Animal Yokochou Doki * Doki Kyuushutsu Daisakuen! no Maki

I went into Animal Yokochou Doki * Doki Kyuushutsu Daisakuen! no Maki completely in the dark. I knew that it was a licensed game based off of an anime, but I had never watched it. What I did know is that the series has something to do with little girls and anthropomorphic plush animals- sounds relevant to my interests. I had no idea what the game would like either, and was mostly expecting some kind of minigame compilation or sim-type game. What I got was a surprisingly enjoyable platformer.



While I cannot read Japanese, the basic plot was easy enough to understand. A baby whose name I do not know falls into a portal in Ami's bedroom that leads to the world of the plush animal guys. Ami and her friend Kumiko also enter the portal to retrieve her. It seems that along the way they are captured and must be rescued by the three playable animals- Iyo the rabbit, Kenta the bear, and Issa the panda. The game is much more dialogue heavy that any platformer probably has the right to be. I don't know what they were blabbing about, but frequently throughout playing you hit signs that flag a conversation. What is said may or may not enrich the experience, but not reading it will not hinder the player from getting through the game.

The gameplay is a very basic platformer. Don't let enemies deplete your three hearts and don't fall into spikes, water, or off the ledge. You'll have to put your dodging skills to work because the trio have no attacks of there own. Nothing wrong with this passive approach, as avoiding the foes becomes an important part of the design. The three characters can be switched on the fly with the left shoulder button. Each is capable of different tasks, so it is necessary to switch back and forth often. Iyo's bunny ears can be stretched to latch onto red bows that begin to fly to elevate the player to or across ledges. The ears are also sharp enough to cut rope, but apparently not to damage an enemy penguin or bat. Breaking objects is handled by the bear Kenta using his wind-up punch or ground stomp. Finally, Issa is only good for moving or carrying boxes and things. In his defense, he is clearly the cutest of the three animals. At one time, your screen may be filled with bows, boxes, and boulders forcing constant character switching. Other than these tasks, they play identically.





The game is divided into nine substantial stages. Each stage has three areas with a different theme. While there are a few area rehashes, this means a whole of different places and spritework. There are the obligatory forest, ice, caverns and also dessert shop, pirate ships, and a very Kirby-esque cloud level with shooting stars flying in the sky. This lets the player explore a variety of locations without any one of them overstaying its welcome.

Animal Yokochou does have some careful platform hopping and enemy dodging, but the emphasis is on navigating your way through each level. There are bountiful switches and items that must be manipulated in order to advance. Unfortunately, this is way too easy. Every time you see a certain object, you know which character's skill is needed to overcome it. There may be time where it takes a moment or two to figure out the order of operations, but it is largely based upon each character's one skill. This makes it too simple and repetitive. Over and over the same basic methods will be used for progression. It isn't as bad as I'm sure my description sounds, but it keeps the puzzle-based platforming in "cool concept" territory, but execution that is meant to be a bit challenging for small children.

That isn't too say the game was completely devoid of challenge. While never a hard game, some of the jumps require some precise timing. There are enough dangers to prevent the player from rushing through. It only takes three hits to die or one poorly timed leap to end up at the beginning of the area. I would consider the difficulty to be on par with the Kirby series. Except without Kirby's more challenging boss fights..

Because there are no boss battles at all. At the end of each stage, there is a minigame that must be beaten in order to defeat a giant cat who bears a strong resemblance to Richard Scarry's Huckle Cat. These games include a memory cards game, whack-a-mole, balloon inflation, and pinball. While its true that my party is devoid of attacks, there should have been a way of having boss battles that utilized the real gameplay mechanics. Not resorting to cheesy minigames.





The opening and ending sequences are fully voiced, but the dialogue during the game is pure text. Of course, these voices will either leave you squeeing or feeling aurally tormented by kawaii overdose. The music is made up of light cheery tunes that fit the joyful aura of the game, but are completely unmemorable otherwise. Spritework in the game is a mostly good. The character portraits and sprites are nicely detailed, as well as the background. However many foreground objects are oversimplified. The three playable characters look great and are undeniably charming. The enemies lack variation, however, and many appear consistently throughout the game. Even a couple recolours will start appearing. The graphics have a very childish and cutesy look, which is exactly the tone of the game and anime. The technical details are highs and lows, but the real appeal lies in the charm of the visuals and atmosphere.

This game is an adorable platforming, but it hardly seems worth importing on that alone. With games like Kirby, Stafy, Klonoa, and other games throughout history, gamers are hardly devoid of cutesy platformers as it is. I did genuinely enjoy Animal Yokochou Doki * Doki Kyuushutsu Daisakuen! no Maki quite a bit. It is a solid kid's game, but the flaws are hard to ignore, so my review likely makes it sound worse than it is. I had a very good time playing Animal Yokocho, but once it is beaten there really isn't any need to go back to it and there are many other games more deserving of your time. Its not bad for some cutesy fun, though, and if you happen to come across a cheap copy- you could do worse.