There’s just something enduringly cute about the popular Sanrio characters, Hello Kitty and friends. My girls and I have always liked them, and I tend to pick up various Hello Kitty items at yard sales and Goodwill stores for myself and for them. I was pleased to see that Namco was publishing Hello Kitty Roller Derby for the GameCube, and was happy for the chance to review the game.

The story behind the game is pretty lame, but most videogame plots are short on logic. Such as it is, here it is: Block-O has left his planet to conquer the universe, and lands on Earth.  Here, he sees people throwing away boxes after giving each other gifts, and grows angry at the treatment he supposes is being accorded to fellow block-shaped items. He dispatches an army of blocks to take over Earth and help the downtrodden boxes. It’s up to Hello Kitty and her friends to “block” the Blockheads.

Hello Kitty Roller Derby features Hello Kitty on roller skates, which is an unusual mode of transportation. It works fairly well and is a good match for the 3D environment in terms of fluidity and the look of the skating, but tends to be a slow kind of movement.  At times, it feels like Hello Kitty is moving around in molasses. Hitting a button will give her a boost of speed, but it is very short-lived.

Other than the unusual method of movement, this is a typical platform game for children. Hello Kitty spends her time whacking the bad guys, which garners stars that power up special fighting moves, collecting coins, and either finding special items around the levels, or accomplishing certain tasks to win special items. Taking out bad guys is the primary task at hand, with most other things being secondary. There are a lot of different Blocks to fight and most of them require quite a few hits to take them out, but there are lots of lifepoint items around for Hello Kitty to pick up, so finishing a level successfully is hardly ever a problem. However, the boss levels are quite a bit harder than the regular levels, and will often require replaying again and again to conquer.

At the end of each level, Hello Kitty is rewarded with either new outfits or weapons, and can change these items in her room. This room also has game options such as saving current games, choosing unlocked music, and picking a character to help Hello Kitty in later levels. Movie clips can also be viewed after being unlocked.

The gameplay for the most part is easy, with the exception of the boss levels. Hello Kitty has to rescue her friends in each level, and will need to solve some easy puzzles in order to do so. These puzzles are super easy, as the in-game hints are very plain as to what is needed for each task. Simple levers, bridges, movable boxes and unlockable doors are the main type of puzzle encountered.  Action is the main focus of the game, but after about the fourth level, Hello Kitty has help in the form of a friend, who will aid her automatically in fighting. These friends can be leveled up, by Hello Kitty finding special items for them.

This game is 3D, and it looks great. Everything is vividly colored, and the Hello Kitty characters look just as bright and cheerful as always. However, the camera movement is distracting, as it’s just a little too “close-up” to the action to be comfortable, especially for those prone to motion sickness, like myself. Also, the camera tended to get stuck at points, and too many times Hello Kitty will be battling away in front of a tree or other obstacle, sight unseen.

As befitting a children’s game, the button actions are simple and easy to use, with the B button for fighting, the A button for jumping, combos of both A and B for hitting and jumping together and double-jumping, and the Y button for general interaction. The B and A buttons work just as they ought (how nice to have a double jump that actually happens!), but the design of the Y button actions leaves a bit to be desired, as the “hot-spot” for most of these Y actions is very small. This can be frustrating, especially in the boss levels, when Hello Kitty won’t pick up bombs or other weapons, because she has moved a bit to the side and the Y button then disappears.

Hello Kitty Roller Rescue is a good children’s platformer, with an attractive combination of pleasing looks, easy tasks and collectibles. A few things hold it back from being a better game, such as the lack of mini-games, more interesting challenges and the awkward camera viewpoints. However, the presentation is nicely done and the ability to add clothes and weapons as they are unlocked is fun. This game is most likely to appeal to young girls under the age of 12.

Gameplay: 7.5
The action is fun and easy, with just enough variety to keep things interesting. However, the game is fairly short, and some mini-games would have helped liven things up a bit.

Graphics: 8.0 
Very nice visuals!

Sound: 7.0
The background music is innocuous and not annoying.

Difficulty: Easy
Very easy for the most part, except for the boss levels.

Concept: 7.0 
A good presentation of action and puzzles.

Overall: 7.5
A good children’s game that will provide some amusement for young girls. With more content and variety, it could have been a great game, but it still compares well to other similar games.