Note
As of the time of making this review, Suika Game Planet has yet to see a release on the eShop outside of Japan, but it is going to release in North America and Europe on January 5, 2026 followed by a release in Southeast Asia on January 8. Even with that said, the version I bought from the Japanese eShop comes with fully English support.
Story & Gameplay
Believe it or not, Suika Game Planet features a very light story. On a distant, unknown planet called the Fruit Planet, the inhabitants (which are fruit) dream of becoming watermelons. From there, the fruit set off on a journey with the goal of being transformed into watermelons. It’s a cute, simple addition to the game.
Suika Game Planet looks to shake things up a little bit in terms of gameplay and this plays in well with the story. While the original Suika Game had players dropping fruit into a container from above an effort to match a variety of fruit, Planet gives players the ability to drop them into a 360 degree “planet.” The controls here are very similar. Making use of the left or right on the joystick or d-pad, or by pressing L or R, controls a small spaceship that holds the next piece of fruit. Using B or X while pressing traveling around the planet can speed up movement. A is used to drop the fruit. These all fall towards the center of the planet.
Of course, if you put in too many, you risk the fruit flying off the planet into the vacuum of space. There is a little bit more leeway here as opposed to the original game. The planet can allow the fruit to stick out a little bit before they fly completely out of orbit. Even when fruit are outside of the planetary barrier, there is a window of five seconds to do as much as you can to get it back in there. This can be frantic, yet fun, and offers a little bit more than what the previous game did.
The same evolution track (which is show on the bottom right hand of the screen) for the fruit remains. Match two cherries and they change into a strawberry. Two strawberries become a cluster of grapes. Two sets of these become an orange and so on. What has changed is now the implementation of what is called Super Evolution. As you play and fruit evolves, the gauge on the lower right hand side of the screen will fill up. When this is full, you’ll enter Super Evolution. Making matches earns more points and can be extended by making more matches. It’s a cool addition that adds occasional urgency to what is typically a pretty laid back game.
Multiplayer, Online & GameShare
The Switch and Switch 2 versions of Suika Game Planet are identical with the exception of one feature - GameShare. Using this, players with a Switch 2 copy of the game can share and play with up to three others with either Switch or Switch 2 for local multiplayer. While I think this addition is awesome, Planet does not offer any other multiplayer options with the base game. Online daily, monthly and overall rankings are here, but competitive play is limited to GameShare. This feels like a missed opportunity to me. The original Suika Game also did not feature online or two player modes until it was added via DLC later on. That game had quite a bit of a different development trajectory than Planet. Those additions seemed reactive, or an effort to capitalize on the sudden explosion in popularity. With Planet being developed after that, I’m kind of baffled as to why mutliplayer wasn’t included with the base game. Sure, it can (and probably will) be added via DLC later, however it would have been nice for that to be here from the start.
Customization & DLC
There are a handful of different customization options with Suika Game Planet. There are a few options for both your profile picture as well as for the stage layout. A number of these can be unlocked by accomplishing certain tasks in the game via an achievement system. In addition to this, you can change the look of the planet, fruit and backgrounds. This can be done individually or in pre-made sets. This is a bit of a minor addition to the game, but it can be great to change things up a bit. DLC is already on offer for Planet in the form of a pre-made set called “Solar System.” More will likely come down the line, and just for the purpose of this review, I plunked down the ¥150 for it. If you’re looking for a new look, it’s here. Is it worth it? Well, maybe not for most.
Visuals, Audio & Presentation
Suika Game Planet is a clean looking game featuring simple, cute and colorful graphics. Everything here is 2D and looks the part. Unlike the previous title, there is a bit more going on this time visually, but nothing too crazy. Audio is also okay, but the main theme song from the past game is still used here. I would have liked to see something new be introduced here, but it’s fine. Given the simple nature of the game, things also run quite smoothly here as well.
Conclusion
While the power of the Nintendo Switch 2 might not add much to the game visually, Suika Game Planet is an interesting take on the original concept. The gameplay remains solid, the physics system from the previous title remains (which is a good thing), and the customization options are nice. Still, there’s not really too much content here. Sure, there are now some achievements that you can go after, but that might not be enough for some. The lack of multiplayer outside of GameShare is also a bit of a let down. It’s a fun game that can be used to fill some time here and there, but don’t go in expecting anything super deep.
But, let’s turn things over to you guys. Did you pick up Suika Game Planet? Did you pick up the original? Sound off in the comments down below. We’d love to hear from you.
by Danny Bivens
Final Score: 7.0
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