Cool, confident, and charming, New Style Boutique 2 is a knockout. If you're at all into fashion, this is a must-play, and even if you're not it's well worth dropping in to check out everything Beaumonde City has to offer - this is a deep, engaging sim with the looks, brains and fun to entertain just about anyone.
Style Savvy: Fashion Forward has the light touch that one would hope for in a lifestyle simulator. Even more fascinating is that it's not targeted at a 20-something like myself, but the game's attitude makes it feel accessible for all audiences. It's coherent, well-composed, and actually interested in fashion. Although it's not my typical venue, it's easy to imagine that those looking to relax and find their style will be able to dig very deep in Fashion Forward.
Fashion Forward is a bit of a mixed bag. There's a lot more expansion in the items, with the detriment of most of them becoming more pixelated, most everything is made more childish...I dont mind that as much as I mind the lack of draw to keep playing beyond some of the story elements. You don't really get rewards for anything. I love making outfits and the ability to now do people's hair and make-up, but the designer and modeling parts were bare-bones and unnecessary, plus the way you get more colors in your overall palate is by taking photos of random stuff. Yuck.
Fashion Forward is a proper sequel, that's how I want to put it. It has some give and take, it needs to be polished more. The game before it can still be seen as better in a lot of ways. It doesn't wholly copy paste and refine Trendsetters, and I wouldn't want it to. I'm satisfied but I want more. If that makes much sense. =P
Improved on the previous entry a lot. Increased amount of make up colours, let you design your own sets for sale, lets you seperate fringes and hair styles when cutting hair (as well as a huge increase of hair styles; I think they tripled the amount). Lots of new clothes including Nintendo themed ones with Amiibo support. Another good feature is the group of NPCs you befriend (and some you confront) over the course of the game. With 5 different jobs and 5 areas you can visit outside the city, this has far more playtime than the previous 3DS entry. My main criticisms; that the design aspect is not very expansive and that the male fashion aspect was almost entirely removed.
New Style Boutique - Fashion Forward is very well designed to its target audience and it's perfectly accessible to pick up and play. Everything in this game is done fluidly and despite a certain level of repetition, the players bound to be allured by this New Style Boutique will find plenty of reasons to dedicate themselves to this experience of fashion management.
There are niggles and little things that could potentially annoy, but the sheer amount of content outshines any of it. Sit back, relax and step into the Fashion Narnia that is New Style Boutique 2.
New Style Boutique 2: Fashion Forward hasn't revolutionized the genre since the last game, but the new activities are welcome and the game is very easy for the casual audience it targets. For the most seasoned player it will feel very repetitive.
If Style Savvy: Fashion Forward is the franchise's last hurrah, it certainly doesn't go out on a low note as it has the best fashion and is filled to the brim with stuff to do. But readjusting to a real time clock means changing the way I enjoy this series, and without the addictive draw of a short day and night cycle, I don't see this game taking dozens of hours of my time as past entries have done.
This game is definitely a step backwards from Trendsetters. Very little has been improved and much of what made Trendsetters so appealing has been lost. If we compare the original Style Savvy to Trendsetters we see a day and night difference. Trendsetters had polished graphics, a diverse selection of well thought out looks, a phenomenal soundtrack that is leaps and bounds better than the previous installment, and an overall cohesive and chic presentation that was appealing a wide audience. Fashion Forward is definitely aimed at younger girls in the 10 and under demographic. Instead of trendy urban setting, you are introduced to the game in a fantasy setting: you walk through a dollhouse door into a less realistic and more "cutesy" sort of city. The locales are more colorful, Bougainville is completely pink, the beautician's is completely pink, the interface and menu buttons are bright and softly shaded. This is okay, but part of what made Trendsetters so good was the appeal to older players. What's most disappointing is the fact that almost no improvements or innovations have been made. There is an expanded makeup palette butt many of the colors are over-saturated. You can design garments but the system is very restrictive, it boils down to picking out colors for pre-made templates. There are many new garments, but they are so lazy! They look like MS DOS graphics, and that is not an exaggeration. This is the worst part! I was honestly hoping for more variety in the athletic style, but the majority of the new pieces are in this awful pixely style. They look like they were thrown together in MS Paint in 45 seconds. Horrible over-saturated colors, no shading or any effort at all. It boggles my mind how there are so many wonderful garments, but for most very little effort was put in. This series showed a lot of potential, but Fashion Forward failed to deliver.
SummaryManage your very own boutique and become the star of the entire fashion business!
Dive into the world of fashion!
Run your very own business and help your customers to become truly stylish!
The fashion is business in the palm of your hand - choose from your path and show your talent!
- Share your best looks and challenge your...