#8 Style Savvy: Styling Star - 3DS
I had the chance of playing the first Style Savvy on the VC of the Wii U and it was actually really good despite me not being into fashion at all, was a quite addictive and wholesome experience, the sequels are exponential improvements, each being better than the last and as the latest title in the series, Styling Star is the very best of the 4. The premise of the gameplay is basic, you manage a boutique, your stock and then sell items to the various ladies that come in, with their specific requests and what not, is all very simple but insanely addictive, you get a tons of clothes from different brands and styles to choose from and combine and some side activities like nails, makeup and hairstyles, for both you and your clients, plus furniture from different stores for your apartment and boutique. Now what makes this series really special and more so this game than the previous ones, is that wholesome feeling of helping someone, a lot of us have hobbies to escape from the weight of real life or if we are feeling down, a lot of your clients also have worries, some very minimal and silly and others more complicated and they all come to the boutique for that escape, seeing all of them being happier or just getting what they wanted for clothes, makes me feel happy as well. This is boasted by Styling Star having a heavier focus on narrative, you have 3 big storylines following 3 girls becoming idols, each with their own character arc, one that doesn’t see eye to eye with her mother, other hiding her online persona from a friend and a farm girl trying to make it big alongside the development of her best friend/tsundere lover. Its all very well done and on top of that, a lot of continuous side stories featuring a lot of other character. The soundtrack is another worth noting element from the game, great instrumental tracks for the different locations and a good variety to select from to play at your boutique, plus the main characters being idols, there are plenty of lyrical tracks as well, most in both Japanese and English.
Overall, Styling Star is very relaxing and feel good game, even if you are not into fashion, is a rather addictive and accessible series, a relaxing simulator akin to the Animal Crossing games, the three 3DS titles all have demos to try out as well if you are ever interested or curious about this really nice underrated series. As a side note I’m super happy we got a Styling Star song in Smash Bros. Ultimate.
