There is no denying that Hello Kitty is a force to be reckoned with. Her ever increasing popularity means that she has even starred in her own video-games. Around the World with Hello Kitty and Friends, takes her on a journey of discovery to all corners of the world.
As the title suggests, players will travel to locations all over the world whilst playing this game. Each of the countries has four mini-games that make use of the hardware’s unique functions. The mini-games will ask the player to engage in simple activities, such as identifying animals by looking at their silhouettes or preparing baked goods by following instructions. One of the more exciting mini-games has the iconic Kitty on a raft and avoiding obstacles by making use of the Nintendo 3DS handheld’s tilt feature.
There’s isn’t much of a challenge to these mini-games and this applies to the supposedly hard mode some of them have. This is absolutely understandable given the target audience isn’t exactly looking for a challenge in the first place. However, it still feels like there could have been more mini-games and countries – given that the title could have been used to give a very basic insight on traditions to a younger generation and how they differ depending on the country. At least what activities are available in each country are somewhat amusing and most importantly work as expected when playing the mini-games.
Completing each mini-game results in being given currency to spend at the shop for a corresponding country. Oddly enough, there are more countries to shop in than they are when it comes to playing mini-games. There is also a simple jigsaw puzzle to complete for each country’s shop. Unfortunately none of the items purchased have any practical use. It’s possible to purchase costumes and other iconic items associated with a country – like a kilt and a bagpipe for the United Kingdom. Whilst it is oddly amusing to see what a Scottish Hello Kitty looks like, it still doesn’t change the fact that she doesn’t gain anything from wearing the costumes.
Unfortunately, the costumes don’t even appear in most areas of the game. Worse still is going into a country to play mini-games results in automatically wearing a costume associated with that country. On the bright side, it does make it possible for the younger target audience to learn about the costumes and other props that various countries like to use – although it would have been helpful to include a short description explaining the origin of each item to truly make it an educational experience.
With everything seemingly unlocked from the start and the fact that there aren’t many mini-games to choose from, the only reason to continue playing comes down to purchasing all items. The title is well presented and Hello Kitty’s trademark colourful world is accurately represented here.
Anyone into the brand will no doubt be thrilled to get the chance of dressing up Miss Kitty in all kinds of outfits. Still, it’s difficult not to feel like the title has the potential of being so much more with a little more effort. Hello Kitty’s world tour might thrill fans of the famous cat, but it fails to make any long lasting impression.
