Reviewed by Brandy Shaul
Few characters have been so supported by fans worldwide as Sanrio’s line of Hello Kitty and friends. Created in the mid 1970’s, Kitty immediately stole the hearts of young girls in both Japan and the United States with her friendly nature and adorable appearance.
Since then, Sanrio has expanded Kitty’s world to include other friends like Cathy the bunny, and Tracy the raccoon.
And while the franchise may outwardly appear to appeal only to the younger age groups among us, Kitty is to this day adored by fans of all ages, and can be found gracing enough merchandise to make your head spin, with items such as stationary, clothing, furniture and of course, video games, just to name a few.
Come this October, fans will have yet another way to interact with their favorite feline, in Empire’s newest offering for the Nintendo DS: Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams. During a recent conference call about the game, Empire’s Project Management Guru P.J. Snavely explained what makes this title different from other Hello Kitty games of the past.
As the title suggests, in Kitty’s first 3D adventure on the DS, players will follow Kitty’s adventure from Sanrio Town into the Big City, as she makes her way from a standard, low-level apartment up to a top-floor penthouse.
Kitty’s progression through the game is achieved via a series of mini-games that have her helping friends both old and new. Mini-games include washing cars, making sushi, and assisting in fashion design. After each mini-game, Kitty will receive Friendship Points, which can then be used to not only purchase upgrades to Kitty’s appearance in terms of clothing, etc., but also to decorate your apartment with various themed items and to ride the game’s public transportation, which moves you from one area of the big city to the next.
Progression through the different mini-games also unlocks new items, which can then be used in any way you see fit. For instance, after winning an item from a toy crane machine, you can either keep it for yourself and place it in your apartment, or give it to a bystander who expresses a desire to have it.
As with most Hello Kitty titles, Big City Dreams focuses not only on the fun to be had by the player, but also on teaching important lessons as well (which is understandable considering that the game is targeted primarily at the 8-12 year old age bracket). Ideas like “sharing and helping friends is important” and “helping others brings a bigger return than being selfish” show that the game is perfect for youngsters, who will also benefit from certain mini-games which will help heighten their memorization and fine motor skills.
All in all, the title offers eight complete mini-games; that is, complete experiences which can be played on their own, but also includes various other, smaller tasks, like helping people you randomly meet on the street by coloring in their notebooks, or by taking pictures of animals on a boat when the captain is too busy to do so. Other smaller tasks include both baseball and fishing missions, as well as a jump roping session.
If it hasn’t been made clear already, this definitely won’t be the game to pick up if you’re interested in wild action and violence, as the entire title is very family friendly and focuses more on developing friendships than anything else. And with appearances from other popular Sanrio characters like Kerropi and Tuxedosam, among many others, the title is set to offer a large amount of fan service to those who have loved the franchise for years.
Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams is scheduled to be released on October 28th at a price point of $29.99. Be sure to check back with after the game’s release for a full review.