Barbie

"Come On, Barbie, Let's Go Party"

Estimated Gameplay Time: 1 hour

Once upon a dream…
The moment I laid my eyes on this cartridge when going through my collection of NES games, I was filled with disgust. I couldn't believe I had this game sitting next to my Mega Man games. At that time, I hated that game. Recently, I was thinking about games to sell and I considered this game. Then, I realized something. I never even played it. I hated a game I never even tried, simply because it was Barbie. That seemed like a dumb reason to hate a game, so I wanted to make sure my instincts were correct. I was wrong.

Yes, I like this game. No, I’m not kidding. Yes, I am ashamed. Although at first I was fairly unimpressed, the game won me over. The entire game is a combination of solid platform gameplay with interaction between helpers that can get you points and across the level. There is a lot of variety in game, as the levels can vary between degrees of platforming and clever puzzles that the helpers are used for. Even the bosses are original and fun, and they combine defense and offense very well for a merchandised game, even considering that the bosses included such monstrous entities like floating clothes or a jukebox. The game definitely gets better as it goes along. Although a minor gripe is that the levels near the end were much shorter than the beginning levels, they are just as, if not more, fun. The amazing variety will have you solving puzzles, swimming, jumping, and fighting your way to the end for the girly game ending, and you’ll enjoy it all.

The fighting system in this game is simple, but takes some practice. Barbie has an unlimited amount of crystals to throw that damage some enemies (mainly bosses), but also command helpers. While the helpers start out as merely to obtain points and move across the level, they become more important later on. You throw the crystals with B, but the longer you hold B, the farther it will go. Letting go of B will let the crystal float down. So, it takes some timing and thought of how to use the crystals against enemies or for helpers. To command the helpers, there are three different commands (switchable by Select), stop, go, and special. Stop and go are obvious commands for movement, but depending on the helper, the special command is different. For example, for a popcorn bag, it will cause it pop, but for a soda bottle, it will cause it to blow air. The helpers are all original and for different uses. Then there’s the music, which isn’t too bad most of time, but the theme for the 4th and 5th level is absolutely wonderful. It’s a great rendition of catchy doo-wop pop that’s driven me to the point where I had to record it.

The replayability in this game is surprisingly solid. The levels in the end are challenging enough to merit a few replays before beating it, and the amount of levels and variety are enough to keep it fresh for retracing.

But… yawn!…
The parts about this game that make it so easy to hate are its graphics and, well, Barbieness. The graphics aren’t too bad in the actual game, but Barbie looks like an alien in her bedside cutscenes. The overall color scheme of the game is incredibly tacky. The only time the game takes a break from making the entire background pink and purple is the underwater level, but even then the castles look “Tickle Me Pink”-colored. The plot doesn’t help much either. She’s in a dream state, which does allow for completely random things to happen, but considering she dreams about going through malls to get diamond shoes, it’s really a sad plot. Combining the cutesy graphics and the sappy plot makes this easily one of the unmanliest games ever made.

Judging from the reviews of this game, it seems that this is either a ''Love it or hate it'' game. Me? I'm addicted. You may find its pure platforming levels annoying, its gameplay uninteresting, and it's style insipid, but I feel the opposite. Either way, it won't hurt to pick up this game for too much. Although you may feel a little bit more feminine for playing this game, you may also find some redeeming gameplay in this game. You may never have a better time with Barbie.

Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 6/10
Sound: 8/10
Challenge: 7/10
Replayability: 9/10

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/04