Oscar Wilde once said that fashion is something so ugly that it has to change itself every six months. Well, Oscar clearly didn’t have access to an online Fashion Temple like the one in RagazzA3, a weird and wonderful Japanese fashion-meets-RPG game in which you control a cute teenage avatar chick that is just desperate to dress to impress.
The game takes a while to load initially, but one you explore the amount of images and data that you can explore offline, you’ll understand why. You’re presented with a sassy young lady striking a pose in her underwear and it is your job to make sure that she wears the right outfit for her quests. Take your time in dolling her up with various outfits; the home screen has a fairly comprehensive list of hairstyles, jackets, shirts, trousers, accessories, etc. that you can mix and match to achieve the look that you’re going for. You can also change the wallpaper to a variety of backdrops, from a teenage bedroom to high street shop’s dressing room, which is a nice touch.
Once she’s dressed up and ready to rock, you can take you avatar on a Quest; there are dozens of listed locations that she is going to strut her stuff at, such as Theme Park Fun, Beach Party, New Year’s in New York and, uh, Gothic Lolita Park. Each location has a description of When? (the season) Where? (the setting) With Whom? (gal pals, Mom and Dad, a first date, etc.) and Doing What? (details of the activity) so you can put more perspicacity into your Outfit Check.
If you feel as if you’re lady doesn’t have the correct attire, you can do what most teenage girls love to do and…shop! Take your girl on a stroll through town and visit all of the shops and outlets, including the aforementioned Fashion Temple, that sell various clothing wares. You can earn money for your shopping trips by completing quests and by sharing outfits in Facebook posts; alternatively, you can just shell out for an in-app purchase.
Once you are ready for your Quest, just hit the Get Ranked! button and the computer will determine your rank in the format of a Grade (A-F); if this seems a little judgemental, it’s because it is – but hey, it’s a real buzz to get an A from the cool kids!
The soundtrack, as you would expect from a Japanese fashion app, is incredibly cool; after a little research, I discovered that it was composed by Tsukahara Yoshihiro who also wrote the soundtrack for Mario Party 8. It adds a sense of fun and light-heartedness to what is already a very fun and chilled out game.
Another attractive element of the app is the fact that Halcon’s official website is hosting online fashion contests with Amazon Gift cards as prizes. Definitely worth a look.
All in all, RagazzA3 will appeal to anyone who has an interest in fashion and dressing up; and, if you ascribe to what Mr. Wilde says, then I’m sure they’ll be an update in six months to keep you looking pretty.
Check out RagazzA3 on Twitter and Facebook.
