"An excellent demonstration of the DS's chatting capabilities!"

Ahh, Ping Pals. The name induces a smile in some, yet a cringe in others. I'm here to tell you why this game deserves the smile.

Gameplay: 9/10

Sure, it may be a simple concept. You buy and trade items such as clothing, hairstyles, (and lots of them to boot, in all different shapes and sizes, or even holiday themed!), earrings, glasses, backgrounds for your chatting area, etc., through a shop, chat with your friends , be they real (even if they don't have a copy of Ping-Pals for themselves) or built into the game (with a feature called Solo-Chat), and play the minigames to earn coins to spend in your shop. The minigames are various popular games that are easily achieved through the chatting system, such as Top 10, Hot Potato, and so on. Also included is a Credits feature, and snapshots, to capture any text or pictures you have written.

Chatting wise, this game is very similar to PictoChat. Though it lacks the ability to directly copy a friend's message, a simple tap of the B button will entirely remove your text, perfect if you're in a hurry to write something new or made a large mistake.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics are designed in the currently popular anime style, meant to look very cutesy, such as characters without a nose. It sounds weird on text, but it comes out great when you play the game. So are the special backgrounds, which show off nice artwork, in many different theme-related styles.

Music/Sound: 10/10

As cutesy as the graphics. There's a theme to fit almost every occasion. Whether you want it to be hip Retro, eerie Space, relaxing Garden, or just a cute tune, they've got it! Better yet, these come part of a set including sound effects in the same style as the music!

Story: N/A or 1/10, depending on point of view

The thing about a chatting game is that there's not much room for story. Sure, there's a little intricate detail in the Solo-Chat minigame, but that's about it.

Replayability: 10/10

With the endless possibilities for clothes, music, and character design, you may be playing this game for years to come, just to get them all!

Overall: 9/10

This may not be a game for everyone, as chatting isn't always considered the funnest thing out there, but if you liked PictoChat, and want to see what else your Nintendo DS can do, then this is most certainly the game for you!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/05