Strawberry Shortcake and her sweet friends are back for a second adventure on the DS, but don’t expect the same type of game as before. Where Strawberry Shortcake Strawberryland was aimed at the kindergarten crowd and featured a collection of simple mini-games, Strawberry Shortcake The Four Seasons is a Cake of a different flavor. This is a straightforward platforming game, with a few arcade style mini-games that are placed at the end of each season. Parents that may expect the same type of easy gameplay will be very surprised.

Each year Strawberryland is host to a baking contest. This is a very big deal, and everyone is always ready to participate. This year, Strawberry and her friends decide to make a four season cake, by collecting special ingredients across Strawberryland. So much for the story.

Strawberry Shortcake The Four Seasons Cake is much more challenging than the first one and is really for preteen girls. In fact, the later levels are difficult enough that some preteens may have a hard time playing.  Still, for the dedicated and experienced young girl gamer, there is a lot to like about The Four Seasons.

For one, the graphics are gorgeous! I was instantly amazed by the bright, vivid colors in the levels. The characters and objects are very detailed, and so are the environments. The game is a scrolling 2D platformer, but the objects are spaced at different depths to give a 3D appearance. The result is very attractive.

The game is divided into four seasons, with eight main levels in each season and a bonus level. There is also a mini-game at the end of each season, for a total of four. The seasons are strictly platforming fare, with the requisite jumping around to higher areas, manipulative puzzles to solve and objects to collect. As in most platform games, Strawberry will spend much of her time jumping up to the higher platforms in order to collect certain items, in this case, berries. The controls are designed well and are for the most part accurate.

The platforming aspect of the game is the strongest point, and is interesting and varied. Early on in the game, Strawberry will use a carnival-type ride to reach a higher area. This ride resembles a flat part shaped like a plate, which is attached to a long, pole-like handle. This plate will rotate around the pole in an up/down circular motion like a ferris wheel. Strawberry will have to run from side to side to get the plate to swing back and forth and eventually rotate all the way around. This was pretty cool. Another fun feature is the use of bubbles to make bouncing bubbles. Strawberry can blow bubbles to encase specific items, which then can be jumped on to get to higher places.

In other areas, Strawberry will need to figure out what actions to take to move items, in order to use other items to get around. Sometimes she will use a type of “butt-stomp” to pound down items in order to open up areas. At first, Strawberry can only jump to get around, but after each mini-game at the end of each season, she will gain a new powerup, which can be used in the rest of the game. The last powerup, though, is only used in certain sections. The first three are a paraglider, a pogo stick and a set of swimming goggles.

While these elements are common in most decent platformers and are not usually noteworthy just for their inclusion, their inclusion is worth noting in this type of game because these types of interesting gameplay features are not typically found in a children’s game. It is obvious that the designers put a good amount of effort toward including diverse aspects to the general gameplay. 

However, there are a few negative features to these platforming levels. While there are no enemies to fight, there are a lot of hazards that have to be avoided. These hazardous obstacles are often difficult to avoid, especially a type of bouncing ball. Strawberry only has three lives, and if she dies, it is back to the beginning, or to the middle if the mid checkpoint was reached. While the controls are good, Strawberry doesn’t run very fast and it is hard to gauge the exact timing to run under the ball without getting struck. This wouldn’t matter so much if there were additional life points that could be collected.  There aren’t.

Another problem is the blind jumping that Strawberry must sometimes do. The R and L buttons can be used to pan slightly up and down, but this doesn’t help see some of the obstacles that are either high above or too low to see. Oftentimes there is a hazard lurking in a lower level.

Besides the straight platforming, there are also items that can be manipulated, like poles that can be raised and lowered by stomping on them, which will in turn raise and lower other poles. Discovering which poles to move and how far to move them is part of the puzzle.

The mini-games are all fun and well-designed, especially the snowmobile one. Strawberry will ride a snowmobile down a slope, making jumps off of ramps and avoiding things like snowballs and worms. This was pretty cool! However, all of the mini-games are arcade; it would have been nice if there had been more variety in the types of mini-games.

The weakest part of the game is the collection feature. Strawberry will collect strawberries in each level. These are the only things she actually collects. It would have been more interesting to have different collectible items in each season, especially given the fact that she is supposed to be collecting “special” ingredients throughout the four seasons for the cake.

Strawberry Shortcake The Four Seasons was a pleasurable surprise. Too often these types of children’s games don’t get the detail or attention from the designers they should, and are boring and uninteresting. The Four Seasons Cake is both interesting and fun.  However, it is also more difficult than it should be, considering the age demographic of the potential gamer. Having too hazardous hazards, coupled with only allowing three lives and one mid-point save in each level, is hard on the average 8-year-old girl. This game is best for girl gamers who are experienced players and who enjoy sticking with a task.

Gameplay: 8.0
This game is a whole lot of fun. The platforming aspect is well-designed and varied. However, there isn’t as much variety in the mini-games as there could be, and having only three lives in each level tends to be a little frustrating.

Graphics: 9.0
The graphics are really good and add to the overall effect of the game.

Sound: 7.0
The music is good enough.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
This game is pretty challenging. However, gamers who are experienced and have good reflexes will have no problems.

Concept: 7.0
The essential game elements have all been done before, but the execution is above average.

Overall: 8.0
It’s great to see a kids’ game that is actually a good product and something that the kids will enjoy playing. Too often they are not. The levels are all interesting, and there is a good variety of puzzles and platforming features in each one. However, the hazards are difficult to avoid, and there aren’t enough save points or lives. A kids’ game should have either different levels of difficulty in the options, more life points, or more save points. Parents need to judge their children’s skill levels before purchasing this game. But for the qualified gamer, this game is a sure bet.