Electroplankton (DS) Review

Even the most jaded Nintendo fan has to realize that the DS isn't doing so hot. With scores of machines left to collect dust in retail stores and other units traded in for a PSP, it's looking bleak for Mario's handheld, despite what the shipping numbers say. Naturally, the software library is to blame. The lack of third party support and the one Nintendo game per month has left many DS owners with bitter tastes in their mouths, and if you're one of these poor souls I urge you to gargle and rinse with Electroplankton. Not only is it extremely fun to play, but it's one of the first DS games that actually shows us what Nintendo's been talking about for the past year.

Electroplankton is the brainchild of interactive media artist Toshio Iwai, and if you take a moment to peek inside the manual you'll discover that it was truly a labor of love. Not only did he come up with the idea, but he also directed, designed, and programmed it. More a toy than a videogame, it allows you to create music by interacting with several special fish called (you guessed it) Electroplankton, each of which elicits a very unique response when you interact with it.

It's this interaction that makes the game so interesting. While most of these little guys need to be touched to do cool stuff, others will respond to your voice or loud clapping, so much like a biology lab the game is all about experimentation. You may also want to mess around with the other buttons, which more often than not adjusts the arrangement of the critters or changes the music/instrument.

Everything about Electroplankton is musical, from the title screen to even the left and right directional arrows that you'll tap to cycle through various choices. Most of your time will be spent interacting with the plankton in either Performance (you choose the plankton) or Audience (the game chooses the plankton and puts on a show, though you can still interact with it), so it's important to have an idea of what each does.

Although Electroplankton's manual is about 98% Japanese, you don't need to understand the language in order to enjoy the game, but here's a run down of the plankton and the exciting things that they do.