July 4th, 2008 by Daniel Duncan

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise is closing in on us. In 64 days, this latest installment in the Viva franchise will be landing on store shelves awaiting your loving embrace. To celebrate its upcoming release, we’ll be taking a look at the past of the franchise each day leading up until its US, Canadian, and Latin American release on September 2nd and its European release on September 5th. So without further ado, let’s examine Day 1…

Day 1: A Classic is Born

On November 10th, 2006, Rare released an award-winning new franchise entitled Viva Pinata exclusively for the Xbox 360. Viva Pinata is a sandbox simulation game where players must tend a garden through means of planting trees and growing vegetables, growing long grass and digging ponds, and protecting it from the dangers of the pesky Ruffians; but most importantly and the key goal of the game: attract pinatas.

Pinatas are attracted to the Garden after certain requirements have been met. For example: the game begins with a simple Whirlm pinata that is there due to a certain amount of soil being available. With the Whirlm in the Garden, it attracts a Sparrowmint pinata that will become available once it has eaten a Whirlm. The requirements vary depending on the type of pinata. Some will need large amounts of water or weeds, a particular type of vegetable or plant, or sometimes even a certain item of interest. Meeting these requirements will allow the pinatas to become residents.

Only two of any species will become residents by meeting those requirements. The desire for more of that particular species can only be met by "romancing" the two pinata together. By feeding them Romance Candy, they will become attracted to one another and then perform a Romance Dance in their house (as long as a house has been purchased), which will follow with an egg and then the pinata. This works with ALL pinata species with the exception of the Dragonache and domestic pinata species.

Everything in the game from trees planted and fertilized to the pinatas that have been made resident, can be viewed in the game’s Journal. The Journal briefly entells everything that has been accomplished and proves to be an excellent source of information as well. Can’t determine how to attract a Chippopotamus to your Garden? Open the Journal and you’ll know soon enough.

Viva Pinata is an excellent, family friendly game that appeals to audiences of all ages, regardless of whether they are male or female, casual or hardcore. According to the majority of Rare, this is the definition of a perfect game. Rare established an incredible franchise in with Viva Pinata that has since spawned it’s own television show, a PC release, a party game, toy run at Burger King, an upcoming Xbox 360 sequel and Nintendo DS outing. With such a wide appeal, I have no doubt in my mind that the franchise will remain solid and continue to grow for years to come.

Tune back in tomorrow as we look at Day 2 of our ‘64 Days of Viva Pinata’ special.