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Why Art Style rules DSiWare
Skip's unassuming series is the best reason to upgrade to a DSi. But do you know the history behind these titles? Read on...
Written by Chris Schilling, 07 July 2009
It's surprising to find that few people realise that one of Nintendo's biggest hits with hardcore gamers of recent times - the Art Style series on WiiWare and DSiWare - is not, by any means, a brand new development.
It all started on the GameBoy Advance in Japan in the summer of 2006. Seven games were released under the 'bit Generations' banner - three on July 13th, and four more which arrived two weeks later. The games were released in gorgeous limited edition packaging - tiny cardboard boxes with simple, stylish, highly-collectible designs which became much sought-after among importers. Though they were always going to be fairly niche titles, sales were still disappointing, and so the series - set to be named Digiluxe for western audiences - was scrapped for other territories. The GBA was comparatively struggling for sales on these shores at the time, anyway, so the abandonment of the project was hardly a surprise.
PlayZine Issue 29
For our latest DSiWare coverage, click here to download PlayZine Issue 29 for free.Fast-forward a couple of years or so, and two of the games from the original series - Orbital and Dialhex - were revamped and re-released under the Art Style banner on WiiWare, as Orbient and Rotohex respectively. They were joined by a third game, Cubello, which was an original creation.
Yet it's on the DSiWare service that the series has found its natural home - as a series of bite-sized, quick-fix puzzlers ideal for playing on the move, it's here that the games have enjoyed the most success. Six games have been released in Japan, with HacoLife (or BoxLife, as it is known in the US) the only one yet to make it to Europe. Of the remainder, KuBos (nee Nalaku) and PiCOPiCT are our favourites, alongside Code, which was released in the DSi's launch week.
Even back to its bit Generations origins, the Art Style series has consistently melded minimalist style and design with contemporary ideas to offer something of a postmodern twist on the puzzle game - BoxLife and KuBos in particular being successful exponents of this ideology.
I only hope Nintendo carries on supporting Skip in this venture - it's interesting to see this big company with such a huge mass-market following have this almost avant garde indie sideline. It's not unlike Miramax using its successful blockbusters to fund development of smaller, more critically-acclaimed features, and long may it continue.
DSiWare coverage available in PlayZine Issue 29 - click here to download it for free!
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