It couldn't get any worse, right?
I mean, I'd already reviewed two Zhu Zhu games from the stack of four Zhu Zhu games sent
to us by Felicity from the UK.
I felt like, "Okay, I'm halfway done with these goddamn Zhu Zhu games."
I felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and that I could see it.
With my eyes.
Then my eyes saw this.
Zhu Zhu Princess.
They played the princess card.
I did not expect the princess card.
Anyway, I guess I should've mentioned this before, but...being that Felicity is from
the UK, these Zhu Zhu Pets games are actually the PAL versions.
Doesn't make much of a difference for Zhu Zhu Pets and Zhu Zhu Babies, but it does for
Zhu Zhu Princess.
It's actually called Zhu Zhu Princess: Carriages & Castles here in the States.
Because obviously, being different is so important for the Zhu Zhu games.
It's not like they've all been identical so far.
Wait, sorry.
Actually, that's exactly what they have been.
And you know, it's kind of easy to see why.
I mean, Zhu Zhu Pets came to the DS in 2010, and since Zhu Zhu Babies came in 2011, I assumed
that was the second game, right?
Oh, no.
No, turns out you can do lots of games in that amount of time.
Because Zhu Zhu Princess came out in 2011, as well...nine months before Zhu Zhu Babies,
eleven months after Zhu Zhu Pets.
Zhu Zhu laughs at you, Call of Duty.
And your one game a year.
Now, because it apparently takes longer to get a passport than to make a Zhu Zhu game...these
freaking things are virtually identical.
I mean, the gameplay, the graphics, the...hamster wheels.
I'm telling you, these freaking Zhu Zhu games for the Nintendo DS?
They're like some kind of...pink Ponzi scheme.
With hamsters.
So with that in mind, there's obviously not much to Zhu Zhu Princess you haven't seen
in Zhu Zhu Pets or Zhu Zhu Babies.
You have this little hub room, which is where you're taking care of the hamsters.
This is the pet game element of these things.
This is where you can play with them, and feed them, and water them...and as you'd expect,
the hamsters tell you what they need with a little thought bubble.
Pretty straightforward pet game stuff.
Of course, the other half of the game is this...crazy, hamster, maze thing.
You get these huge hamster cage things, with lots of little rooms and tubes and slides,
and you get the hamster to the goal.
Along the way, you can collect coins and carrots and some things for the hub room, like new
outfits and bigger food dishes.
Again, exactly the same gameplay as the other Zhu Zhu games on the DS.
So...same surprisingly solid touch controls.
Same big mazes, and since there's no maps?
The same needless frustration.
Literally, the only difference is that they look different.
Different backgrounds and hamsters, minor aesthetic changes.
But that's it.
$19.99, please.
Look, I get it.
Games like this aren't really developed with the same intention as the good games of the
world.
These are products, that happen to be interactive.
And that's fine, but I mean...I've played a lot of other series like that.
But I've never played one as blatant about it as this one.
I mean, it's kind of ridiculous.
I can't imagine some poor parent expecting, like...you know, different games.
And then getting this.
I mean, it's really not a bad kids game.
But if you've played one Zhu Zhu game—any Zhu Zhu game—you've played Zhu Zhu Princess,
for the Nintendo DS.