When you expect any game about Barbie to be an abomination, something like this actually takes you by surprise.
However, I got to play around with a copy of "Barbie, Magic Genie Adventure" and... well... not bad.
Not good either, though.
Let's start with the graphics. Coming out almost two years after the release of the GBC, one can't say they show the hardware's capabilities, especially since there's hardly any animation other than your character (Barbie) flying around and minor animations for the NPCs you can talk to. However, the game is very colorful and the art style is appropriate for the intended target audience (young girls).
Sound isn't any better, in fact, it fails to rise above mediocrity. There are only a handful of themes in the whole game but, given how short the whole experience is, that's probably enough. I'm puzzled, however, with the choice of theme for the maze areas of the game as it sounds like you're in a danger zone and you could be attacked at any time but, alas, there are no adversaries in this game so the theme just sounds out of place. Sound effects are bare bones and there are very few throughout the whole game, usually only associated to when you find an item, and little else.
In terms of gameplay, Barbie MGA is mostly an exploration game, with a few mini-games thrown in. I deemed the game as Very Easy because you literally can NOT die, faint, or otherwise "lose" in it. You may get temporarily stumped on a mini-game, or have trouble remembering which NPC wanted that necklace you just found, but that's it. I honestly believe this was the most forgiving game I ever played in my life, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you want your kid to feel entertained and not frustrated.
The basic story is that Barbie is a genie and she's having a picnic with her four female friends, Fiera, Marid, Sylvia and Terra, who are also genies. Meanwhile, a male character, called Kardal, steals the magic lamps of the four friends making them powerless. You, as Barbie, have to use your flying carpet to fly around and find these lamps which were scattered throughout the map. While you do this, there are many NPCs scattered around who give you hints or ask for an item.
Finding items and returning them to their owner makes the game longer but, as far as I can tell, it's absolutely pointless. You get no real reward for it other than a "thank you" and, most of the time, a symbolic item. I'm guessing this is how the game keeps "score", so if you finish the game with more items the better you did. However, in my first (and only) play through, I got the complete set of items and nothing happened, no unlockables, no anything.
Anyway, the main objective of the game revolves around finding someone that will give you a magical ring. That someone will ask you to do a very basic mini-game and, when you pass, you are given the ring which is essential to release the powers of the lamp of the same element when you find it. There are four rings to collect, one for each of the stolen lamps.
- the Air ring allows you to fly faster across the map (except underwater)
- the Earth ring allows you to talk with (some) animals.
- the Fire ring allows you to light up the Dragon Nursery (a cave)..
- the Water ring allows you to "fly" faster while in the underwater level.
In order to complete the game, you only need to do these mini-games once to get the rings, but you can play them two more times to get some extras - in fact, if you want to get all the items in the game, you'll need to do this.
If you play the mini-game a second time, it will be slightly harder, and you get a new magical carpet when you win... don't get too excited, though, as it's just a cosmetic change.
Playing the mini-game a third time, however, will present you with its hardest difficulty and, once beaten, you will get the full power of that element, which sounds cool, but is only used to break certain rocks that block your way in the maze levels (depending on the color/element of the rock, you need to use a power that beats it - for example, using the water power to break red/fire rocks).
There are seven mini-games, two training/tutorial ones, one for each of the four elements, and a final mini-game to acquire the item that allows you to defeat the "boss" that stole the genies' lamps.
1 - Crystal Charm Challenge: pick an orb with a tornado drawn in it and put it in the slot that has a tornado on it. Repeat for the other 3 orbs (rubble, flame and wave). I'm not kidding, that's really it. You just have to play it once, though, as it's a training game.
2 - Falling Crystals: in a Tetris-like screen, watch an orb fall. Press left or right until it hits the only block visible on the screen. I swear, it's just as I described. Like the one before, you only play it once.
3 - Field of Flowers: in a maze-like screen, move to every square without stepping on the same square twice. This one is actually a bit more envolved, and reminds me of the puzzle you have in Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire where there's a gym with ice floors that break if you step twice on them. This is the first real mini-game where you can play three times, at different difficulties.
4 - Pegasus Flight School: control a baby pegasus by making it jump on a few platforms. Make him reach the moon at the top to win. There are no enemies or time limits, but some platforms move. At the third and hardest difficulty this was the only mini-game I didn't get right on my first try.
5 - Twin Dragon Match: turn two cards and match them. Harder difficulty just increases the number of cards on screen.
6 - Marine Mix-Up: basically, a simon says variation. A few fish cross the screen, and you have to memorize which ones and then catch with a net the same fish you saw. Harder difficulties just make you memorize more fish.
7 - Magic Rainbow Potion: spin dials until they are all connected. Every dial has four connections so lining one side is not enough. You only have to play this once, as the final puzzle of the game.
The game is incredibly short. If you're an experienced gamer, you can beat it the first time in about 2 or 3 hours, and that's assuming you're going for all the items and get lost a couple of times while looking for the right NPC to deliver what they asked. A second play through, ignoring all the extra items, can be done easily in about ten minutes - faster if you're going for a speedrun.
Ironically, the game has a password system, so you don't have to play it all in one seating. May be useful for the target audience, so no complaints here.
Speaking of target audience, I expect this would entertain them quite a bit, especially since all the mini-games are available to be played on the starting screen, without having to go through the adventure mode.
The game cover states clearly that this is part of Barbie's "software for girls" series and if you know of a young girl who's a fan of Barbie, you could do a LOT worse than to offer her this game. However, being such a short adventure, and so easy to complete, makes it a hard title to recommend even for them.