I never had the chance to play the original ChuChu Rocket! 10 years ago on the SEGA Dreamcast. I didn’t have a Dreamcast back then. In fact, I think I was playing with the PSX back in 2000, and I’m sure I had a Game Boy Color. A few years later I bought the GBA, a Game Cube and a PS2 – but I never bothered grabbing a Dreamcast to check out the gems released by SEGA and other 3rd party developers. I regret that, mostly because I’m still lacking knowledge in true masterpieces such as Shenmue (although this one’s been re-released on the Xbox) or Jet Set Radio.

Luckily enough for me, looks like iOS devices are somehow here to save the day and allow us to re-enjoy games first appeared years ago and now ready to come to life again under the power of multi-touch. That’s exactly what’s happening with ChuChu Rocket! HD for iPad: released a decade ago and subsequently redesigned to appear on the Game Boy Advance, the game’s now running on the iPad taking advantage of its larger screen and touch controls.

So why is this a Weekly Game anyway? Because it’s as genius as it was 10 years ago, and it’s a truly addictive puzzle game.

For those of you not familiar with ChuChu Rocket, here’s the gist: you have to guide one or multiple mice around a board to reach a specific goal – usually a rocket to let the mice fly away and complete the level. To guide these mice, you have to place arrows on the path they’ll walk on, thus allowing them to turn left/righ and up/down. In fact, you can’t really control the movements of the mice: once you hit the “Dash” button, they’ll start moving following their own pattern and the arrows you placed on the ground. Their own pattern is: go ahead and turn right when facing obstacles and/or walls. Simple. Oh, also: you have to avoid cats that will kill your mice, and you can use arrows for them, too.

So while the concept is really simple and can be cut down to “guide some mice across a board”, the fun begins when levels become intricate and some thinking is required to complete them. Seriously, some levels are crazy. Some look impossible but they require a very stupid solution instead. ChuChu Rocket! HD surprises and keeps you focused throughout all the game (145 levels) and never fails to impress with its schemes, patterns and clever implementations.

I never played the original ChuChu Rocket, but I’m glad I can enjoy the iPad version today. With the iPad’s large screen, multi-touch and all those levels to complete, looks like it’s been a worth wait. Available at $2.99 in the App Store.