| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this game is the equivalent of the average 'tween girl fashion magazine in terms of depth. There's an online component where players can play mini-games and chat with friends (by typing text or drawing pictures) either locally or over WiFi, and add friends to a buddylist. To add a friend they will have to know them already and specifically ask for that player's "Friend Code" that comes with each game.
DIARY GIRL isn't a game in the traditional sense, but rather a kind of all-purpose digital day timer targeting young girls. Opening up the application, which requires the Nintendo DS to be held sideways like a book, gives the owner access to a calendar (that goes all the way to 2020) that they can tap to add diary entries to a specific day of the week using a virtual keyboard, and add icons to represent feelings and weather conditions.
Users can personalize the "front cover" of the diary with stickers, draw or color in pictures with a Paint program, and create a personal avatar by customizing clothing and physical features. There's also a calculator and a horoscope, which offers monthly forecasts, love advice, and handy tips -- like the fact that you can stick your nails in a bowl of cold water if you want your nail polish to dry faster. Diary Girl also features a handful of mini-games that can be played either alone or with a friend wirelessly. These are extremely simple, though fun, diversions that include mah jong, a music game, a jigsaw puzzle, and a maze where the goal is to navigate through with the stylus collecting gems and keys. The diary can be "locked" with a password to keep out prying eyes, although the password can also be reset through a simple procedure, meaning information is never completely private.
Diary Girl is by no means broken or bad, but it comes off as simplistic compared to other application-like DS titles like Brain Age and Jam Sessions, and isn't likely to hold any long-term appeal. Furthermore, there's something special about a hand-written journal (or even digital files that can be stored and transferred to CDs) that a confined, cartridge-based application just can't match.
Families can talk about why it's fun to keep a journal, and brainstorm different topics to write about each day. Parents might want to use Diary Girl as a stepping stone towards a more permanent paper journal or online diary (where kids can additionally hone writing and typing skills).
| Platforms: | Nintendo DS |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Simulation |
| Developer: | Konami |
| Release date: | March 18, 2008 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E for Mild Cartoon Violence |
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