A mario rip-off with terrific music
There's not much to say about Giana Sisters DS. It's a remake of the original Super Mario Bros rip-off "The Great Giana Sisters", and you know what, it still feels like a rip-off. In my mind, it's basically a less good version of the original super mario bros, but with better graphics, more complex level design and absolutely astounding music.
The thing with Sisters is that it's a different game than the Mario games. The platforming is not based on momentum or speed, you can't even run in this game! There are more 'puzzles', if you can call em that, and precision jumping. Going through a level in Giana is often more about finding the right path through a level than blazing through it. If I had to compare it to something, I'd say it feels a lot like the earlier Rayman games. Slow, and somewhat boring sometimes I admit. The game is also very easy, which doesn't help its cause. That being said, I wouldn't say the game is bad, it just isn't as exciting as a lot of the top platformers out there.
What really saves this game though is the music, especially if you grew up in the commodore era. They remixed all of the songs, but they kept the distinct SID chip sound throughout all of the remixed tunes, making this game a total nostalgia fest for people who played the original game as kids, or played other games on the commodore 64.
Basically, if you had a commodore 64 and like platformers, this is a must play. For everyone else, I'd take a pass.
