Turn It Around (Nintendo DS) Review
Posted by Sean Garmer on 09.27.2007
You can spin it all you want, but the fact is, it is not going to last very long.
The Nintendo DS certainly has its fair share of weird games. Wario Ware made a name for itself with a concept of packing a bunch of mini-games together and calling it a game. Phoenix Wright uses thinking and a little bit of voice recognition to involve the gamer into the world of attorneys. Majesco itself is known for something that shows gamers around the world how to cook. So, bring in, this little item that wants everyone to “Turn It Around.” Taito collaborated on the effort to bring some of its characters into the fold, but ultimately, not even that could save this game from suffering from a lot of problems.
Graphics
With a game like this, a general statement about the graphics cannot be made. Some of the minigames are 2D such as Araknoid, and there are others that use the Bubble Bobble characters that are in 3D. For a DS game it does its job. Each game has a unique look to it to match the theme of the short time waster. The main character (an orange robot boy or a pink robot girl) is well animated and comes on the screen as the spinner, part of the action on the top screen, and, always at the end to tell the player the rank they have attained. To put it bluntly, it’s simple and that’s probably all it needs to be.
Gameplay
Very similar to the graphics, there is not much to this game. There is a set list of 24 Japanese mini-games, that can take anywhere from a few seconds to complete to maybe a couple of minutes. The purpose is to use the stylus to complete the games with the help of a spinner that takes up the entire bottom screen. If it were used for maybe a few of the games, it might be a neat concept. However, the fact, the spinner is used for every game, makes this a short, boring affair. Not just because the game can be completed in about 15 minutes, but also, the spinner has issues. The only good thing is, there are a nice variety of games. Some pay an ode to Bubble Bobble, Araknoid (Taito’s version of breakout), Cameltry and a few others. Then there are ones that require one to help a drunken man balance himself on a train or pass sushi to customers, to name some of the others.
Due to the player needing to pay attention to the action on the top screen, most of the time they will lose track of where exactly the stylus is, the spinner only reacts when the stylus is in the center of the screen. That in itself makes the spinner not work well, which makes the games at times a chore. Case in point, the game “Umbrella Man” requires the player to pay attention to both screens at a time, because the stylus needs to stay on the point of the spinner, so that it will turn properly. Then the top screen has columns which if not maneuvered through well, causes the robot chasing the character to squash him. It’s things like this that really kill the game, because if the spinner would recognize any part of the circle it would be easier to use.
At least Taito added button functions (A + B buttons) for certain games that are difficult using the spinner. It’s a good option that makes those mini-games playable; but doesn’t it say something about your belief in the game? It’s rather counter-intuitive to add button combos, to a game that is supposed to be all about spinning. Nevertheless no matter what one uses to complete the 24 games, it leads to the same result, quick boredom. Trying to get to the top of the rankings might keep some busy for a couple of hours, but the fact that, there’s only two modes of play adds no length at all. Challenge mode allows the user to play through the 24 games to improve their overall rank, as well as, individual game rank. The other is a free play.
Multi-player is only available to someone that finds a friend that happens to own this game. It might be slightly more fun, but there’s not going to be endless hours of play here.
Sound:
The music that accompanies each game keeps up with the silly, fast pace most of the time. Even though at times it can get rather annoying because it is too quick, for the most part the effects and music fit-in with the simplicity of the title.
Lasting Appeal & Fun Factor: I’m combining these two categories for the sake of space, and because it’d be rather redundant to state the same thing twice. There is no real replay value to this, I guess if played in short spurts it can help waste some time, but since everything is finished so quickly, the fun is zapped away. Throw in the frustrating spinner controls and it makes for more of a headache than anything.
The 411: If you are looking for a mini-game time filler, go get Wario Ware or Feel the Magic. I can’t really recommend this game because it is too short, and annoying to waste even twenty dollars on it. Simply put, stay away from this to save you the trouble of wanting to take it back in a couple of days.
Graphics
6.5
There's nothing wrong with them really, just simple.
Gameplay
3.5
While there's variety in the mini-games, the whole game in general is really short, and the spinner has problems
Sound
6.5
Nice pace, the tunes are nice, but can be off key at times
Lasting Appeal
3.0
There's multiplayer but you have to have a 2nd cartridge, probably not something your gonna find
Fun Factor
2.5
In very short stints there's fun, but the game can be finished in about 15 minutes.
