Two years ago Nintendo released their first Disney Magical World for their 3DS family systems, and both me and Abby really loved the game. It was really fun to play, with cute graphics and cheerful music, is educational with plenty of problem solving and comprehension practice, and it's all happening in the world of Disney, where you get to interact and live with familiar characters!
Recently, Nintendo has released the second installment Disney Magical World 2 for Nintendo 3DS, that has over 100 Disney characters and 4 new Disney worlds players can interact with, so we were really looking forward to get our hands on it! We were expecting it to be just as good as the first one, if not better, and after a few days of playing, we both agree that the 2nd game was just as enjoyable to play as the first one, but with even better designs, and since Abby is now in KS2, she gets even more out of the game.
The basic gameplay is similar to the first Disney Magical World, which you can read up through our previous review here, and you can find out more about Nintendo 3DS Disney Magical World 2 here:
| Love the vibrant colours in this game! |
Character Creation:
Players start the game by creating their own character. There are plenty of styles to choose from for hair, eyes and other facial features, and you can always go back to change this at the log-in screen whenever you feel like it.
Save Game and map:
Players can save the game any time they want, and when they log back in to the game, they will be at the location they've last visited.
Castleton is fairly large, so the map on the touch screen is really handy. It also shows you where all the NPCs (non-player characters) are, who you can talk to to increase your Nice point (you'll get a surprise once your Nice point has reached a certain level!), and where you have to go next (indicated by the golden star wand). It also shows you if anyone have any special requests.
Home:
Players will be living next to Mickey Mouse's house, and they are free to decorate the inside of it. You will require someone to make furniture and accessories for you, which will require raw materials to make and stickers to unlock, so although at the beginning there isn't much inside the house, it encourages players to save and collect for the items they want, just like in the real world!
Create Items and Clothing:
After unlocking Daisy Duck and Chip and Dale's shops, players will be able to create items by providing the correct materials and some money. New recipes can be collected as well by fulfilling requests.
Collect Materials:
Materials and recipes can be collected by either clicking on the sparkling items you see around the world (such as bushes and trees), clearing dungeons, as well as helping citizens with their requests.
Players might feel a bit nervous going into the dungeon at first as you do need to defeat ghosts, but they are fairly easy to defeat, and there is a tutorial teaching you new moves too. Your weapon is a magical wand, which makes the adventure even more fun (who wouldn't want a magical wand to wave around?).
Stickers:
To unlock areas that requires a sticker level to go in, players will have to complete main quests, such as creating your first piece of furniture, which will reward you with a sticker. We have collected about 20+ stickers, and so far each quest has been quite straight forward.
Cafe:
Eventually, players will be able to unlock a Cafe, and they will be given the job to look after it. Cafe can provide a lot of money within a short period of time to fuel your shopping and item creations, and it's quite fun to look after the cafe too, where you can choose what food is served, staff outfits and decoration, and if your theme points is high enough, you can even hold parties!
Episode:
Further into the game, players will be able to unlock new episodes. An episode is a separate world where specific character (s) live, for example, we have just unlocked Lilo & Stitch's world, and we get to visit their home in Hawaii by going through the episode portal! There is a whole lot of new materials you can collect, and plenty of interactions too of course.
Apart from Haiwaii, you will also get to unlock Arendelle (Frozen) and 100 Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh)!
Seasonal Fun:
Disney Magical World 2 for Nintendo 3DS has just been updated and is currently holding the Halloween event! The Magic Castle is decorated with Halloween decorations, and players can also collect Halloween items by visiting the kiosk, and scanning a QR code on Nintendo's website. We can't wait to find out what's in store for us on Halloween night, and Christmas too!
Graphics:
Nintendo 3DS Disney Magical World 2 is a bit like the first Disney Magical World, with lots of cute and pretty graphics, We love the fireworks that plays behind the Magic Castle, and all the CGI effects! There is plenty of places for you to take selfies too, using the in-game camera.
We think that Nintendo 3DS Disney Magical World 2 will make a great Christmas gift for Disney fans. There is plenty to do, and the game provides plenty of learn through play opportunities. Younger children might not know it, but through the game, they will learn how to earn money to get the items they want (you need to work for it), how to earn even more money by improving their Cafe, and they will be rewarded by being nice and helpful too. They will also learn to get clues by understanding what characters are telling them, get patient (sometimes we have to do one thing at a time), fashion and interior design, and train their hand-eye coordination, while having fun!
We also love it that they include seasonal fun, and you can get extra items by scanning QR codes and AR cards!
As a parent, there really isn't much more I'd ask for from a game for young children. We hope your little (or big!) Disney fan will enjoy the game as much as we do!
