| Where Do Babies Come From? review |
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It’s early morning. Breakfast time in fact. Mum and Dad are in the kitchen. She’s busily making toast, while he sits at the table reading the newspaper with the first cup of tea of the day. In comes little Jimmy.
“Mum? Dad?”
“Yes, little Jimmy?”
“Mum, Dad… where do babies come from?”
Cue Dad spitting his tea all over the broadsheets and Mum dropping her plate of toast on the floor.
Kids ask the most embarrassing questions sometimes. So when a game entitled Akachan wa Doko Kara Kuru no? (which quite literally translates as Where Do Babies Come From?) is released you could be forgiven for thinking that Sonic Team have decided to be one of the first to go down the edutainment route on the DS, taking up position next to the editions of Mavis Beacon and Microsoft’s Encarta. Thankfully it’s not the case and it’s actually the follow up to 2004’s rather serious-sounding game I Would Die For You. The new game's title is certainly as quirky, which could be why it’s being retitled for the Western market as The Rub Rabbits (just as the original was renamed Feel The Magic and Project Rub). While those familiar with the first game will know it comes from the featured performance troupe, it’s hard to see how such a title is going to stop the wave of innuendo that springs to mind.
As with Feel the Magic, Where Do Babies Come From? (WDBCF?) is a story of ambiguous boy meets ambiguous girl. Boy falls in love with girl and attempts to woo her, which in turn leads to all sort of madcap events. This time around the main love rival is a female who takes exception to the blossoming love between said boy and girl, wanting him all to herself (and willing to do just about anything to get him). Just like its predecessor this sets the scene for a host of unique and thoroughly enjoyable mini-games that require you to make full use of the DS’s touch screen and microphone. These range from using strokes of the stylus to propel your rose-bearing, lovestruck hero up an escalator (avoiding other wannabe suitors and even Sumo wrestlers), to using it to angle him around to a suitable opening between jealous rivals so that he can blow a kiss to the object of his affections. Games are split between these frantic slices of entertainment and the more laid-back levels that require you to build up the love-meter to continue. Activities such as holding a sweet-smelling rose under the nose of your girlfriend as she exercises, building her a dress out of falling leaves (in both cases taking care not to become over-amorous and touch her anywhere else) or even just sidling up to her for a cuddle as she’s distracted by a firework display all offer a change of pace from the faster games and at the same time maintaining a level of interest. On later levels players are required to rotate their DS on its side or upside down as the viewpoint changes. Obviously it is still only the touch screen that can still be used to interact, but it’s an interesting addition that adds to the feeling of variety and is designed to keep players on their toes.
The charming Break Time animations (which intersect the story-mode games after every three or so rounds) also make a return with all new animations and a subtle subplot that educates on the dangers of letting go of gravity and allowing yourself to drift off into space (?!). For those unfamiliar with Feel the Magic and hadn’t realised it by now, WDBCF? is off the wall and doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact it’s this approach that makes it all the more entertaining. There’re not many games that require you to knock down panicked people with a shovel to bury them in the snow to prevent them being found and eaten by a bear or slap them around the face to prevent them falling asleep and dying of hypothermia. There are so many examples of these bonkers situations is would be impossible to list them all here.
Maniac mode makes a return, allowing you to customise the look of your girlfriend’s appearance, but this time instead of just unlocking additional costumes by finding them hidden in the cutscenes, the game incorporates a system of love points. The more points you accumulate by completing the mini-games, the more outfits are unlocked. Unlike Feel the Magic, points are not deducted if a level is failed and so it’s even easier to obtain extra hairstyles, clothes and shoes for your girlfriend. Maniac mode also now features an option to place your own designs on clothing and save them to cartridge, a neat addition for those adept at drawing with the stylus. Similarly the colour of hairstyles etc can be customised so there’s far more range to tailor your virtual mate to your liking. Whereas in the first game the customisation aspect was slightly superfluous, now outside of story mode the chosen look for your female companion is incorporated into the mini-games.
Unlocking the mini-games by completing them in story mode allows the to player to tackle them again individually at any time. There is also a challenge mode that allows the player to select any unlocked games but with the Break Time sequences removed and the player given just one life to complete each type of mini-game (made up of ten rounds for the more frantic games and three for the more laid-back ones with a love-meter). The more rounds that are completed, the more love points are awarded, but with the player granted only one chance in which to complete all the rounds making it an even greater challenge.
It’s also pleasing that Sonic Team have also added multiplayer functionality this time around. A game of Simon Says has been included which allows a number of people to play on one DS by positioning themselves around the unit and following the on-screen prompts. Up to four players can also battle it out using the DS’s wireless capability in a variety of mini-games that include things such as passing an inflatable ball from person to person by blowing into the microphone, using the stylus to play Frisbee, or taking part in a log-canoe battle.
In answer to the game's titular question there is also the Baby mode which requires you and your partner to input your date of birth, blood type etc before attempting to cut a wedding cake. This is done by each person taking control of one half of the lower section of the DS. Cutting the cake reveals your baby (so now you have your stock answer for when your kids ask you that particular embarrassing question) and also determines how compatible the two of your are, based on your stats and how you cut the cake i.e. was it a gentle fluid affair with the two of you being in perfect harmony, or was it a mad free for all that sent icing up the walls and would have made the cake decorator weep in horror?
With WDBCF? Sonic Team appear to have listened to the criticisms of the first game and done their best to improve on them. The game is considerably longer than the first and packed with new games, modes and gags to engage the player. While some of the games may feel a little too familiar for players who completed the first, this feeling of familiarity only strikes few and far between, with the change in settings and characters enough to distract from it. Additionally the expansion of Maniac mode and the introduction of the Baby mode, while not necessities, add to the overall package.
The impact of the visual style, which was so unique almost a year ago, has in no way diminished, making it just as engaging and as much of a treat to behold as the first. In the same vein the music features a mixture of old and new but Jacques Offenbach’s Can-Can overture, used throughout, can grow stale quite quickly. That said all the tunes are dangerously catchy to the point of delirium. It is also the welcomed tweaks like the ability to replay each mini-game without having to watch the intro cutscene all over again (handy if you’ve got all the hidden rabbit symbols and just want to play the games), that makes the title more accessible whether you want a quick fifteen minutes' play or a three-hour marathon rubbing session.
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System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Arcade
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1-4
Version: United States
Reviewed: Feb 2006
Writer: Jamie Davies
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Pros:
- The mini-games are still engaging to play
- A visual style which is still very much its own
- Tweaked and polished for appeal and longevity
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Cons:
- The overuse of the Can-Can may irritate after a while
- Those who played the first to death may find it a little familiar
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Where Do Babies Come From? Video: 1.1MB
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