The Dog Island

The Dog Island

The Wii Version Box Art
Developer(s) Yuke's
Publisher(s) Ubisoft Neko Entertainment
Platform(s) Wii, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)
  • JP April 26, 2007
  • AUS March 13, 2008
  • EU April 11, 2008
  • NA May 6, 2008
Genre(s) Adventure
Distribution Wii Optical Disc

The Dog Island (often typeset as "THE DOG Island") is a 2007 Role-playing video game for the Wii and PlayStation 2 consoles in which players control a dog and must go on a journey to search for a special flower to aid their sick sibling, which can only be found by achieving their goal to become a "sniff master". The player interacts with various other animals in the game that give hints and information to aid on the quest. It was released on April 26, 2007 in Japan by Yuke's.

Gameplay

On the Wii, the character is controlled by use of the Wii Remote moving an on-screen cursor around. On the PlayStation 2 version, it is through free movement via the controller.[1]

The player can customize their dog with accessories in the game such as hats, glasses, ribbons and more. As they get further in the game, more items become available at shops throughout the island, or can be created at the accessories shop. The player will need certain materials to create different accessories such as silver, colored glass and beautiful stone, which may be found in houses, outside, or as prizes in minigames.

Story

The story starts in the town of Puroro. The player's sibling, who has an illness, gets very sick during a festival. The doctor in the town cannot heal the sibling, but he says that Dr. Potan, who is from the Dog Island, may be able to. You decide to board a pirate ship with Captain El Dorado and his crew, but when a storm comes and the ship has to turn around, your player jumps off the ship and nearly drowns if it is not for a blue bird. You next wake up at Pupsville, a village on the Dog Island. The player meets Dr. Potan, who says that he can heal the player's sibling if he makes a special medicine. The player then befriends an Anc named Petasi and finds herbs for the doctor's medicine, but the medicine turns out not to be strong enough. You then head back to the Dog Island to become a sniff master and try to find the Legendary Flower, which might not exist. This is where the real adventure begins.

The player has the ability to choose their dog's breed, color, gender, and name, as well as the gender of their sibling.

Reception

The Dog Island
Wii version
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings68% (based on 5 reviews)[2]
Metacritic70% (based on 4 reviews)[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Computer and Video Games6.4/10[4]
GamesRadar5/10[5]
GameTrailers6.6/10[6]
GameZone7.4/10[7]
IGN7.0[1]

IGN described the game as "a seriously odd title", but stated that "it’s the overall size and robust feel of the game that actually makes it worth a second look." Regarding the Wii version of the game, "The Dog Island proves a very important point about Wii. There’s nothing wrong with casual-centric titles, as long as they’re made well."[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Dog Island Review". IGN. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  2. "The Dog Island for Wii". GameRankings. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  3. "Dog Island, The (wii) reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  4. "Review: The Dog Island Review". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  5. "The Dog Island Review". GamesRadar. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  6. "The Dog Island Video Game". GameTrailers. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  7. "The Dog Island". Gamezone. Retrieved 31 May 2010.

External links