Delicious Candy on the Go- Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise

Viva Piñata’s animals are not much more sophisticated that a typical Tamagotchi– the game even tells you what the requirements are for an animal to visit your garden, to induce residency, and so forth. The title’s ingenious complexity comes from the ever-changing combination of animals and plants that inhabit this virtual region. Some players have been confessed to spending over 100 hours with the original Viva Piñata for the Xbox 360, a testament to the gripping formula that developer Rare has created.

As DS owners know, trying the cram all the functionality and intricacy of a next-gen console title into a portable cartridge is typically a recipe for disappointment. Amazingly, the developers have captured nearly all the elements of recent 360 sequel, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, while adding touch screen functionality. While one would think the title would suffer graphically in the downsizing, Rare seems to have returned to its Donkey Kong 64 concept of pre-rendering, with amazing results. Overall, the title seems to have a high-resolution output that outshines a majority of DS games. Dirt contains cracks and bits of speckled rock, and looks complexly organic, while individual blades of grass can be seen.  Typically this means a patchwork of duplicated textures, but Pocket Paradise masks any visible texture repetition. At times, eight polygonal piñatas will be wandering the player’s garden, without a hint of slowdown.

Along with the fidelity of the graphics, gameplay is amazingly polished. Viva Piñata is a game about discovery; both adults and older children will marvel at the ingenuity on display in the title. One example, unlike most plants in the game that require the player’s attention, the thistle plant requires no watering. Once it flowers, the bud can be sold for thirty coins, and the remaining plant emits two seeds, which will grow into more thistle plants. Sounds like a system ripe for currency exploitation, right? Until the player realizes that is costs coins to rid his garden of this now viral weed, whose population exponentially grows with every harvest.

As the game progresses, new items are unlocked- from new seeds that when planted, attract new animals. When these animals thrive in your virtual garden they may attract new predators. Offering enough fodder for the predators may make them happy, and encourage them to mate, creating another new species. With Viva Pinata, there are always multiple, immediate and long-term goals for the player. This type of gameplay is not only completing emerging, but can be downright addictive for anyone with a slight obsessive-compulsive trait.

The title does have a few downsides that seem out of place for such an otherwise polished game. Creating a gated area, which is necessary for the protection of some species, is often an exercise in frustration. Unless the area is clear of plants, animals and debris, the game would let the player add fence posts. We would have rather seen the gamer draw a rectangular box in one easy maneuver, than struggle with the placement of individual posts. We would have also liked to see a double-tap input, to quickly sell an item.

In creating a balanced biological sim, all creatures should both add and take away from the environment, to simulate a circular system. Sadly, Rare slightly missed this opportunity, as there are species, like the Sour Shellybean with no positive attributes; they merely serve as obstacles for the player. We would have found it quite wonderful if these snail-like creatures ate both the ‘normal’ and viral seeds like the aforementioned thistle.