Way back in March in North America our pals at Nintendo published a cheeky WiiWare title by the name of Bonsai Barber. The game was quite unique as you get the chance to try out your skills as a barber on a bunch of willing vegetables. Sure, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but we found something quite therapeutic about tending to the fashion needs of a cactus cowboy and it scored an impressive 8/10 in our review.
What makes the Bonsai Barber even more interesting is that it was developed by Zoonami who are based in Cambridge, UK. You’d be forgiven for not recognising that name, but you might be more interested when you learn that Martin Hollis the director and producer of the critically acclaimed N64 GoldenEye 007 is the CEO of said studio. From one of the world’s most treasured FPS games to a hairdressing sim, quite a change of pace Martin!
If you happen to live in Europe you will get your chance to try out this intriguing little game when it hits the WiiWare service this coming Friday (7th Aug). To celebrate the guys at Zoonami recently had a launch party in the garden of one of Cambridge’s exclusive colleges. Thankfully the weather turned out nice and a good time was had by all. The ‘Reg Wedge’ giant carrot cake was a great hit and apparently there is still a lot left over for the guys at Zoonami to polish off during the upcoming weeks. Martin is the chap standing up in the first photo by the way.
So Euro friends, will you be picking up Bonsai Barber on Friday?
Comments 31
Man I wish I could have gotten a piece of that cake.
LOL @ photo #2, either Martin is deceptively tall or he is standing on a box. Perhaps he has a bit of a Napoleon complex?
I have to admit that I am strangely interested in this game. I’ll be sure to pick it up on Friday, it looks like something I can play with my little cousins when they come over. Not a bad thing.
As much as I respect the reviews here, I am afraid I'd download Bonsai Barber and end up seeing it as a bad investment of points.
I can't wait to hear what the Europeans think of this one. Maybe it'll help me overcome my reluctance.
Yes Chicken, I'm still sitting on the fence, but if they let me have that cake, AND EAT IT TOO. I'd download it for them!
It's all about what you expect from the game. It's just a very well done plant trimming simulation that's funny and relaxing. Simple as that.
I've been meaning to download this one for quite some time, and I think the cake finally convinced me to give it a shot tonight. They deserve the revenue, if even just for their seeds and cakes.
EDIT: By the way, take a gander at that second photo. Is he a giant, or does he just require his staff to be abnormally short?
Well ive had it since march and still play it regulary now, i cant say that about many other wiiware titles, its a great game if maybe priced a little high at 1000 pts.
Good news for the European download service but I'd like Overturn this Friday too! Personally I will be saving my points and not downloading this as was/is the case with the decent games of Musketeers, Driift and Chariot.....those were difficult decisions to make!
Bonsai Barber also got a creditable 80% from the latest ONM as well....
Once I get my seeds in the post I'll feel obligated; until then NO SALE!
Am I the only one who thinks it funny that they're drinking champagne with a goofy colorful, smiling, carrot cake
@ Bahamut ZERO I must admit it is all a bit odd.The game though, looks rather good.
The girl in blue looks nice.
It's funny that people are so hesitant to even try the game - it did very well critically for just about every outlet that reviewed it.
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/bonsaibarber
Anyone who enjoys "daily play" games like Animal Crossing or Brain Training -- where a player is limited in how much can be done daily but encouraged to come back often and see what's happening -- should check out Bonsai Barber. It's quirky and funny, and will keep you coming back to play for a long, long time...
@ejamer: "Done very well" is not an average score of 79. That's "done good." Besides, there aren't enough review numbers to be conclusive.
That's why I love (and put al my trust) in this site. Otherwise, I would be buying WW games in the dark due to lack of reviews, skipping out on Toki Tori to buy Sporgs....shivers
Now I have something to spend my birthday wii points on
I don't know if I would eat that cake; ever since I see what Charm City does, I think cake now is another medium for art.
@ Bass X0 - Okay you can have the girl in the blue, I'll take the nice looking lady in the floral dress on the far right back to my trailer for tea and scones.
@warioswoods - I think he's just standing on a mini podium like an Olympic winner for some bizarre reason LOL
Best Wiiware purchase ever so far. Seriously. I bought this after watching a video review of it on Youtube and it's quite entertaining.
@ Bass X0 - Okay you can have the girl in the blue,
Girl in glasses at the table wearing black and white looks nice too.
@Bahamut ZERO: Wait, I didn't quite understand your reasoning there, there aren't enough reviews to get a reliable average of how good a game is, so you put all your trust in one site instead? And surely 79 is still very good? I always thought that 80% ish was a great score to get. Not perfect or brilliant but very good.
I want to buy Bonsai Barber, but it's adding to a steadily increasing pile of WiiWare games that I currently don't have the money to spare on... Erk.
crazy people making crazy games?
bought! )
@Bahamut ZERO
Well, let me put it this way -- according to MetaCritic, there are only 13 WiiWare games available with higher rankings. Out of those, 3 are episodes of the Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People series and 2 are launch titles. Things look even better when you consider the company that Bonsai Barber is keeping -- WiiWare games with the same average rating on Metacritic right now are:
56 SBCGfAP Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands (79%)
57 Bit.Trip Core (79%)
*** 58 Bonsai Barber (79%) ***
59 Bit.Trip Beat (79%)
60 Toki Tori (79%)
If I'm going to tell everyone about how awesome the Bit.Trip games are (which I regularly do) then it only seems fair to speak out about this underappreciated gem too! Very good might even be an understatement.
You folks from Europe are in for a treat! Bonsai Barber is one of the best games available on the WiiWare service! I really enjoyed this game and I hope you will too!
Hmm... I´d really like a demo of this "gem".
Aren't they the ones who are also making Rock N' Roll Climber?
Well my seeds are in the post woo hoo! I'll probably download this at some point (too many games at the moment) looks like a fun kinda game ,maybe a bit steep at 1000pts though.
Reg Wedge eaten?!! Nooooo!
I wonder what kind of cake that was...hmmm.
Seriously, this game is worth the points. It's fun and addictive. Get off the fence and get it.
Finally downloaded it; I hope Zoonami knows that their cake and seemingly pleasant yet quirky staff outing helped to finalize at least one sale. I'd much rather give my money to those people above--drinking champagne around a crazy carrot cake--than just about any typical game developer.
Overturn for me, please. Thanks.
Got my Reg Wedge seeds in the post this morning, seems I'm too late to plant them this year though.
You know when you hear a great tune that you've never heard before on the radio, and you think 'whoa what's that, sounds so cool', then you see the guy who made it on TV and they look like Moby, then you think 'actually i never really liked it to begin with...'? That's what's happened after reading this article.
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