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Developer: NanaOn-Sha
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Genre: Strategy
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 14 Nov 06
User Rating
6 (1 vote)- Preview
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- Apart from the name, this is not a pet simulator, but rather a collection of quirky minigames. It's fun for a while, but lacks variety and depth to take it further.
Overview
It was not long ago when there was a craze that swept the United States that started with a little product called a Tamagotchi. A simple explanation of the device was a small mini game that required you to basically raise a virtual pet from 'conception' till death. These little devices became very popular, due to the fact that they're not expensive and are highly addictive. That craze died down a while ago, but with the success of Nintendogs it seems as though many developers have tried to capture the same sort of magic. Today we are going to check out Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop, a game that attempts to bring back the glory that it once had but this time it's not trying to be a virtual pet. Can they do just that? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
When I heard about this Tamagotchi game, I really thought this was going to be a game that made you in charge of a virtual pet. To my surprise when I opened the game up and put it in my Nintendo DS, I was shocked to find that this was actually not a virtual pet game, but instead a compilation of mini-games. The whole idea of the game is to go to these different shops and play different mini games. Seems easy enough right?
From my understanding of the game (it is a bit on the weird side), your goal in this game is to go to a shop work there by helping customers and playing a mini game enough times to earn money and earn the next shop. There are a total of eleven different shops that you will be able to play in, all of which host a mini game for your gaming pleasure. Of course you only start out with a few of these shops, and then of course work your way through the game. This idea is simple enough, and seems good, at least on paper.
When I began some of my first mini games, I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the ingenuity that the game held. The developers really had the idea that they wanted to use the DS to their advantage and did a lot in order to accomplish that. The first few mini games were enjoyable, but I pretty quickly came under the impression that by the game basically forcing you to do the same task over and over again, it diminished the quality of the mini game. For example, there is a mini game where you work at a dentist shop and it is your job to clean and fix teeth. While this may be interesting, but once the novelty wears off, you realize that they needed to find a better solution to model their game on.
The game tries to make you interested in making money so you can decorate your character's room, but this is just a complete joke, and for most people out there a complete waste of time. In a way I was glad to see the developers not go for another virtual pet game, but after getting so tired of these mini games (even as innovative as they were), maybe a virtual pet game would have been less repetitive.
Graphics
Visually the developers used a very weird and quirky color and visual theme throughout the game. The game combines a lot of color and style that I found very attractive for a game based on mini games. I think the developers used the color and the style to their advantage. And instead of having to do some crazy amount of detail just went with a weird look, and to me that worked for a game that I would consider to be weird on its own merits.
Fun Factor
Let's face it, if you are creating a game based on mini games, it is either going to be great or its not, there very rarely if ever is middle ground for these sorts of games. And unfortunately for Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop, this game falls on the bad side of the tracks. At first I saw potential in this game, but the developers did not manage to account for repetition and forced you to play the same mini game over and over again. I should say though for a while a lot of the mini games are a lot of fun to play, it is just too bad there couldn't have been more of them to keep repetition from happening so soon in the experience.
Overall
When I sit back and think about my experience with this game, I see a Tamagotchi game that tried not be a virtual pet game. I respect that decision by the developers to try something different for the series, but after this game I just feel like a virtual pet game would have been a better choice. There are some good mini games in Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop, but nothing that is worth coming back for seconds. If you are a fan of the series, the most I would recommend doing is renting this one.
- Gameplay
6.0 - Graphics
8.0 - Fun Factor
6.0 - Overall
6.0
