Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus – GBA – Review

In
the GBA version, players watch a short clip of Wenlock threatening Annika and
Brietta, then turning their friends and family into statues. He also turns
Brietta into Pegasus, a flying horse.  Annika has to use the magical Wand of
Light to reverse the enchantment. These statues are all around the houses and
lands, and Annika must locate all of them and use her wand to turn them back
into people, before the enchantment will end.

This is a simple platform
game where players will direct Annika from ledge to ledge, finding statues and
transforming them. Annika has a magic wand, which serves the dual purpose of
changing the statues, and also giving Annika the power to float and hover in
order to get to higher levels. As in most platform action games, Annika has a
health meter, which can be damaged by enemy hazards. If her health is low,
there are a few health power-ups hidden in the levels which will boost her
health. If her health is too damaged and she expires, she will return to the
beginning of that particular level. The easy mode allows players to have
unlimited health.

Annika’s wand is the
action in this game, and has four additional powers besides the transformation
function.  These powers are awarded throughout the game, in the different
worlds Annika traverses. They allow Annika to jump higher, float, melt ice and
turn enemies into flowers.

In each level, Annika’s
main job is to find all the statues and transform them. A few side quests
involve finding keys and using them to unlock doors, which in turn opens up a
special mini-game.  Once a mini-game has been unlocked, it can be played any
time in the arcade menu. There are lots of mini-games, but they are just
variations on two themes: Ride Pegasus through the clouds and gather items,
and use Annika’s wand on blocks to make them disappear and allow her access
through them.

The graphics are well
done, and match the movie nicely. Everything is pastel, of course. There isn’t
much to look at in each level, though, as the environments are sparsely
decorated with not many items in the houses, and not much shrubbery outside.

Well, there’s not a whole
lot else to say about this game. Basically, each level is pretty much like the
other, with players moving Barbie around from ledge to ledge, toggling between
the special powers of the wand to gain access to various areas. Once Barbie
finds a statue, she turns it into a person, and that’s that, folks. The
mini-games are simple and not much fun, with really only two games available,
as they are all just slightly different from each other. The plain and boring
look of the levels doesn’t help any, either. There is a costume area where
players can choose different costumes for Annika, but this doesn’t add
anything much to the gameplay.

It’s a shame this game is
so yawningly boring, as the design and presentation is actually better than
many of the kids’ games I’ve looked at lately. The game is designed for young
players, and features easily avoidable enemies and a great “jumping” system
combined with the wand’s special powers.  The use of the wand allows Annika to
float either very high straight upwards, or to hover in a sideways manner. 
This movement is smooth and flawless, and Annika will almost always hit her
target ledge. The youngest players can choose the Easy difficulty level, and
never die, which is great! And, Annika can really jump, which is a welcome
change from many GBA games.

However, despite the good
programming, there just isn’t any fun gameplay.  Everything is repetitive, and
most kids will get bored and stop playing fairly quickly. Parents will
probably want to think twice before purchasing this game.  

Gameplay: 6
The gameplay,
while designed well, is very boring.  Nothing fun going on here at all.

Graphics: 6
The graphics that
are there are well done, but there isn’t a lot there.

Sound: 7
The music is the
best feature of this game and is pleasant to hear.

Difficulty: Easy
The game is very
easy, as it’s designed for young Barbie fans.

Concept: 6
There is nothing
new here at all.

Overall: 6
The best designed
game in the world isn’t worth much if it isn’t any fun to actually play. Kids
will tire quickly of this game, as there just isn’t much to do except wander
around from ledge to ledge, turning statues into people. There should have
been more variety in the levels, with more puzzle solving and some type of
collectables. There are costumes that are earned during the game, but they
don’t add anything to the gameplay.