is a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by Game Republic and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was a Japanese

launch title This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

Gameplay

The game plays as a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

in which up to four players compete to be the first to reach a goal. Each board features multiple routes, with some being shorter and riskier, while others are longer but potentially more lucrative in terms of prizes. There are a number (30+) of different

mini games A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

which can be triggered during play, similar to the ''

Mario Party is a party video game series featuring characters from the ''Mario'' franchise in which up to four local players or computer-controlled characters (called " CPUs") compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. The games are currentl ...

'' series. Before play begins, players select a character and customize the character with a variety of items and accessories unlocked during previous sessions. When playing online via Xbox Live, this helps provide a unique appearance as compared to other players.

Roulette wheels

Movement is handled by spinning roulette wheels, although players actually collect the wheels themselves during the course of the game and pick which wheel to use each turn. There are 37 different wheels, with different distributions of numbers, allowing some strategy in trying to get the desired number to come up. Players can store up to five different roulette wheels at once. Some roulette wheels contain ''star spaces''. If the wheel lands on one of these locations, the player is subjected to the bonus or penalty from the current square again. While this can be helpful if on a particularly beneficial square, such spaces usually have little or no movement accompanying them, and so ultimately hinder progression towards the goal.

Medals

In addition to collecting roulette wheels, players also collect

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s (frequently referred to as "coins", due to their resemblance to gold coins). These medals are used as payment to pass certain obstacles, to avoid certain negative effects, or to make purchases (often of coveted roulette wheels).

Development

The characters in the game were designed by Japanese writer and manga artist

Momoko Sakura (8 May 1965 – 15 August 2018) was the pen name of a Japanese manga artist from Shimizu, Shizuoka Prefecture. She was best known as the creator of the long-running manga ''Chibi Maruko-chan''. Biography Miki Miura, was born 8 May 1965. She rev ...

, known for her work on ''

Chibi Maruko-chan is a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Momoko Sakura. The series depicts the simple, everyday life of Momoko Sakura, a young girl everyone calls ''Maruko'', and her family in suburban Japan in the year 1974. Maruko is a tro ...

''.

Reception

As the title was released only in Japan, most English language review sites previewed the game but neglected to perform a full review. Positives which were highlighted included customizable online play and a unique artistic style. Negative comments focused on long load times, dated graphics, and overly-simplistic mini games. Japanese review scores: * ''Weekly Famitsū'': 30 out of 40 (75%) * '' Famitsū Xbox 360'': 24 out of 40 (60%)

References

External links

Official website
{{Game Republic 2005 video games Digital board games Game Republic games Japan-exclusive video games Microsoft games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Xbox 360 games Xbox 360-only games