Gamertell

Pinky St. Kira Kira Music Hour was an adorable dancing game released for the Nintendo DS a year ago (2006) which featured addictive game play and a ‘gotta get ‘em all’ approach to outfits. Yesterday (November 6, 2007) 505 Games announced that it will be translating and publishing the game in Europe as Kira Kira Pop Princess in February 2008

The game follows Gaby (Pucchi in the original) as she works to become the best dancer in Rainbow City, the heir to Anna, the Rainbow City Dance Queen, and featured dancer at club Angela. Gaby must go to each district in Rainbow City and compete against the resident idol at that district’s dance club.

In Kira Kira Pop Princess the DS is held like a book, just like in Hotel Dusk and Brain Age. The left screen shows the characters dancing and the audience approval bar. The right screen shows three panels. Players must follow the music and lighted panels in order to dance. In the advanced play mode, players must also slide left, right, up, down, or continuously over the panels.

The key to winning in some cases won’t always be good dancing skill though. Sometimes it all comes down to style. The audience at the club determines who wins, so even if Gaby’s the better dancer, the hometown girl could still get it. The trick is to buy and collect clothes from each area, and come to a dance off prepared. Wearing a shirt and skirt that is popular in that area can make all the difference.

I adored Pinky St. Kira Kira Music Hour. I loved it so much that I already have my pre-order in at Play-Asia for the upcoming sequel, Pinky St. Kira Kira Music Night. Do not let the game’s cute appearances fool you, it is both challenging, addicting, and full of solid gameplay. It is the closest you can get to Dance Dance Revolution on a DS.

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