Amazing Island

"Do the monster mash"

Amazing Island is an interesting, little gem that probably didn't sell well, because the goofy box art, cheesy name, and vague commercials don't explain what's really going on inside. When you are told you can make your own monsters, you literally make your own monsters. The game's main draw is its "patented" monster-maker, a unique program that takes 2D outlines and inflates them into 3D objects. So to make a monster, you select a frame, like a dragon or a human, and draw the individual body parts over the bones. Want one arm to be gangly and the other to be built with spikes? Want your monster's head to be paper-thin or not have a head at all? Well... nothing is stopping you from doing whatever you want.

Once the monster's body is set, you can accessorize it with hundreds of extras: hats, wings, gloves, horns, tails, and steel claws, to name a few. Like in drawing the monster's body, adding accessories comes with few limitations. You don't have to put a tail on just the body; you could have two tails protruding out of the monster's face to make it look like it has whiskers. Or you could cover him/her with hair pieces to create fur. There are also several patterns to choose from that act as the monster's skin, or you can paint your own. It's an incredibly robust monster-maker that is a real delight to use. The only downside to it is that each monster takes up eight blocks of memory, so you can only make as many as will fit on your memory card.

But what do you do with your monster once it's made? This is where Amazing Island starts to lose focus. It is supposed to be an adventure game, but the overworld is too small and doesn't allow you to do anything. Your character can't jump, and there are no enemies to sic your monster on. Instead, you are supposed to have your monster compete in mini-games. These mini-games aren't of your typical variety, however. They are actually difficult and somewhat complex. One game involves you running towards a lake by tapping A repeatedly, then holding the analog stick down before jumping off a cliff to gain power, and finally flicking the analog stick to skip across the water's surface. It's a lot to do in just one mini-game, and that game alone took me several tries to beat.

Because they're mini-games, however, they do get old, especially since there are only 30 in all. You need to play them multiple times, though, in order to unlock all of the patterns and accessories. You get money to buy accessories every time you beat a mini-game, and getting a high enough score gives you a free accessory automatically. Entering and winning a mini-game tournament also grants you a new body frame for the monster editor. So there's a lot of incentive to keep playing, even though it can get kind of tedious.

There is a multiplayer mode on top of this. Very few of the games allow for simultaneous play, however, which means you and your friends will have to take turns. Kind of defeats the purpose of mini-games, doesn't it? Those that do let you play at the same time are bogged down by too many menus, as well. After each game, you have to take turns re-uploading the monster you want to use from the memory card. By the time you get into a new mini-game, a good two minutes has passed. In fact, menus ruin a lot of this game. The monster editor may be fun, but you have to go through a lot of menus and confirmation boxes. Even the simple task of saving and quitting requires clicking OK about ten times. It's one of the worst interfaces I've seen in a video game.

Amazing Island is still a charming game, though. The graphics are very soft, simple, and cute. Seeing one of your own monsters come to life is a lot of fun, too. Your creations almost always have feet that sink into the ground, but it's a minor gripe. As for the music, it's surprisingly good. The background melodies for the monster editor and overworld are fairly mellow and relaxing but have just enough kookiness and drum beats to keep them interesting. The mini-game music, however, sounds like your typical Mario Party style. It fits, but it also sounds ripped off.

Final Comments:
If you are at all into creating monsters, you will thoroughly enjoy this game. Amazing Island features a very robust monster-making that is an absolute blast to see in action. The overwhelming amount of accessories and ability to draw your own body parts ensure no two monsters will ever look alike. But once the monster is made, there's not a lot to do with it. I want to be able to take my monster on a real adventure instead of making it play silly mini-games over and over. This is just wistful thinking, of course, because I'm sure we'll never see another game like this. And that's reason enough to pick up a copy of Amazing Island.

Points:
+ Amazing monster-making technology
+ Tons of unlockable accessories
+ Mini-games are actually hard
-- Not much to do with your monster once it's made
-- Clunky menu interface
-- Multiplayer is a wasted effort

Score: 8.0

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/07