Giana Sisters DS Review
Written By Gaetano Prestia
Back in 1987, a little gem of a title was released on the Commodore 64 titled Giana Sisters. Pitting gamers up against evil birds and one-eyed slimy creatures, the objective was to help Giana fight her way through a mysterious dream world to collect her stolen diamonds. While the game was simple yet fun and the levels short but challenging, the game had one major downfall – it was pretty much identical to Super Mario Bros. Due to extreme pressure from Nintendo - who was threatening legal action - publisher Rainbow Arts was forced to withdraw the game from shelves almost as soon as it was released. That helped the game develop a strong cult following, and after several unofficial remakes and some appearances on mobile phones, developer Spellbound Entertainment have brought the cult classic from the 80s to the DS. Is this remake worth your time, or is it just a diamond in the rough?
Giana Sisters DS is a surprisingly fun title. It’s not overly long but it offers a high level of enjoyment that you would expect from a simple handheld platformer. Truth be told, it would be rather absurd to be overly critical of this title, yet praise a title like New Super Mario Bros. There’s no designation of saying that Giana Sisters DS is better than that title, but it offers plenty of 80s indulgence and new gameplay features that make it a worthy purchase.
It’s in its own simplicity that Giana Sisters DS shines. There is that main objective to reach the end of the level and ultimately progress through the world, but the game offers plenty of incentive to explore each level, solve the (seemingly) simplest of puzzles and collect every last diamond available so as to achieve a better overall rating. It’s not that the title punishes you for missing a few of the ever-important red diamonds (of which there are only a few in each level), but it makes you want to strive for impeccability. Finishing this title with a “Well done!” just doesn’t feel as rewarding as “Perfect!” and while not all of you will have the same level of perfectionism that is required to complete this game in its fullest, it’s worth noting that simply rushing through the levels and completing the game won’t allow you to experience Giana Sisters DS in its fullest, most entertaining form.
This is where this title distances itself from Super Mario Bros. It might be, at its core, a very similar game, but there are small differences that seem to propel Giana Sisters DS that little bit higher. While moving through each level will bring back some 80s NES nostalgia, this remake has a spectacular level of attention-to-detail, from the hair moving up and down as your character jumps, to the cool and memorable 80s-centric keyboard soundtrack that you’ll be whistling for weeks. There’s also the somewhat gimmicky feature that has you blowing into the microphone to allow Giana to float up in a bubble after she consumes some bubble-gum. Levels are often designed in such a way as to dictate the use of the bubble-gum or cola can, which allows you to hose down and break up cement blocks that may be blocking your path. The great thing about these features is that they’re not over-used, and sometimes they’re there just so you can reach a hidden red diamond. It’s in the non-compulsory placement and overall timidly use of the features that make them a pleasure to use, and both add a whole new level of enjoyment to the simple, run-and-jump platform gameplay. Had they been used in every level, the enjoyment factor may have been decreased significantly, but with the variety of the level design and increasing difficulty as you progress, the developer has gone in a near-perfect direction with the features.
While Giana Sisters DS won’t take you all that long to complete, this is the sort of title that, once you put it down, within an hour you’ll want to pick it up again and put in another hour or so. It’s because of the simplistic nature of the controls and challenging (and sometimes frustrating) levels that have you coming back for more and more. The replayability and pick-up-and-play factor is really what makes a good platformer, and that’s exactly what Giana Sisters DS is.
There are eight worlds with over 80 levels, and while it might only take you 3-4 hours to finish the game in full, there’s plenty of incentive to go back and play it all over again. Not only do you have the incentive of pure perfection by collecting every single red diamond (which can be at times frustratingly difficult to find and reach), you also have the ability to unlock the original Giana Sisters C64 game by going through the game without getting a game over. That might sound simple, but the title gets progressively harder as you move through it. There are parts that aren’t just simply run-and-jump, and you have to really time your movement and ensure you land in the exact right spot so as to not be burnt by fire or hit by a rolling spike machine.
The Final Verdict
Giana Sisters DS is a big surprise. Some of us already knew how cool the original was, and it’s just a shame that not many people got to play it (damn you, Nintendo!). But now, with this fantastic remake on the DS, you have another great platformer to get into. This might look like Super Mario Bros., but it’s actually so much more. It’s great how the gimmicky additions are actually a lot of fun do use and that they’re not used in every single level. There’s also a great level of difficulty that gets harder the deeper you get into the title. The incentive is there for a replay, giving this game plenty of value and making it worthy of a purchase.
Gameplay
9.3/10
It’s simple, fun and accessible gameplay. There’s really nothing to it. Yet, there’s so much to love about it. This it the type of game that you play for an hour, go away for 15 minutes and then suddenly you find yourself playing it again.
Graphics
8.8/10
A great cartoony look and feel, with some cool animations. The detail in some of the levels is actually really good, from the cracks in the walls, to the ice spikes dangling from the walls of a cold cave.
Sound
8.5/10
A great (yet repetitive) 80s-centric soundtrack. You’ll look forward to playing in specific areas just to hear a specific tune. If you grew up playing Commodore 64 and loving the soundtracks of games like Commando, you’ll love the way this game sounds.
Value
9.0/10
It’s the type of game that you’ll play through in a few sittings, but then you’ll pick it up again in a week just to pass the time and breeze through some levels. Five months down the track and you’ll probably be doing the same thing.
Overall
9.1/10
Submitted by Gaetano
14/08/2009
66
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