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My World My Way Review for Nintendo DS

My World My Way Review for Nintendo DS

An RPG for Starters!

Although seasoned gamers usually pride themselves on being able to grind through the toughest dungeons in an RPG, it may be easy to forget that it wasn’t always so. Every gamer had to start somewhere, and now that the casual market is expanding beyond the flat mini-game collection, the appearance of “starter” games in each genre has been steadily increasing.

My World My Way screenshot

My World My Way is another one of these starter games, and it can be described as a bare-bones, introductory RPG. But, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While seasoned RPG veterans may balk at some of this game’s more simplistic elements, there is plenty here to enjoy, especially for those who appreciate a cute, shoujo-esque story.

The game begins by introducing you to the game’s protagonist, who is a completely spoiled princess. Although the princess has her own castle, plenty of dresses, and servants at her beck and call, she realizes that her life is missing something very important: a man! She holds a ball in her honor and does indeed find that perfect man, but he has the nerve to think she is shallow! Our princess decides to prove him wrong and go on a quest to fight monsters and help townspeople in order to impress said man.

Although the story has a very generic shoujo feel to it, there is plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor that keeps it fresh and interesting. For instance, during a boss standoff, our young heroine decides to tell the monster to step aside, because he is only there to become her EXP. Although these types of “in” jokes may be lost on the newbie audience that My World My Way might be trying to attract, but they still give this title some real charm, and they make it fun to play through for more experienced gamers.

However, it is not just the story that makes this title fun to play through. My World My Way’s gameplay is very simplistic, but oddly satisfying. The battle system works much like other menu-based RPGs, allowing you to level up your character and earn both weapons-based and magic attacks. However, in addition to having HP and MP-based attacks, our heroine has another stat-based power: Pouting. As you progress through the game, you will unlock special “pout” abilities, which will allow you to complain and whine to get your way in battle. Pout abilities will use up Pout Points (PP) and range from preempting enemy actions to paralyzing multiple foes. These pout abilities certainly add a fun dimension to the gameplay, and they add just a tinge of depth to the gameplay.

My World My Way screenshot

Although the gameplay never really evolves, and the grinding scheme remains the same throughout, I have to say that this title’s simplicity was what actually made it endearing. Although I am definitely not one to turn down a complex and strategic game, it was refreshing to play through My World My Way’s simplistic dungeons. And even though the game is mainly linear, there are some challenging side quests that will keep the more advanced players engaged.

As far as control is concerned, My World My Way keeps its theme of simplicity fairly strong. You move around using the D-pad and can steer your character in a variety of pre-determined locales. When you are in a dungeon, your character can only move one space at a time and only in straight lines (no cutting corners!) You can choose different menu actions by using the face buttons, and the game keeps a control map on screen at all times so you don’t get confused. The whole control scheme is very user-friendly and reinforces this game’s casual/beginner appeal.

My World My Way screenshot

The audio in this title is also very minimalistic, and it is relegated to some simple tunes that accompany each level. There are no voiceovers or sound effects, although I have to say that I didn’t miss these too much, as the DS is not known to handle massive dialogue and sound effects very well.

My World My Way screenshot

The one area where I was sorely disappointed with this title, however, was the visuals. The different environments and creatures all sport a fair amount of detail and look polished enough, but the character animations in this game were quite atrocious. The main characters barely move, and success/failure animations were clunky and messy-looking. The game’s dialogue scenes are also very poorly done, and they generally consist of a handful of stoic pictures that alternate slideshow-style. For a game that has put so much emphasis on a cutesy storyline, I really would have liked some nice cutesy visuals to go along with it.

My World My Way is definitely not going to win any awards for being complex or deep. However, this title has earned a special place in my heart because of its tongue-in-cheek story and fun, simplistic gameplay. It is a great title for those who are just getting into the RPG genre, and it isn’t half bad for fans of the genre who might need a reprieve from the excessive complexity of other RPG titles (I’m looking at you, Final Fantasy!) But, no matter which of these categories you fall into, My World My Way is a surprisingly good adventure, and it’s one you won’t be sorry you checked out!

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 2.9 Graphics
Most of the terrain and monsters look good, but the character animations are really terrible, and the stoic dialogue scenes are also very weak. 4.1 Control
Simple menu-based controls are very easy to pick up and use. 3.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Music is pretty good, and level-specific tunes are pleasant enough to listen to. However, this title could have really used some type of voiceover. 4.0

Play Value
Grinding away through the various combat-based stages is very fun, and the cutesy story will keep you playing this one for its 15+ hour length.

3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Alter the landscape: Different terrain options will open up different opportunities for new enemies and items, and give you power over your adventure.
  • Pouting is power: Developing your selfishness is key to getting the Pout Points that will give you options to force the world to behave.
  • Delight in the off-the-wall journey of a spoiled princess whose selfishness fuels her ability to successfully become an adventurer.
  • Light-hearted RPG with feminine appeal.
  • Easy to learn, addictive to master.

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