Parents' Guide to

Xia-Xia

By Carolyn Koh, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Simple platform-puzzling game for fans of crab toys.

Game Nintendo DS 2012
Xia-Xia Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Xia-Xia Game: Screenshot #1
  • Xia-Xia Game: Screenshot #2
  • Xia-Xia Game: Screenshot #3

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What’s It About?

In the XIA-XIA game, you choose a Xia-Xia hermit crab pet to lead through a maze to collect items needed to attain the goal for that level. To move around the maze, kids must jump, glide, and float to reach platforms. Underwater currents will push you certain ways, and springforms will help you jump higher than normal. Levels can be replayed to attain a different goal than the first time through. Along the way, there are friends and accessories to find, as well as a hidden starfish, before you can unlock the next level.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Xia-Xia helps to teach kids who are new to gaming how to play an easy platform puzzler. Kids can't fail and there are no scary baddies. Just a fun underwater environment to explore and friends to rescue. There is a little dressing up of your character with the shells you've collected and checking your collections, but Xia-Xia is mostly about navigating through a maze while figuring out how to collect all of the items you need to make it through. The game uses visual clues so kids can figure out what they need to do next in the game. Arrows point the correct way, streams of bubbles float upwards, gates have a pattern that let kids know what key they need to find to unlock it. Younger kids may have a little difficulty with the actual controls, but kids who enjoy the Xia-Xia pets will likely enjoy collecting and dressing up virtual Xia-Xias as well. The 25 levels can eventually seem a little repetitive.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can also talk about selling to kids and how games can also be advertising. Did you know about Xia-Xia Pets before playing this game or did you want this game because you like Xia-Xia Pets?

  • Families can talk about how the Xia-Xia Pets, which are hermit crabs, can change their shells. Why do hermit crabs do that?

Game Details

  • Platform: Nintendo DS
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: GameMill
  • Release date: March 20, 2012
  • Genre: Adventure
  • ESRB rating: E for (No Descriptors)
  • Last updated: August 29, 2016

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