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Bonsai Barber

EMAIL PRINT wii

9.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 3 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo

Genre(s): Simulation

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: March 30, 2009

Summary

[WiiWare] The village residents are hungry for the latest in foliage fashion, and it's up to you, the new barber, to fix them up. Use the tools of your trade: scissors, clippers, spray can, and more in this humorous, first-of-its-kind "first-person-groomer" game. Bonsai Barber features a colorful cast of 12 intriguing customers, including a temperamental shallot starlet (don't call her an onion), an oddball strawberry boffin, a cactus cowboy, a daredevil carrot, and a suave banana with top-secret clearance. Each day, five customers arrive to test your stylistic skill. If the customer requests a specific style, you'll plow that furrow, or you can rely on your expertise to pick from more than 30 popular fashions. Or, why not turn over a new leaf? Be creative and see how they react. They're a demanding bunch, so if you miss an appointment, you'll hear about it-on your Wii Message Board. If you do a good job, you may receive a gift or even a postcard from an exotic destination as your happy customers travel to distant lands and show off their exquisite coifs. [Nintendo]

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GamePro

Bonsai Barber has a lot going for it. It’s a fun title with unique gameplay elements, solid controls, and a soothing presentation. The only drawback to what seems to be a great WiiWare title is its price.

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Vandal Online

Bonsai Barber is a fun title, apparently without many aspirations. But under its simplicity and humor mask, it houses a great dose of fun and replayability.

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Official Nintendo Magazine UK

An enjoyable, idiosyncratic experience. Plus you don't have to ask about their holidays. [Sept 2009, p.92]

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Cheat Code Central

Ten dollars seems like a bit much for what's on offer here, but the regimented design ensures you'll have a quick blast of fun for a long, long time.

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Nintendo Life

One of the most unique titles available on the Wii Shop Channel. The game overflows with personality and substance and does a stellar job of creating a real-life barber shop atmosphere.

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IGN

Unique to the point of surrealism. And yet, I'd be a liar if I indicated that becoming a virtual barber and giving trees and plants fashionable foliage cuts wasn't a fun task made more enjoyable by smart controls and a humorous presentation.

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Telegraph

The game's sense of style, great humour and compulsively intuitive gameplay goes a long way towards forgiving many of its flaws.

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DarkZero

Bonsai Barber stands out as one of the better WiiWare titles available to buy, but it isn’t an absolute must-have. Cute visuals and a quirky style accompany this entertaining if somewhat shallow game.

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Edge Magazine

More diversion than challenge, and never leads to stress. [Aug 2009, p.107]

Teletext GameCentral

The worlds of hairdressing and vegetable fancying combine in the best, and only, topiary simulator.

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Eurogamer

An easy game to admire, the concept is appealingly daft and the implementation rich in wit and charm. It's just too laidback for its own good; an approach that pays dividends in those first joyful days but proves less successful in the long term as the rising difficulty curve chafes uncomfortably against the whimsical lack of direction.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kirk J. gave it an8:
I'm really enjoying this game so far, having played it for about a week so far, and I think it has a lot of subtle little touches and hidden stuff to discover and do that makes it just simple fun.

Russell C. gave it a9:
This is one of the hidden gems in the WiiWare library. The game is best as a multiplayer, where it creates quirky interactions between players as you work together to trim the trees. It sounds somewhat boring, and certainly is built to be played in short sittings of around 20minutes each, but those 20 minutes are really fun. The tools to trim are fun to use and the visuals are really fun and funny. The way the different branches react and can be moved, cut and trimmed, make for an experience that is unique. Playing in groups leads to lots of conversation, which further makes the game quite unlike your typical game. Really high production values and a unique experience. Not sure what else to say, but that I strongly recommend it. It's one of WiiWare's absolute best up there with World of Goo and Lost Winds.

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Bonsai Barber

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

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