Animal Paradise > Video Game News, Inc.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Animal Paradise
By Sheep @ 3:30 PM :: 2063 Views ::

:: DS

Finally, a game based on Japan’s famous animal photographer Yoneo Morita’s brand of cutesy animal products. Not sure who that is? Search any department store’s school supply aisle and you will probably see her now common “fish eye lens” style of animal photography on multiple notebooks and folders. It’s almost as if that cuddly puppy is right up in your face. If all of this is still sounding too unfamiliar, you probably don’t have a pre-teen little sister or niece. Apparently, little girls love cute animals and this game tries to capitalize on that enduring fascination. But can a game based on cute animal pictures translate into an overall enjoyable experience on the DS?

The game begins with a short explanation of how to play and really stresses the need to save your game periodically. I’m unsure why the developers didn’t just include some type of auto save feature since the intended audience is pretty young, but at least the in-game guide reminds you to save every so often. After you are introduced to the basics, you are allowed to navigate around a large map with different locations to visit. Each location includes an animal to begin with; you eventually unlock more locations and animals with a total of eighteen different types. As you form a stronger bond with each animal and they become more comfortable with you (measured in how many hearts you have filled), you can unlock sets of pictures and mini-games. There are many ways to achieve this bond, including feeding, walking, bathing, and other touch screen-based activities. While simple, I can see younger players having a good time taking care of the animals, but one specific activity gave me trouble. The activity actually named “bond” has you rubbing your stylus on the animal to pet them with a little hand icon. Rub them the right way and the animal rolls over or otherwise show they are enjoying it until you gain a heart and move on. At one point, I found myself rubbing my Shiba’s crotch for five minutes until we finally “bonded,” and he allowed me to stop. I tried rubbing other spots but he gave me the grumpy sound, where as he gave me the “I’m loving it” sound when I rubbed his McNuggets. I had named him Vic after a former co-worker of mine, who coincidentally spent a few years in prison, so that made it a little stranger.

Beyond the “bonding” incident, Animal Paradise surprised me in a few different ways. I enjoyed the game’s simplistic anime look for the mini-games and human characters as it fit the game very well. The actual animals look slightly less polished than those found in Nintendogs; considering the amount of different creatures found in this game, I found that acceptable. The music and sound effects are also well done and compliment this type of game well. Interactions with the animals and the mini-games are not the most involving game play you will ever encounter, but the younger audience can still have fun here. My ten-year-old niece gave the game a try and found the game to be a little too simple, so I imagine the audience for this would be even younger. While the mini-games are not ground breaking, they at least provide some quick fun rather than out stay their welcome. The wide variety of animals, simple mini-games, and unlockable pictures actually make this a better choice for younger players than maybe Nintendogs. So if you are looking for a simple, yet still fun game for that cutesy animal lover in your life, I recommend Animal Paradise. The fact this game can be found for twenty dollars is a plus as well. Just be careful around my buddy, Vic.

7 out of 10

Comments

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