Style Savvy is deceptive. On first glance, the game doesn’t look like much more than a digital version of Paris Hilton’s closet. I was skeptical. Most of my experiences with games marketed toward the female demographic include large amounts of disappointment and little amounts of store credit on my GameStop card. But when I started playing, I realized I was in for a treat.
Nintendo collaborated with fashion experts during development, and together they created one of the most completely addicting fashion games I’ve ever seen. Style Savvy rocks an intimidating amount of available clothing styles and brands as well as a detailed search engine and creative ways to share original outfits with friends.
After learning the ropes at a tutorial shop, I was relocated to my very own boutique where I was able to customize the background music, store interior and mannequin displays. After choosing a name, I opened my doors for business.
As customers entered my store, it was my job to greet them and then help them find what they were looking for. Each client has a budget and a specific style. Some girls want ruffles and lace; others want buckles and rhinestones. As I continued to help each person, I earned money for the store and for my own pocket. I also learned how to mix and match different brands.
There are 16 in-game labels to stock your store with, ranging from high-end celebrity fashions, to gothic petticoats and plain jean jackets. Obtaining styles from brands like Capsule, Marble Lily and Pembridge means a trip to the buyer’s warehouse — my absolute favorite part of the game. Going to the warehouse is like the final round in Supermarket Sweep.
Five of these, 10 of those; the only thing that hampered my spending was limited space in my stockroom. It was so much fun to browse through all the styles and brands, and since the game is synchronized with the DS calendar, the clothes change with the seasons. Not all the brands are available every day, and on Sundays, the warehouse hosts a pre-season event featuring styles not seen during the rest of the week.
When I wasn’t spending all my cash at the warehouse, make-up store or salon, I was fine-tuning my customer service abilities. Selling clothes is harder than it looks, and not every customer is easy to please. Checking out what the client had on helped me figure out their preferences. A lot of the customers wore outfits I am convinced should be confiscated by the fashion police, and it gave me a sense of accomplishment every time someone left my store in a Magoo original. However, their pickiness with brands was irritating, and I often wished my patrons had more lenience toward a mixed label ensemble.
Getting it right was difficult at first; it wasn’t hard to spot someone who liked gothic or punk styles, but brands like Sonata, Alvarado and Epoque have similar looks, and it took me a while until I was able to spot the differences. The search tool helped me navigate the endless pile of clothes in the stockroom by filtering items based on type, detail, brand, price, color and pattern.
As a stream of satisfied customers left my store, my rating gradually grew. Earning another star unlocked goodies like stock space, background music and interiors. Other perks include collaborating with brands to create limited edition items and getting featured on the cover of the in-game fashion magazine.
Style Savvy’s replay value is endless when online play is considered. By connecting to the wireless network, it is possible to browse the boutiques of other online fashionistas and manage your own branch. Send flyers advertising new styles to friends, and lure other gamers into your shop. Any items purchased online are saved to the apartment wardrobe.
The graphics found in Style Savvy are relatively simple — static background with characters in the foreground and text bubbles at the bottom of the screen. There isn’t much of a story, and the characters are not masters of conversation. The requests from customers are repetitive, and eventually, I stopped reading the dialogue altogether. Another issue is the music. It’s not terrible; it just gets really annoying after awhile, but this is easily fixed by turning the volume down.
Despite this one flaw, Style Savvy is worth its weight in cashmere. The game has endless online and exclusive download possibilities, and the casual atmosphere permits both quick look-ins and lengthy rounds of dress-up. The level of design control makes the boutique really feel like it belongs to me, and I highly recommend this game for anyone who has a penchant for fashion.
