Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure
Score: 80% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Buena Vista Developer: Gorilla Systems Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: Adventure
Graphics & Sound: If anything, Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure will definitely leave you winded. Rather than follow a scene-by-scene breakdown of the movie, Undersea Adventure is just that – an adventure. As Ariel, it is your job to roam 14 different undersea locations and search for hidden treasures and save the sea from mysterious currents, all while using nearly every special feature on the DS. My first impressions of Undersea Adventure’s visuals weren’t good and even after spending time with it, I’m still not all that happy with it. Technically, the game does the DS proud and, like the gameplay, makes great use of the DS’s functions. However, the art style really didn’t do much for me. In particular, the 3D modeled Ariel looks off and lacks charm. If everything was rendered in the same manner, it wouldn’t have been that noticeable. However, original artwork (or what looks like original artwork anyway) from the movie is included. In any given level, you could have fish or environmental details that look like the movie intertwined with blocky 3D models. Sound matches the visuals and has a fun feel. It is nothing to get overly excited about, but passable.
Gameplay: Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure doesn’t follow a specific storyline. Instead, gameplay takes more of a free form approach, allowing you to explore levels and find treasures or perform other activities. Most of the gameplay tasks take the form of short mini-games that have you using all of the DS’s functions in a variety of ways. For example, before a treasure can be placed in Ariel’s treasure trove, it must first be cleaned up. You begin by using the touch screen to scare away hermit crabs and remove barnacles. Then you clear away dirt by blowing in the microphone. Finally, it is back to the touch screen to polish up your treasure. This is only the beginning as other mini-games have you blowing bubbles of certain sizes or even singing (in tune no less) in order to unlock chests. While some of the games will definitely leave you winded or straining (especially the bubble blowing and singing), none of the functions feel forced. From a pure gameplay standpoint, Undersea Adventure has a few rough spots -- the main one being the roaming aspect. There is an attempt to inject a bit of plot into the game, but in the end, it is forgettable. Most of the time it feels like you are simply floating around looking for items. On some level, I’m sure this was the designer’s purpose, but at the same time, the unguided scavenger hunt can become dull after you’ve just finished polishing another piece of treasure or singing open another lock. When collecting items starts to become too tiresome, you can always head back to the top of the sea slide. Here you can visit with Sebastian and help with rehearsals, or arrange Ariel’s treasures in her grotto. Treasures can also be used in tandem with her magic pearl and unlock clips from the movie.
Difficulty: Undersea Adventure isn’t that hard of a game, and I really don’t think it is meant to be. There are a few challenging moments, like playing hide-and-seek with a shark, but even this area shouldn’t cause too many problems. You can’t die and mini-games are very forgiving. The game doesn’t end until you’ve completed the task and there is no penalty for making mistakes. Instead, you just keep going until you’re finished. Singing is probably the most difficult of tasks found in the game, mainly because it can take some time to find the right pitches if you’re not particularly gifted. Since the game uses a lot of the DS’s functions, some areas might leave you a little tired. Quickly going from the bubble blowing game to finding treasure to singing will have you catching your breath. The design is pretty good at keeping tasks spaced out though, so you’ll rarely have to jump from one to another quickly.
Game Mechanics: With so many of the DS’s capabilities being put to use, there are questions about how each respond. Overall, everything works surprisingly well. Some games, like the singing parts, show off gameplay functions that I can’t recall seeing in other games (at least not in this form). Since you are constantly switching up, you will have to figure out a way to hold the stylus and still be able to use the D-pad and other keys – but this isn’t a major issue. Creatively, Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is one of the DS’s better games. Variety is Undersea Adventure’s greatest strength. It may not lend itself to long, engrossing play sessions, but for quick bursts it is fun.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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