Reviewed: December 13, 2007
Reviewed by: Stacey Meade
Publisher
Activision
Developer
Human Soft
Released: October 30, 2007
Genre: Adventure
Players: 1
5
5
5
5
5.0
Supported Features
Barbie first arrived in 1959 and ever since young girls have been crazy over the beautiful Barbie doll. Barbie can be a doctor or an astronaut. Barbie has appeared in movies, video games, toys, and even clothing lines. Barbie has inspired girls around the world to become all that they can be. Barbie has let girls know that they can be more than just house wives and mothers, but she also allows them to realize what joy motherhood can be. Now Barbie comes to us in the form of Barbie as The Island Princess for the Nintendo DS.
While playing Barbie as the Island Princess for the Nintendo DS you will be able to explore many different and exciting areas. This game pretty much follows the storyline of the movie. You start off on the island where young Barbie was marooned as a child. You will get to meet all of her friends on the island. Miraculously Barbie, Princess Rosella has obtained the ability to talk to animals. But don’t worry she has no trouble at all talking to the Prince Antonio.
Each level of the game you will have to earn 9 stars to pass to the next area. There are 4 areas in all. The first area the Deserted Island you will have to beat the 3 mini-game of Coco Catch, Pearl Plunge, and Island Tales. During Coco Catch you will have to bounce coconuts to your friend the baby elephant. During Pearl Plunge, you will have to collect items from within the sea with a basket all the while trying to avoid the crabs and fish. Island Tales is a game where you help teach the prince how to speak animal by drawing around the shape of certain items.
Once the Deserted Island completed you will travel to the Royal Ship. Here you will play the mini-game of Ringing Bells, Galley Grab, and Bebop Bubbles. Ringing Bells is a game of memory. You must remember and correctly strike each bell to earn points. During Galley Grab, you run back and forth using the d-pad carrying fruit to and from the ship to barrels. But watch out for the seagulls. Bebop Bubbles is games where you have to keep bubbles off the ground until they pop in the air. To achieve this Rosella must run underneath each bubble and smack them back up into the air.
Then you will visit the Apollonian Castle. Here you will have to complete the mini-games of Belles of the Ball, Queen’s Bouquet, and Star Gazing. During Belles of the Ball Rosella must dance correctly to each song you will do this by tapping on the touch screen at the right time. While playing the Queen’s Bouquet you will have to gather flowers using the d-pad in a certain color order. Star Gazing is a game where you will have to draw constellations in the same order as they were originally drawn.
Last but not least you will visit The Royal Greenhouse. Here you must complete the mini-quests Lullaby Song, Night Light, and Rose Bug. During Lullaby Song you will have to tap the touch screen at the right time to complete the song. Night Light is a game where you have to catch different colored fireflies and put them in their correct cages. During Rose Bug you will have to catch the various bugs that have infiltrated the rose garden. Each mini game requires around 300 points to obtain a star which is pretty easy. So everyone should be able to enjoy all the mini-games.
As you complete each mini-game you can earn special items for Rosella. You can obtain dresses, jewelry, and shoes to dress up Rosella. You will be able to mix and match all of the items. You will be able to choose from Rosella’s simple island dresses to her extravagant ball room dresses. This is really fun for young girls who have a strong fashion sense.
The graphics in Island Princess are pretty good for this kind of game. They are pulled directly from the animated movie, and I was actually impressed on how well the movie graphics come across on the Nintendo DS. The mini-game graphics are mediocre at best. I really thought that they could have put more effort into the visuals for these games. However this game is geared towards young children so you can’t really fault them for the games’ simplicity.
The sound in this game is pretty much the same song over and over. You will also here Rosella and the other characters speaking to you. They could have changed up the sound and made it more enjoyable. But I know that they wouldn’t want to stray from the sound of the movie. However, they could have added more sound effects. The sound on this game was a disappointment they could have added a whole lot more songs and action sounds to this game. Small things are missing that make the game less interesting.
This game, in stores, costs $29.99. I think that is a fair price because many young girls would enjoy playing this. I also think that this is a game that parents will be able to safely allow their children to play because it does not include any sort of violence. I think this is a fun game and I know many girls would spend hours having fun and playing it.
I think this game is a great family game. However, this game only took me about 45 minutes to complete. A young child with some gaming skill would probably have this game beat with an hour and a half. The mini-games can be played again and again but they are not very entertaining after a while. But this game does offer the option to play dress up with Barbie which as a young girl I loved to do.
Overall, I would recommend this game to parents who want something fun and safe for their children. This game was fun for me to play but it’s very simplistic I would not recommend it for adults and teenagers as they would find it juvenile.
