DS Review: Angel Cat Sugar

I'm just going to get it out in the open right off the bat to get it out of the way: with a title like Angel Cat Sugar, of all things, I was torn between a feeling of 'what the hell is this?' and a strong feeling that this game would be heavy on the Engrish, if you know what I mean. The fact that the cover even tells you that it's made by the creators of Hello Kitty only exacerbated this feeling. Not that there's anything wrong with Japanese games; I like them from time to time, but I thought this one might be pushing the envelope a little too hard.

Surprisingly, this game really isn't like that at all. Yes, it has very much Sanrio-inspired graphics (which are so cute, they just might make you puke) and the dialogue is actually coherent. I had no trouble reading it. The storyline is told in the style of a children's bedtime story, which makes this game good for younger players. There's no real chance of them getting freaked out or traumatized by this one; there's nothing that scary in it. The bad guy, even, is just a storm cloud with a moustache and a crown. (Not too scary.) Also, the majority of the characters in this game all have spice names, which is cute, if not kitschy. It does give it a definite sort of charm, though.

You more or less control your character, which is a little angel cat named Sugar (I'm guessing because she's so sweet?) through all the heavenly worlds (no, I'm serious...this cat is in Heaven), where she'll prance or leap around, leaving trails of sparkles in her wake. (Or is it sugar?) You collect hearts and such (it's different in each level) while helping out characters in each of the levels find their missing items, all working up to the antagonist of each level, who each have one of Sugar's friends held captive, which she must free. She is challenged to a type of duel each time that she must win to free her friends, leading up to the duel with the Storm King. It's all pretty straightforward.

My only real gripe with this game is the touch screen controls. Whenever you need to use the umbrella, or the watering can or anything, there's a small delay between when you try to summon the item and it actually shows up. It's more annoying than a real problem, since this game isn't exactly challenging in the slightest, but I thought that it would be worth mentioning.

Overall, the game is targeted for a very young audience, and for its intended audience, I will rate this game an 8 out of 10 angel kitties. Obviously, older players are not going to care much for this title, and they'd want it rated much lower. But this isn't for them. I'm rating this for the kids; they need something to play too.