"A good game, provided you can play it online."
Itadaki Street, a Japanese board game which was previously released in several other consoles, is back, this time containing characters from both "Dragon Quest" and "Super Mario" series. Unfortunately, the gameplay has little to do with any of these series, simply sticking to the formula seen in the previous titles. As odd as it may seem, this title is merely a board game, one with basics that resemble the famous "Monopoly". Either if you know such product or not, the rules of the game are clearly explained via an option available in the main menu, allowing everyone to have an easy and enjoyable time while playing this game.
First things first. As soon as you start playing the game you'll be allowed to create an interactive version of yourself. You can pick both sexes and one among several different types of characteristics, changing the default clothes, face and hair. The most interesting thing about such personalization is that your character will be constantly appearing in the screen, with the very same characteristics that you gave him (or her), and as you advance further in the game, new suits and items will be unlocked, allowing you to completely change the way your characters look like and, later on, making them look like Nintendo and Square-Enix creations.
Later, you'll obviously be trying some of the functions available in the main menu. The first of those, which is probably the most important, allows you to play against three opponents controlled by the console, while the second one even permits that you pick who they are, fighting a battle over one of the many boards contained in this game.
At first you'll be seeing simples ones, which have barely 20 squares to move across, but you'll eventually find more complex ones, and this is exactly where this game differs from "Monopoly". That famous game has a single path, which you must follow, several properties to spend your money into and an unusual objective, the one of taking all your opponents to bankruptcy. Instead, each board available in this game makes you collect a certain amount of money, after which you should head to the starting point. It probably sounds easy, but usually you have to visit four different spaces of the board before gaining any kind of bonus from the starting area, which is hard to do if you understand that some boards have more than a single path that you can follow.
Another interesting feature of this game is that you can own shares from properties, allowing you not only to gain money if somebody falls on your properties but also if they come across properties which you own shares of. There are even cards, used when you visit special squares, which are instantly used and provide a certain character with any kind of effect, which may either be a good or a bad one.
Taking advantage of these basic rules, you just have to gain a lot of money. Then, when the amount of money you possess turns yellow, you head to the starting point and everything you did will be account for. This basically means that if you're playing under certain modes, you don't have to be the first one to reach certain the final spot in order to win it. Instead, you just have to accomplish some targets, like having more money than your opponents or possessing more buildings than them.
Victories achieved under these two modes provide your main character with a certain amount of money, which he can later use to purchase new items and clothes. You'll also be unlocking new characters, up to 12 which join the initial roster of eight (nine, if you count the character you created). While the repetitive gameplay may be unappealing to a wide number of players, the play time of this game is quite big, keeping whoever purchases this game occupied for a long time.
Even if unlocking new clothes, trophies and cards seems unappealing to you, this game even features a wide variety of multi player modes. You can fight against people via Wireless, either if your friends also have this cart of not. In the unusual case that you have no friends at all, or they just don't have a Nintendo DS, you can also fight online duels, since this game comes with an amazing option which allows you to connect to Nintendo's Wifi service. Unfortunately I couldn't try it out for this review, making me unable to confirm if it is easy to find opponents or not, but it surely adds a lot of important replay value to the game.
While the graphical quality of this game isn't perfect, featuring several pixels out of their proper place and minor glitches, the game looks quite good. People tend to say that Nintendo DS' games don't have good graphics, but the ones available in this title are actually enjoyable and, despite the lesser problems stated above, quite good, probably pleasing everyone who plays it. An important note should be given to the scenario seen in the background, which, despite not influencing the boards in any way, tend to offer a few cute cameo appearances by characters of both series.
At first, players may find the apparent lack of sound in this game weird, as the introduction screens feature no music at all. However, this initial disappointment later gives place to an even greater astonishment, caused by the unexpected sound quality of the game. You'll be hearing simple and cute sound effects, while the songs available seem to be inspired by the two series contained in the game. If you're a fan of those games, it is possible that you may identify some of your favourite songs, one of which was taken from the amazing "Super Mario RPG".
Be aware that the addition of "Super Mario" and "Dragon Quest" characters to this game isn't that important. Instead, if you focus on the quality of the game itself, you'll find here an interesting board game that turns out being even more enjoyable if played with your friends. You don't need any knowledge of the Japanese language to understand the basics of the game, but some important functions (such as the menus or cards) may be harder to get, slightly increasing the difficulty of your game.
Either way, if you're looking for an interesting board game for this console and you have access to Nintendo's Wifi service (all you need is a wireless Internet connection!), this title is surely worth your time and money. However, if you just can't play online, maybe you should look for some other title, since this one could get old and predictable easily.
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