from surface to dragon-mouthed-sunken-alien-mothership, Puzzle Uo Poko is a masterclass in charm and craft. the designers could have mapped the game's one input decision into a simple button. and yet the chose the joystick, because they knew it would be a thrilling skeumorph of driving a ship AND pulling a spring. gravity animations, bubble trapping, shot path hiding, shot path showing, the tumbling breakable block sprites, the deeply difficult and seemingly random penultimate stage to the victory lap megacombo of the final -- these choices carry a game made to delight, a game for which the word "delightful" was made. Puzzle Uo Poko stands on the precipice of the 2D arcade game's past, staring forward to the glitzy 3d future with solemn serene knowledge that it attained a perfection, if not enlightenment. however: NOT OCHIMONO