While it’s no surprise to see Super Mario Bros. Wonder sitting pretty at the top of the Nintendo eShop chart, the game in second place might make you double-take. There you find Suika Game, a cheap and cheerful puzzle game where the idea is to make some big old watermelons. Yes, you read that right.
We’re talking about actual watermelons here, there’s no innuendo going on, as the goal of the game is to combine pieces of fruit to ultimately make a watermelon without breaching a certain limit. Think Tetris but with a big bowl of delicious fruit and an actual end goal. It might sound simple enough, especially compared to some of the titles on our list of the best Switch puzzle games, but this one has quickly earned a reputation as the “hardest game in Japan”. That is, at least according to popular YouTubers like Ludwig, ConnorDawg, and more.
While it’s not quite clear why Suika Game is trending quite as much as it is, we’re pretty sure the perception surrounding how difficult the game is has something to do with it. YouTube is currently full of clips of content creators making a melon of themselves trying to combine fruit into a watermelon, with the smiling fruit on-screen eliciting some real gamer rager when it doesn’t neatly fall in line. It also sounds like one of those games you just can’t put down when you start it, with Pocket Tactics staff writer Holly admitting to accidentally losing a whole lunch break to it. So, if you value your spare time, be careful with this one.
If you want to check the game out for yourself, it’s currently available on the Nintendo eShop for $2.99, which is almost less than an actual watermelon. You can now enjoy English language support, too, with that arriving via an update today, a few days after the original October 20 release date.
If you want a better idea of what to expect, check out the clip below from streaming sensation Ludwig beating the game in less than an hour. Unfortunately, an official version of the game from publisher Aladdin X isn’t currently available on mobile, but with all the attention it’s gaining it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it on Android or iOS in the near future.
There you have it, our thoughts on the Suika Game trend taking the internet, and the Nintendo eShop, by storm. So watch your back, Mario, there’s some smiling fruit right behind you. Speaking of Mario, check out our thoughts on the plumber’s latest adventure in our Super Mario Bros. Wonder review.