Cat Dating Sim - minus the dating. - Game Boy Advance, Game Reviews - Cat Dating Sim

08-28-14 01:13 AM

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MegaMarisa

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Hey hey hey! Guess who's not dead! I'm here for a snappy, sassy, and potentially juvenile review! It's time for Catz, with a "z." Because that's kewl.

Alright! Lets start this stuff off. I actually owned (and still own) this game as a kid. I also owned Horsez (why not "Horzez" that would be twice teh kewls) which was the glitchiest game and also dumb, hard and kind of boring. But unlike Horsez, Catz is thankfully much more enjoyable.

Alright, with drill No.1: the graphics! The graphics are very easy on the eyes and give this game a colorful boost. It's fairly cute and cuddly, but sometimes the art style shifts slightly at certain points, the greatest contrast being the cartoony human portraits and the realistic cat ones. But the difference isn't that jarring, and it's all really nice to look at. This game never really looks bad. I give the graphics a solid 8.

And now for the grace of thine ears, the sound rating. The game starts off with a song mostly consisting of cat noises. Well, if you didn't know this was a cat game, now you do. The song's fairly okay, but while to say most of the soundtrack is not exactly outstanding, you hardly ever get annoyed by it. It doesn't hinder the game at all, but it doesn't help much either. The meowing noises and use of sound is pretty good, and the meow noise (or miaou or nya or whatever you prefer) sounds just like a cat would. The sound get a 7, lowered by standard music but heightened by the sheer quality of the noises used. I actually want an electrohouse or happy speedcore remix of the opening theme, though. You know, for meows.

Addictiveness is a rather floaty subject for this game. If your into sim games (like me,) you will probably like playing this game. If you like multiple endings (like me,) this game is for you. If you dislike either, or are allergic to cute, well, uh... good luck? I enjoy it in a sort of guilty pleasure way, trying to find as many breeds of cats to raise and getting endings. But the only endings I get when playing normally are either one where it never gets sick or the one where it's more of a friendly stray. Right now I'm playing hoping to get some sort of cat gang leader ending by maxing out Mood and Punch. Yes, cats have "punch." It might be a little boring to some, but there's something just a little charming about taking care of a kitten, or just watching it run all over and take a pee on everything. From the perspective of moi, the addictiveness is a 7 (7.5 if I could)

Now, what is the context that you are taking care of a cat under? Let's delve into the story! So you, the player of a limited six character name, are walking through the park after stepping on your friend's, who you later learn is Komugi, cat. Meandering through and fretting over your mistake, you bump into a girl and her cat. After chatting awhile and learning you can't hold cats right, she suggests you get one to help with your understanding of animals. You ask your mom and dad, who surprisingly agree to getting a cat rather quickly and then, well, you get a cat with a similarly restricted name option. It's not much of a story, but there is a bit of appeal to how the story can change depending on how you play. For instance, the park girl will eventually meet up with you to check up on your cat's condition. If you mistreat it, she will take it away. You also have to balance school with cat time. If you go to bed early, you will wake up early. If you're late to school, you come home late. This is a nice touch that makes the clock in the top left corner not only a way of tracking how long it takes for you or your cat to do things, but as to manage when to sleep or nap or go to school. There are also a surplus of endings depending on how high your cat's Friend, Mood, Punch and Looks levels are. If you want a specific ending, you figure out the boosts and reductions to these stats from activities and items. This adds a layer of depth, as you don't get a guide and must figure out how the foods, toys, grooming items and snacks will effect your cat. A food item might raise Friend and Mood a bunch, but lower Looks. A snack might heighten Looks but lower Punch. Toys generally heighten Punch, with some exceptions and/or add ons. The game's rather uneventful story has a nice, player decided twist. It's kinda unfortunate the game's text is all in caps, but it's kinda funny to think PEOPLE TALK LIKE THIS ON A DAILY BASIS, MAINLY ABOUT FELINES. The combination of plain story but with variability lands a nice 8.

Hey, see that massive paragraph above? That's the depth of the story. I'll add a bit more, though. You get to choose from a variety of rather cute cats, the different breeds being added upon each time you replay the game. There are the aforementioned endings, which adds more replayability. There are gifts you can get from cats, a different one for each playthrough. This game is surprisingly deep for a cat sim! Depth gets a 10 in my book.

Ah, now as we near the finale, the difficulty is the final hurdle to a final rating. Now, most of this game is pure management. You have to manage your cat, its hunger and environment, its stats, the time, the money you get, so many things. For most standard mortals, that shouldn't be too hard, but I'm a scatterbrain. You can also easily screw up in this game, but thankfully you have the option to save in between days, and days go by quite fast. There's also no real guide, so you have to figure out most of it yourself. While it's not hard to play, it can be tricky to get what you want. This snags the game a difficulty of 6(.5), nothing too hard, but you do have to work for your happy (or sad) ending.

My final rating, with calculations of my preferred score of each category, is a 7.8, meaning it barely touches the higher ratings. While it's child centric gameplay and story makes the game lag a bit, it's the replayability and cutesy allure that helps it stay afloat. It's a kid friendly cat version of Hatoful Boyfriend. I think. Despite the kiddy aura this game emanates it still can bring fun to the common person. Or maybe I'm just a loser.