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This version of Gem Smashers is a remake of the 2003 Game Boy Advance game with the same name. The gameplay stays the same as the original with the player controlling little creatures that bounce around single screen levels with the aim of smashing gems. The gems are of various colours and therefore it's necessary to change the creature to the corresponding colour by hitting specific colour changing blocks. The player also has to avoid the skull blocks that kill the player upon contact. The most noticeable difference from the original is the new look with three dimensional graphics. Some minor differences in gameplay exist too. For instance there are no lives so the player can continue playing no matter how many skulls he touches.

The remake consists of the same story mode as the original game as well as a battle mode for two players but lacks the arcade mode from the Game Boy Advance version. New is a tutorial as well as extra special content that can be unlocked by progressing through the story mode. On Nintendo 3DS there is one exclusive mode, Color-Cade, which consists of 30 small and fast paced levels where the player rotates around a pillar while destroying rocks.