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Barbie As The Island Princess

I started Barbie As The Island Princess with high hopes that this game will capture my attention or at least enough attention for me to finish the game and believe me, it did. As soon as the game booted up, I decided to give the dressing room a quick look around to see what I can do. Of course, I haven't played any yet so I couldn't mess around as much as I'd like because you only started off with one of each. Later when I gather more accessories, dresses, and shoes I'll be sure to give an update on the dressing room.

The story: Unknowingly to me, this game is basically filled with mini games involving a young Barbie and all sorts of fun island related things like gathering sea shells with a net, bouncing coconuts onto an elephants back, etcetera. By playing these mini games, you get the opportunity to unlock new locations and new accessories, dresses, and shoes! The fun doesn't stop there, oh no. The fun is in the gameplay.

The graphics/sound: The graphics and the sound aren't pushing the hardware to the limits but they're also not unpleasant. The graphics are a mixture of pre-rendered backgrounds with animated characters and animals and sometimes even pre-rendered 3D character sprites. The 3D cut scenes are well made and the voice acting is hit and miss. Sometimes during the mini games Barbie taunts you with her over repetitive phrases she loves to babble. Say “I love fruit” five more times Barbie and see what happens. The music is actually pretty decent for a title I wouldn't normally expect much form the sound front.

The gameplay: The gameplay is rather fulfilling in a sense that it does what it's suppose to do and it does it rather well. Though if you want original ideas, innovative gameplay, or anything beyond a game filled with mini games, I suggest you look else where. The only problem I often found is that the mini games often don't take advantage of the Nintendo DS' unique touch feature and duel screens. For being, what I'd assume, a mature young adult, I often found the games easy, repetitive, and over all boring, not to say that you wont have some fun. By completing sets of mini games that are themed with areas that you unlock, you unlock.. new areas! The fun doesn't stop there. There's endless hours of gameplay to be had in the dressing room.

The dressing room can be a little fun but that too gets boring fast. Because of the low resolution, you cannot even really tell her shoes were changed or if she's indeed wearing any accessories at all. Though getting three stars on every mini game isn't very hard or bragable, it sure does give you options in terms of the dressing room.

There are a total of four areas with three mini games in each area with brings out to a abysmal twelve mini games. Don't you get more 'free' mini games in the DS Mario games? Sorry for the spoilers. The four areas are Deserted Island, Royal Ship, Apolloian Castle, and Royal Greenhouse each with their own mini games tailored to the specific area.

The final word:

The Good: Kind of fun mini games that will hold your attention for a little while. Collecting and dressing up Barbie in articles of clothing was never so much fun. Also, on a good note, the game is very easy. How is this good? It's a good chance for you to give yourself a self esteem boost if you're not particularly good at video games. Here's an example. One of the mini games called for me to get three drawings right to receive the best prize... by the end, I had a score (drawings) of 21.

The Bad: Mini games, while they may start off a little fun, are repetitive and you often find yourself wishing they'd end and fast. The only reason you keep playing is to collect new stuff to dress Barbie up in. And besides all those downfalls, the game has almost no replay value because once you've collected all the dresses, shoes, and accessories there is no reason to endure the torture that are labeled 'mini games'. Not only that but I finished the game in under two hours.

The Verdict: If you're not a prepubescent girl, a Barbie fan, a parent of a child, or fan of repetitive gameplay and uninspiring mini games, I suggest you rent it before you buy it. If you happen to see this game in the bargain bin, it's worth the laugh and minutes of fun as long as you don't spend over $10 on it.

also seen on: PC, Wii, PS2, and GBA 

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