I've wanted to write about this game for a while, but honestly, with the seemingly endless pile of games to play, both new releases and ones I've stashed away to play for this blog, it was hard to actually be inspired to play this game. Because as much as I adore this game, and would easily have it in the top ten of my list for Wii games, the game is totally not made for me, the serious gamer. Even though my love for all things Nintendo runs deep, this game wasn't developed for me to play as much as it was for me to simply enjoy.
It was developed for kids, and for parents to enjoy with them as they play. Sure, it is a legit game with actual gameplay, story and all the other elements that make a video game, a video game. But while the game itself is phenomenal, and there is some challenge in it for those who are collectors/perfectionists, the game is easy. Like, really easy. In fact, it's so easy, you can't die. Ever. There is restarts or continues. There is no punishment for failing or being bad at the game, or even for not having a clue what you are doing. The game continues to be charming and endearing, cute and whimsical, despite how well you do at the game.
And that's why it was perfect for my five year old daughter to play, and perfect for me to watch her and enjoy the father/daughter time.
She has played games before. We actually play Disney Infinity every time she comes over, and she has a couple of pages of games she likes to play on my iPad, so gaming isn't a completely foreign concept to her. But just because she plays games, doesn't necessarily mean she is good at them. She tries, and she is much better at tablet gaming then she is at console-based gaming with controllers. She knows the basics, but remembering which buttons do which, how to maneuver with joysticks is challenging for her, naturally.
So watching her play this game was fun, as she didn't know what she was doing, but because it is so forgiving, she never got frustrated with it. She just kept at it, moving along at her own pace, without worry or fear of failure. This is the type of game every kid deserves to play. This is the type of game that will encourage joy and enthusiasm with gaming for young kids, not discourage them and fault them for their failures and learning curves. This is the type of game that kids will have fun playing, enjoying their experience and just having fun.
And as a father, as much fun as I have with games, and as much fun as I had playing this game, just experiencing it with my daughter was far more rewarding than any achievement or trophy would ever be.
It was developed for kids, and for parents to enjoy with them as they play. Sure, it is a legit game with actual gameplay, story and all the other elements that make a video game, a video game. But while the game itself is phenomenal, and there is some challenge in it for those who are collectors/perfectionists, the game is easy. Like, really easy. In fact, it's so easy, you can't die. Ever. There is restarts or continues. There is no punishment for failing or being bad at the game, or even for not having a clue what you are doing. The game continues to be charming and endearing, cute and whimsical, despite how well you do at the game.
And that's why it was perfect for my five year old daughter to play, and perfect for me to watch her and enjoy the father/daughter time.
She has played games before. We actually play Disney Infinity every time she comes over, and she has a couple of pages of games she likes to play on my iPad, so gaming isn't a completely foreign concept to her. But just because she plays games, doesn't necessarily mean she is good at them. She tries, and she is much better at tablet gaming then she is at console-based gaming with controllers. She knows the basics, but remembering which buttons do which, how to maneuver with joysticks is challenging for her, naturally.
So watching her play this game was fun, as she didn't know what she was doing, but because it is so forgiving, she never got frustrated with it. She just kept at it, moving along at her own pace, without worry or fear of failure. This is the type of game every kid deserves to play. This is the type of game that will encourage joy and enthusiasm with gaming for young kids, not discourage them and fault them for their failures and learning curves. This is the type of game that kids will have fun playing, enjoying their experience and just having fun.
And as a father, as much fun as I have with games, and as much fun as I had playing this game, just experiencing it with my daughter was far more rewarding than any achievement or trophy would ever be.
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