Most 3DS owners must by now be familiar with the big update the Mii plaza got a few months ago. Now there are four new games to purchase that give us access to Plaza tickets to buy costumes and new hats. It is tempting but there is no doubt the fear the games are being overcharged for what they offer.
At the time I felt Nintendo was being greedy as the update felt mostly an excuse for these games, even if they had their perks many of us resisted to get them because we felt entitled. But time moves on and here I am to tell you my impression now that purchased them.
My first discovery was that Nintendo didn’t create this games by itself, which in my opinion validates their need to charge. This money will help this third companies and having their projects be for the Mii plaza is, well, pretty cool and unexpect from the red Giant. This also means that each game is probably going to be unique.
The second thing I’ve noticed is that there are more introduction cinemas so you feel like the games are going to be deeper than the StreetPass Quest. Well, you soon discover not all of them are as deep but they all are longer and offer different options. Most likely not all of them will be your cup of tea, but they will give you more to do with thpose streepasses you gather so if you know you will eventually buying more than one, might as well may use of the bundle offer as in the long run it will save you from paying more to have all the games should you change your mind.
The third discovery is that the Shopping Trolley icon will not appear in your options anymore once you have purchased all the available games.
The streetpass tickets you will get them for achieving certain things depending the game, as expected when you start up they shower you with tickets for your first of each activity, but after that they become more scarce, still if you hold your impulses you can make them last for what you really want.
The Exchange Booth will offer everyday 4 options, each one costing one ticket. The available products will change every 24 hours so if you don’t act on the moment, you won’t be seeing it on a while. Their options can be hats or ‘suits’. The colour of the suit won’t change the colour you have for your Mii clothes as their armless, ball-shaped hands will keep the colour you had. The product itself will be just its black silhouette so you won’t know how exactly it will look like until you purchase it, this can cause some disappointment but overall I’ve been okay with my ‘exchanges’.
Now on the games themselves:
SP Squad has a retro feeling to it as you use your ship to cross the level shooting obstacles. The more streetpasses the more different powers you can get. The game will give you a target goal, 5 hidden treasures to collect and finishing the mission without losing your allies (each time you get hit you lose a friend capsule) and will rank you accordingly. As you cross with other players you will become part of a ranking chart. This is my second favourite game as it is not as monotonous as you would initially suppose. It features some cutscenes and the missions have some variety. The difficult keeps increasing as you beat levels. I haven’t finish the game yet but so far I can see room for around 12 missions. After completing them I assume you can continue to polish your rank to try to be part of the best ones in your city. So while short, I think it is a good choice for most people.
Next we have SP Garden, perhaps the one we feel more exceptic of since we heard it. This game is a slow paced one where your objective is to grow 20 different plants. As you give the game the opportunity you will discover that it is more to it than that. You plant a seed and your streetpass help it grow, bloom and germinate with their own plants. Eventually you can go for jobs consisting on growing a certain type of plant that fulfill certain criteria. This game feels therapeutic and a bit the like the kind of click games you have come to expect from facebook. I don’t find it very fun as they claim but it is nice to have a less action-oriented option.
SP Battle is probably the first one I open everytime I enter the plaza, not because it is addictive but because it will have you trying to elevate your army numbers for most of the session. The objective of the game is to conquest the countries of the world in a defined path, each country will require you to gather more and more forces. When you are in battle there are three groups in your forces that work just like rock, paper, scissors you can win a battle with a bigger group or by superior group. If you win 2 out of 3 battles, you win the match. If you were fighting against a monarch you will get some of their troops, if you are fighting in the game you will win the country and its materials (when available) to level up your castle. You can also see the ranks of your streetpasses monarch and how they rank with their armies against yours.
SP Mansion which undoubtedly gives a deja-vu feeling with the latest Luigi’s 3Ds title but aside the initial premise the games are different. here you investigate a 30 floor mansion and each streetpass offer you a piece that will help you form rooms, the bigger they are the more chests you will find. Some times they’ll give you a mini puzzle where you have to place the given pieces, they take your time and if your beat their suggested limit you get better stuff. This is my favourite game because even if it can be a bit tedious I enjoy the battles better than the original SP Quest and some icons are very interesting.
In conclusion:
I do recommend them, specially for those fond of their 3DS that see themselves using the system for a few more years. The games were developed by third parties and are varied. Expect a bit more than what we’ve seen from StreetPass Quest I & II but don’t expect anything too complex. They are simple games to give you different things to do with your streetpasses.
If you visit the Mii Plaza and would like more to do with your Miis this bundle may be worth it for you, specially if you are after the new outfits and hats, the more games available the more possibility to unlock a ‘Plaza Ticket’ in your session. If you don’t care much for StreetPass you might rather use the money for games for the virtual console or other kind of applications instead.
