Top Model (Nintendo DS) Review

By Adam Riley 04.01.2012

Review for Top Model on Nintendo DS

Fun Box Media aims to draw in the female crowd with its latest effort for the Nintendo DS, the glamorous fashion-themed Top Model. Can this new attempt at appealing to the market that lapped up Style Boutique create the same spark of interest, though?

Developer SevenOne Intermedia and Rainfire Entertainment have teamed up with publisher Fun Box Media to attempt a coup; to acquire some of the market share Nintendo was successful in attaining with Style Boutique (known as Style Savvy in the US). In Top Model, based on the popular casting show, players can choose from one of three profiles, meaning that friends and family can also play using the same cartridge, and then are immediately faced with three key choices, one of which is the rudimentary options screen where left-handed gamers can have the controls switched around so the Nintendo DS is still held like a book, but with the touch-screen on the opposite side to the default instead.

The meat of the game comes in the form of a competition, yet there is also the opportunity to go free style and play around with different aspects of the model’s appearance. For instance, should you wish to focus on a hand, it is a simple case of being shown it on screen with the ability to zoom in and out to file the nails down, apply a special base coat to start with, before adding the colour you desire to each nail, giving a French Nail dual-colour scheme and even placing funky sequins as a decorative finishing touch. There is a catwalk mini-game where shoes slide down from the top of the touch-screen and the stylus must be used to tap on them at the right time in order to prevent the model from losing her footing whilst waltzing along. Striking a pose is probably one of the most entertaining games as a wooden doll is pushed into a certain position and players are given a few seconds to memorise it before trying to recreate said pose by dragging the doll’s limbs around before the timer runs out. Although Top Model proves too lenient most of the time, as with all of the other challenges, when it all goes terribly wrong, watching the model try to copy your attributed pose, normally falling over as a result, is highly comical.

Screenshot for Top Model on Nintendo DS

In the competition for Top Model one of ten young ladies must first of all be selected before being introduced to the loft where all mini-games can be started and other models linger, ready to be conversed with. In terms of the in-game world, the competition takes place over a five month period where some models will offer advice, and two models per month are eliminated when one month has passed, with rankings shown on the room’s whiteboard. Your model’s placing is improved by increasing values in the style, confidence and popularity categories. Style comes from work the dressing room, with special manicures, new make-up and the help of a professional stylist helping the cause. Confidence boosting is related to doing more photo-shoots and practicing on the catwalk, whilst interacting with other models lifts the personal status.

Whilst the loft is extremely small and can be walked through from one end to the other, using the D-pad, in mere seconds, it holds all of the key parts that make Top Model a far more interesting prospect than imagined. Its visuals may seem crude at times, but they serve their purpose, offering a clear view of the fashions and styles worn by the models, and all the while a funky theme plays in the background on loop. Other than the mini-games, there is a laptop where tips of the month on the latest crazes are offered up, there is the chance to research the other models, in-game emails from friends and family can be checked, and timed tests can be taken to see how much you have picked up from information provided on the road to fame and fortune. The judges can be merciless with their verdict, but with time, and the fact that Top Model is so simple in places that it is hard to fail, success will eventually be had.

Screenshot for Top Model on Nintendo DS

Cubed3 Rating

6/10
Rated 6 out of 10

Good

Top Model was never likely to usurp Nintendo’s Style Boutique from its thrown, yet as a budget alternative it just about keeps its head above water. For anyone looking for a quick bit of fashion and style fun, Fun Box Media’s DS game may well be worth checking out.

Developer

Funbox Media

Publisher

Funbox

Genre

Simulation

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date TBA   Japan release date TBA   Australian release date TBA   

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