Nintendogs is probably the main reason the DS is doing so well in Japan right now. Netting perfect tens in the famous Japanese magazine Famitsu scored this game considerable hype, and that Japanese public bought it lock stock and barrel. Nintendogs moved more DS units than any game before it. It’s important to note though, that it wasn’t just gamers who were buying this game. Non-gaming women and other non-gaming folk were one of the games main markets. When a game is coming to America with this kind of momentum, it’s hard not to take notice.
To the Americans though, namely the teenage to young-adult market, the appeal of Nintendogs isn’t immediately apparent. Most people take one look at the game and instantly write it off. The "cutesy" demeanor and the non-game style of play don’t add up to an intriguing combination when the majority of the gaming public is still enthralled with the popular GTA-style.
"... a specialized game for a specialized audience."
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After playing Nintendogs, it’s not hard to see where they’re coming from; it’s not a traditional type of game. Nintendogs is by no means bad, in fact it’s a great experience, but not everyone is going to want to play. It’s a specialized game for a specialized audience. It’s a non-game for non-gamers, fairly similar to Animal Crossing in execution. However, if Nintendo can continue to steer this new genre in a creative and innovative direction, they might have a whole new market on their hands.
Digi Pets on Steroids
Nintendogs puts players in control of the life of a puppy, similar to a Tamagotchi or a Digi Pet. You’re responsible for everything that happens to your puppy. If your puppy is hungry, you need to give it some food, if you’re puppy is dirty, it’s up to you to clean it. Should your puppy need to go for a walk, you’ll walk it. Just playing with your puppy is an important part of the Nintendogs experience.
While the concept of Nintendogs isn’t entirely new, the depth of the title is unprecedented. Touch-screen interaction is superbly executed, and in some really creative ways. Simply petting your dog is a basic example, but brushing it and washing it are also some of the things you can do with the touch-screen, really giving the game a hands-on feel. The microphone is also used well, but I’ll touch on that later in the review.
Keeping up your digital canine is also an important part of the game, because a Nintendog acts just like a real dog, and each dog has its own distinct personality. The more love you show you dog, the happier it is, and the more it wants to play with you. If you don’t show your dog attention, it will become unresponsive and distant, the same as it would if you failed to keep it clean, feed it, or give it water. If you fail to keep it clean, it will not only become unhappy; judges at competitions will make comment about how filthy it is, and maybe even dock your points.
The Nintendog Open
The judges at the competitions can be brutal, but if they are you have nobody to blame but yourself; it’s all about properly training your dog the for the right situation. You can’t just jump into a competition; the game makes you train first.
In order to train for the agility and the disc throwing contests, you need to take your dog for a walk and go to specified places on the map: the park and the gymnasium. The park is where you’ll want to train disc throwing, and is by far the hardest of the three competitions. Learning the right swipe with the stylus takes some time and patience. You want to throw it as far as possible, but you also want to make sure your dog can catch it. The agility competition is probably the easiest, as you really only need to tap on the screen to tell your dog where to jump across things.
"Touch-screen interaction is superbly executed"
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Training for the obedience contest is an integral part of interacting with your puppy. Teaching your dog tricks will probably be one of the main things you do at the beginning, so it’s a good thing that the voice recognition is so good, and that there’s a good amount of tricks to learn. When your dog does a trick, a light bulb appears on the screen. You then can teach the dog a voice command for whatever the trick he just did was. After five to six times of repeating this, the dog will learn the trick. So if the dog sits, and you say "Sit Down" as the command, the dog will sit down. When it does, it’s important to praise it, so it reinforces the trick, and increases the amount of time the dog can hold it. There are plenty of tricks to learn, and lots of secret combinations for you to discover on your own. Voice command is one of the most fun parts of the game, mostly because it was executed so well.
Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems
Should you do well at the competitions, you’ll be handsomely rewarded with more money to spend on more items, or make other purchases. These purchases range from simply useless, like more collars for your digital pets, to the completely necessary, like shampoo and food. Of course, money is also needed for buying new dogs, should you decide you want to start training another computerized canine.
There’s only a couple ways to make more money, and after a while the novelty of some of the ideas in the game just plain old wear off. There are only so many times I can take my dog for a walk, and find random items that sell for such a little amount of money, or play with the same dogs I saw last time. It doesn’t help that the walk is the least interactive part of the game either; there’s just not much to do besides pick up the dogs poop, or jerk the leash around.
"Even if the core gameplay gets old Nintendogs is worth a look."
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Competitions get old, too. There’s really no incentive to compete besides the need for money. Maybe if you won another dog, or some kind of special items there would be more of a reason to enter, but it just gets boring after the sixth or seventh time.
The wi-fi mode adds a little bit of longevity to the game. If you link up wirelessly with another player, your dogs can interact. They’ll play together or they’ll fight, just like real dogs would. If your pup is interacting with one of the breeds that isn’t available in your version, you’ll unlock that breed in your game. There are eighteen dogs total, and each of the three versions stats off with six, so if you want to unlock them all, this mode is important to doing so.
Adopt This One
Even if the core gameplay gets old Nintendogs is worth a look. Not just for the innovative qualities, but because it might represent the future direction a lot of Nintendo’s games are going to take. Despite the freshness wearing out quicker than I would have liked, the game is an absolute blast at times; it’s just a refreshing change of pace from the normal, everyday styles of gaming. Should you come to love the game though, don’t expect everybody to understand why you’re so enamored with it; it’s not for everyone.
