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My Little Pony Pinkie Pie's Party review

Game: My Little Pony Pinkie Pie's Party
Platform: DS
Genre: Raising Casual
Developer: THQ

Reader review by threetimes

January 16, 2009

Before starting to write this review, I tried to think about who might read it. Unlikely to be the small children for whom this game is designed, and most likely to be some long suffering parent, trying to find a good reason to resist the demand for yet more My Little Pony related merchandise. If you fall into this category, then I'm sorry to say that I have bad news for you. This game is surprisingly good, and in fact I would recommend it for any girl or boy who likes pink ponies and opening lots of presents.

The premise is simple. It's Pinkie Pie's birthday and her pony friends have hidden her presents (20 altogether). The aim is to find them all, and then open them! There is an additional task which involves collecting some jigsaw puzzle pieces and completing a picture. When I first played the game I thought it would be easy enough to find all the presents amongst the few houses and couple of streets of Pinkie's Pie's world, but it proved to be a little more complicated. What is quite clever about the game, is that you have to get clues by talking to various ponies both inside and outside the houses, and then they direct you to another location where the present will appear, or a new mini-game for you to play, and success at this will net another gift.

These games make very good use of the DS's capabilities. Although you move Pinkie Pie using the directional buttons, everything else is accomplished with the stylus. Many games involve both screens, and you can even draw on the bottom screen for one game, and blow into the microphone, for another. In fact there are 8 fun little games you can play for the presents, which are also playable from the menu screen, once you have discovered them. Besides these, there are other small tasks that must be completed: these range from washing a scooter clean, to watering a garden. Some of the mini-games are quite ingenious, as they are both simple and yet enchanting to play. My favourite was one where you had three hot air balloons that are used to catch lots of coloured balloons. You use the stylus on the bottom screen to move the hot air balloons up to the top screen, where the coloured balloons appear. Maybe that bare description doesn't do justice to the game, but it's incredibly soothing and relaxing, watching red, blue, green and yellow balloons slowly drifting down the top screen as you manoeuvre the bigger ones underneath to catch them.

Other games involve blowing up balloons for the party, and decorating a large birthday cake with different coloured icing, lettering and candles. Or dancing with a blue pony, racing a scooter along a path strewn with obstacles in the form of brightly coloured balls and teapots, or catching butterflies by circling them with the stylus to draw a red line around them. Everything is beautifully depicted, although pink is the predominant colour! Each pony's house is unique, and you can tap all kinds of little things as you wander around, and watch small windmills turn, worms dance, or balloons float.

This attention to detail is shown in the interface too. There is a detailed map of all the houses and streets on the top screen, and a small pink pony will show Pinkie Pie's exact location, so there is no danger of getting lost! Also, each new target for finding a present is highlighted with a gold star. (Something I didn't notice at all at first, as I went charging off in search of presents, but it's very helpful.) There is even a count kept, of each puzzle piece or present you find. And you don't have to wait to open them, because each one (and they are individually and beautifully wrapped) is shown on another screen, and when you have found it, you can unwrap it and play with it. Unwrapping involves brushing the stylus over the present, and watching as the paper and ribbons slowly disappear to reveal the gift.

It really started to feel like a proper birthday! Each gift is unique, such as a flower that grows when you water it, a simple reading book, a spinning top, some drums, or a bubble-blowing wand, and you can interact with them all. The only downside is that, once opened, all you can do is play with them and, as in real life, you can't have the thrill of opening them again... Except you can! You can simply play the whole game again, on another save file.

I enjoyed Pinkie Pie's Party. The music had me happily humming along, and the charming games and sweet little presents captivated me. There is nothing bad about the game, beyond the fact that it's very short. For an adult it might take about half an hour to complete the whole thing, but that's an enjoyable half an hour. For a child, I expect it would last a bit longer, though I must admit I haven't yet tested this out, as I was too busy playing with all my presents. If you like alliteration, pink ponies, parties and presents (and who doesn't!) then Pinkie Pie's Party is a good choice for you, or your little ones.

Rating: 9/10

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