Q Entertainment has dropped details, in the recent issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu, on a new game in development for Nintendo DS called Connect the Sounds! Gunpey Reverse. The title is a music-puzzle-game based on the 1999 Gunpey for Wonderswan.
Gunpey Reverse will be published by Namco Bandai later this year. Tetris-style gameplay involves diagonal lines moving from the bottom of the screen to the top. It's up to the player to use the Nintendo DS stylus to arrange the diagonal pieces so they form a complete line, which will then disappear. Each cleared line emits a sound that can be matched with background music. The game ends if the screen is filled.
The name Gunpey originates from Wonderswan creator Gunpei Yokoi. Yokoi got his start in the industry at Nintendo. He created several of the company's early blockbuster inventions including the Game & Watch and Game Boy handhelds. He was also the creator of the failed Virtual Boy project. After the Virtual Boy floundered in the market in 1996, Yokoi left Nintendo to form a company of his own called Koto Laboratory. There he partnered with Bandai to develop the Wonderswan portable. Unfortunately, his life was cut short due to a fatal car accident in 1997. Yokoi will always be remembered for his innovation and contributions to portable video games.
Q Entertainment will likely do Yokoi's name justice. The company is quickly making a name for itself in the video game industry with titles such as Meteos and Lumines. The studio was formed in 2004 by former Sega producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, a man known for his work on titles such as Rez, Space Channel 5 and Sega Rally.