Developer: Little Orbit
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS
Tested on: Nintendo 3DS
Winx Club: Saving Alfea – Review
There have been many cartoons on television, one of which is Winx Club, a cartoon based on fairies and witches set in a fantasy world. The series was originally an Italian show, but was later brought to other countries like America and the Netherlands. Now nearing its seventh season, the makers have released a game based on the sixth season for the Nintendo 3DS. So without delay pick up your magic staffs, put on your magical fairy clothes and drive of monsters and witches that try to take over your school!
Story
The world of Winx Club is set in Magix, a world where all kinds of magical creatures live along side people that harness magic. There are a total of 3 main schools. In Alfea, students (who are all female) possess the power of fairies under the supervision of school principal Faragonda and are trained to harness their magical powers for good purposes. Red Fountain is a school for boys, where they are taught to wield weapons and all kinds of fighting styles. They also study for good purposes. On the contrary, there is also a school called Cloud Tower where witches are taught magic for more obscure and less good intentions.
In the school of Alfea, there is a group of 6 fairies who are really close to each other. Firstly you have Bloom, the main protagonist who comes from Earth (a world without magic, parallel to Magix) and she is close to Stella, who brought her to the world of Alfea. Up next we have Flora, a girl who stays in the same room as Bloom. Her magic has close connection to plants and nature overall. The fourth Winx is Techna, a girl who has a good understanding of technology and close friend to Musa, who is also a Winx and likes music. Lastly we have Layla, who is the last one to join the Winx. She is an athletic fairy who harnesses the power of Morphix, a pink liquid-like substance that can transform into all kinds of shapes.
The story of Winx Club: Saving Alfea centers around the fact that the Winx want to have an anniversary party at their school. In order to have a successful party, each Winx goes in search for the best items to have. Sadly, a witch called Selina tries to ruin the party by releasing all kinds of strong creatures from the Legendarium, a book filled with mythological creatures, all over the school. The Winx try to prevent this, and go in seach for different talisman that can’t counter the Legendarium.
Graphics
The graphics overall are really simplistic and do not vary much throughout the game. Most stages look similar to each other, sometimes having a few more routes to go to or being set outside or inside the school of Alfea. The characters do look different from each other, with designs that fit their personality well. When they transform they also take on a different designs that look like fairies.
One of the things I quite liked graphics-wise, was the fact that the 3D function was done pretty well. When turned on, you can clearly see a much bigger depth in the environment. Which makes it a lot nicer looking.
Sound
There aren’t that many different songs in the game. In most of the stages you’ll be listening to the same song over and over again, changing soundtracks when you do a different style of mission. When you do a stage where you are transformed, you’ll be listening to a different song.
The thing that is lacking in this game, is the fact that there is no single voice-acting available. This makes it so that dialogues aren’t that interesting. And as this is a game for a younger audience, it would’ve been a good addition. Reason being that children around the age of 3-6 years old do not know how to read, or at least not good enough.
Gameplay
In the whole game, you’ll pretty much do the same thing repetitively, sometimes changing the style of playing when you transform into you fairy form. The game is a pure 2D platforming game that offers little challenge, being simple enough for smaller children. They will not have much trouble having fun with the game, as they don’t need to worry about difficulty spikes.
There are a total of 32 levels that you can play over and over again. However, these missions each do not last more than 5 minutes. Children will probably take a little more time with it whilst adults will be able to finish this game in one sitting.
You have 3 types of levels that you can go through. The first kind of levels is where you switch between 2 characters in a platforming levels where all you do is jump around and complete simple puzzles. You need to switch between the 2 of your characters, who all have different powers that are necessary to complete certain puzzles. In these kinds of levels there aren’t many monsters present, nor do you have to ability to defeat them. You’ll need to use your powers in order to avoid them and progress through the level.
The second type of level is when your Winx changes into her fairy form. Levels pretty much work the same as the first type, but when in fairy form, you’ll have the ability to fly through the air and use magic to defeat enemies. The puzzles in these levels are a little more complex, but still easy enough for you to breeze through them with not much effort. This time there are a lot more monsters in the level, and you’ll often need to use your magic in order to get rid of them. You’ll need to do this as sometimes it is necessary to defeat all enemies before progressing through the level.
The last type of level allows you to switch between any of the 6 Winx whenever you want, in their fairy form. You still be doing the same thing as the second type of level, only with a ton more monsters present. There are only 2 of these levels in the whole game, which is a bit disappointing.
When exploring the various levels, you’ll find items that you can collect. However, these aren’t difficult to find, and don’t really add much to the game. You’ll also pick up some kind of orb that will level you up after a level. The more you collect, the faster you level up. When you level up you gain new abilities, but aren’t much more than simplistic upgrades to what you already have.
Conclusion
Overall, the game is easy to complete, where children will probably be able to enjoy themselves more than adults will. Most of the levels feel too much alike to the others. The lack of much challenge and the lack of variation makes this game not really something to look out for. I also wouldn’t recommend it because it is a really short game, but that might be long enough for some of the young children. The only real positive aspect of the game is the fact that the 3D function has been done pretty good, but is not healthy for the younger audience.
Winx Club: Saving Alfea - Review,
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