Nintendogs: Chihuahua and Friends

"If It Wasn't For The Cuteness, This Pup Would Be Put To Sleep"

Picture a dog in your brain. The puppy would be cute, full of life, tail-wagging, panting. Cuddly, it would be, and that is what Nintendogs misses the most. It isn't really that bad, seeing how Nintendo did many things right, but on the other hand did many things wrong. But, somehow, the game is cute all the way through.

You start the game going to the kennel to pick up your little companion. There are three versions of Nintendogs and each of them features different sets of canines for you to choose from. It doesn't really matter which version you buy, because you will unlock all the dogs at the end of the game. At the kennel, you can only buy one puppy, but over the course of the game, you can own up to three. You really can't customize your dogs in any fun way (all you can really choose for your dog is fur patterns and the basic colors). No freak dogs, sadly.

After naming your dog, you have to start training it. To do this, first you yell into the DS' microphone your dog's name over and over again until the dog remembers it. After that, you move on to commands like sit, lie down, and roll.

After the dog learns these moves, what do you do with him? You take care of him, that's what! You have to feed your dog, take him for walks, scratch him mercilessly, and the like. You get $500 to take care of your dog, so that should provide you with plenty of food, water, toys, shampoo, and so on. The way to get more money is to put it on display and put him in competitions.

There are three competitions you can choose from. First, there is the Disc Competition, which is a Frisbee throwing challenge. Secondly, there is Obedience, which gives you points if you're dog can follow voiced commands. Lastly, there is Agility, which lets you tap your way through a time course. One problem is your dog doesn't have much stamina, so if you drain it all in one course, you have to wait until the in-game day changes. That is approx. 15 minutes real-life time, so fun waiting!

Your dog can only learn so many tricks and do so many things each day. The game tries to make it realistic by forcing you to give your dog a rest each day. This game is better played in short-stretches, and not in long sessions.

This game reminds me a lot of the original the Sims. Why? Because your dog doesn't age, so there really isn't a goal to the game. The time you spend playing the game gets incredibly repetitive after at least a few days. Every day is practically the same, because after you teach your dog all the tricks it needs to know, there isn't really much left for you to do.

One interesting mechanic is the bark mode. You turn this mode on, but the DS in your pocket, and it will start barking when another Nintendogs-DS owner is near you. The problem is, where I live, it isn't Japan, and the Land of the Rising Sun seems to be the only place where you can go up to a complete stranger and start playing the DS with them. I really can't picture many people doing that in the US or Canada even.

The game is amazing with detail just because of the animations. The dogs move really life-like, and they act like a real dog would. They will pant, play fights, sometimes lick themselves. It is amazing detail that isn't found on many DS games. Other than the animations, the game is rather quite dull. The environments outside where you take your dog for a walk are incredibly boring, with no interaction whatsoever.

Other than the cute sounds the puppies make, the audio is really quite lacking. The music tracks are boring and repetitive as it loops a lot.

Nintendogs certainly captures the essence of a dog, but forgets that it is a game. DS owners looking for a fun companionship (and are too lazy to buy a real dog), should give this a try. But after a few days, this pup will be put to sleep.

+Cute Puppies
+Animate Incredibly Well
+You Will Definitely Love Them
-But Not If You Love Games
-Gets Repetitive Quick
-Gets Boring Too Quickly

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/26/05