Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams for Nintendo DS - Fun Times for Both Kids and Adults Alike

As an avid Nintendo DS Lite owner and a huge Hello Kitty fanatic, "Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams" is the best of both worlds. At first the game might appear as a simple and easy task, but once you start you realize that it's not necessarily the case.

The game is comprised of one basic theme. Collect "Friendship Points" to redeem for clothes, room settings, and even a bigger room for Hello Kitty. In order to collect "Friendship Points" you must make use of several different mini-games. Each game is based after the location that you visit. There are three locations: the residential/housing district, the shopping/fashion district, and the entertainment/game district. The residential/housing district will have mini-games such as helping other characters wash their car, sidewalk jump-roping, and playing baseball in the neighborhood park. The shopping/fashion district will have mini-games such as outfit pairing, serving as a waitress at a food establishment, and it also houses the primary kiosk where you can redeem your friendship for bigger and better goodies. The entertainment/game district will have mini-games such as puzzle completions, restaurant food preparation ("Cooking Mama" style), and arcade problem solving. The level of difficulty of games will start with the residential/housing district being the easiest, and the arcade/game district being the most difficult. The more difficult the game is, the more "friendship Points" you will receive upon completion.

I would say that this game is great for ages 8 and up. The games are not that difficult and not that easy either. As a person in her mid-twenties, some of the games can be a real brain teaser and sometimes even frustrating, but the reward is enjoyable. I love to shop in real life, so to collect points and redeem them for cute little outfits or spiffy room themes is entertaining to me. The graphics are decent, as hello Kitty and her fellow Sanrio character friends are always adorable. The only annoying thing about this game is that you always have to return Hello kitty to her room to save your status, even if you are in another district. If you don't you go back to where you saved last, so everything is lost in between then, including "Friendship Points" earned.

This game retails for $19.99 and is sold in most stores. Since, more Hello Kitty themed games have been released, this game availability has become rarer. I would definitely pick one up, especially if you are a big Hello Kitty enthusiast like me!