POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation Review

POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation

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Publisher: KOEI Corporation

Developer: KOEI Corporation

# of Players: 1-2 via Wireless DS Multi-Card Play

Category: Simulation

Release Dates

N Amer - 10/01/2008

Official Game Website

POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation Review

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Pop Cutie is a game where players manage their own fashion boutique. Having never managed a fashion boutique I promptly handed this game to my niece, who also has never managed a fashion boutique, but may one day aspire to do so. So it is with that, that I have relied heavily on her to give me an accurate depiction of the game. So if this review stinks, it is her fault, please direct all snide comments to her as I am an evil Uncle who looks to destroy her fragile psyche.

In Pop Cutie, you must manage the day to day business of the high energy, highly competitive fashion industry, you do this by selling clothes. You often leave the shop and talk with people on the street. In doing this, you are presented with conversations and in these random meanderings, a highlighted word may appear. You quickly hit the word with your stylus and, after collecting many words, go back to your shop and into your studio where you combine the words to form new clothing styles and other fashion items. For example, while speaking with someone on the street, they may say that the weather is "sunny". Quickly hitting the word "sunny" will add that to your bank of ideas. Once in the shop you may combine "sunny" and "sea" and see that it creates a new style of sandals. You then pick the color you want to sell it in and put it on the shop shelves. If your item sells well then your money, other wise known as QT goes up and your success joins your bank account.

"If this ever becomes a fashion trend, you may officially sound the bell for the apocalypse."

As the game continues, you are asked to compete in a fashion show against another designer. If your clothes are sharp enough, the judges will crown you the victor and you may be moving up in boutiques as your fame increases. Taking to the street will also help you find the hottest models, new staff and inspiration for all the upcoming trends. But running a boutique is not easy, you will need to make sure the coolest music is playing in your shop and you are running the register and placing ads to draw in more business.

Surprisingly, there is a lot to look at in Pop Cutie, even though most everyone is based on the same model, and walking the street may make you think the city has been overrun with clones, the various clothing styles, the locations around the city and even the people who eventually go through a series of fashion trends, all seem to end up going one way or the other. I like the colorful use of eye popping, candy colors. It is a bright and easy to read game, and you do an awful lot of reading in the communication bubbles. Still the game looks decent enough, if there is a sticky part, its that the game sometimes makes it difficult to do some tasks, constantly clicking through conversations you have read before is a pain.

The music in the game is surprisingly fun, the albums you get throughout the game are cleverly titled little dittys that run the gamut of musical styles. It is a well scored title. I would have liked to have had some actual talking going on, but hey, maybe there was never enough room in that tiny little cartridge.

"Yeah, but does it come in adult sizes?"

The last thing you may want to know is that this game is stylus heavy, you do literally everything with the stylus and it is a somewhat redundant game. Players will eventually see a wash, rinse repeat, style of game after playing for any length of time. However, this may not affect the target audience, which really is the young girl gamer. I flat out asked my niece if she liked this game and she said she did. And since it is such a niche game, I think those who are interested in this game will enjoy it, other gamers simply won't focus on it when perusing the game section at their local game outlet.

Review Scoring Details for Pop Cutie! Fashion Simulator

Gameplay: 7.0

You can get things done, but sometimes there is too much tapping to get the easy things done. A heavy dose of stylus action makes this a true DS game.

Graphics: 7.0

Bright, happy, colors designed to make everything extra cute and warm and fuzzy.

Sound: 7.2

A surprising collection of different tunes and music that really seems to be inspired in their selection. I liked them.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

You can play this game as little or as much as you want and things will never be too terribly difficult.

Concept: 7.5

Honestly, it a pretty original game, aimed at a really specific target audience.

Overall: 7.0

Really a surprising little title that will more then fill the need to play for your little girl (or boy if he likes fashion) should they like this sort of thing. I was surprised at how well it all came together.