20. ^ Somin (December 2, 2015). "『ルドラの秘宝』『逆転裁判 2』がWii U用VCで配信開始。12月9日には『メタルスレイダーグローリーDC』も - 電撃オンライン". dengekionline.com (in Japanese). Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  21. ^ Kato, Tsukui (December 2, 2015). "Wii Uバーチャルコンソール12月9日配信タイトル ― 『メタルスレイダーグローリー ディレクターズカット』『くるりんパラダイス』". Inside (in Japanese). Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  22. ^ "いろんな場面で大活躍！". Magic Encyclopedia. Nintendo. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  23. ^ "くるりんパラダイス". Famitsu. December 6, 2002.
  24. ^ Riley, Adam (September 17, 2016). "GBA 15th Anniversary: Stuck in Japan: 15 of the Best". Cubed3. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  25. ^ Puyo (December 12, 2002). "Charts Japon : 2 millions pour Pokémon". Gamekult (in French). Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  26. ^ "Week of 2002-12-02". Garaph (Media Create). December 12, 2002. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  27. ^ "Kuririn Paradise". Garaph (Media Create). Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  28. ^ "GBA first party". Garaph (Media Create). February 4, 2013. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023.
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