Brave – Nintendo DS

OK, I’m a grown-up. Probably not the right demographic for this game, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The main complaint in other reviews seems to be that it’s short. Well, I didn’t pay list price, and feel like I definitely got good value for the $ spent.

I haven’t seen the movie, so the whole story was new to me. There’s a bit of a lesson, as is commonly the case in Disney/Pixar products. The heroine is extremely capable and meets & conquers challenges.

There are some puzzles/mini-games–all pretty easy (slider puzzles, Simon-type mini-games, pipe connecting puzzles).

There are loads of enemies to defeat, but the heroine has skills, weapons and armor that make those battles readily winnable. There are 7 levels each of armor, bow and sword. The upgraded versions are discovered in yellow-trimmed treasure chests that are scattered thru the levels.

Golden orbs and health-restoring potions are found in red-trimmed treasure chests and after defeating enemies. Collect the orbs to buy upgrades for skills. Upgrades are available between levels.

Levels are short, so save points are not an issue. If you do quit the game in mid-level, you start from the beginning of that level.

No regrets on my purchase…enjoyed it! Now, if I could just figure out how to open the gate in the cave to get me to the last yellow-trimmed treasure chest (seems to have a sword upgrade in it) in the Coastal Cliffs level. Argh!!! Where’s a smart 5-year-old when I need one?

My six year old son has enjoyed playing this game. It can be difficult for him at times, but usually he can play it with no parental assistance. It helped keep him entertained during some very long plane rides, and managed to hold his attention for at least a good 30 minutes.

Great design and graphics. And puzzles were good as well. It’s not too tough so that discourages young’ns from keep playing. But it’s also not so easy that you can finish in 2-3 hours like some people below are asserting… at least not for the 9 years old. For someone who’s been playing games more than several hours every day, which most Americans seem to do these days, this game may be a bit easy. But folks who enjoys a good game now and then, I think it’s a great game.