Why be a couch potato when you can be a fruit exerciser instead?

Not a lot of people expected Suika Game to become a global hit. Japanese developer Aladdin X’s cute and quirky puzzle game really took off in the past year, with its intuitive but challenging play mechanics, matching pieces of dropping fruit to create single pieces of bigger types of fruit, finding fans worldwide.

Of course, an unexpected video game hit means more time playing video games, which for many translates into less time spent exercising. So it’s nice that there’s now a way to get in your Suika Game session and get some exercise at the same time. The credit here goes to wellness app developer Issin, who realized that the simplicity of Suika Game’s design allows its user interface to be easily adapted to motion controls, resulting in Suika Game Exercise Version.

▼ Suika Game Exercise Version preview video

All you really need to do to play Suika Game is position the next piece of fruit where you want it between the left/right border of the playfield, then drop it down, and those inputs now correspond to body movements. Stretch your arms up above your head and hold them there, then bend to the left or right. Your phone’s camera will then transmit your movements to the app, and your fruit will move correspondingly on the screen.

Once you’ve got the fruit aligned where you want it, drop your arms down, give a bend at the knees, and the fruit will drop. Then you raise your arms as the next piece comes out for your next exercise rep.

Suika Game Exercise Version runs through Issin’s Smart 5min exercise lesson smartphone app, available as a free download here. There’s also a heart-rate monitoring wristband for purchase that adjusts the intensity of Smart 5min’s five-minute workouts, but it’s unclear whether or not its required in order to play Suika Game Exercise Version.

As you can see from the video, the objective of Suika Game Exercise Version is more stretching and maintaining flexibility than building muscle and burning fat. Still, compared to lying down on your sofa and simply swiping your thumbs, it’s a much more physically active way to get your Suika Game fix, and odds are at least a few people who fire up the Smart 5min app to play Suika Game Exercise Version will decide that, while they’re logged in, they may as well check out a more intense lesson too. There’s even potential for Issin, if the response is positive, to adapt the concept to other falling-item puzzle games like Tetris or Puyo Puyo, maybe even adding those games’ two-player versus modes for some literally healthy competition between workout buddies.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: YouTube/issin・ヘルスケア
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Follow Casey on Twitter, where yes, he realizes this concept could be applied to Puzzle Bomber and Puzzle Arena Toshinden too.