MGA Entertainment’s Bratz franchise is a staple in the Gen Z experience. MGA challenged the softer aesthetics of the world-famous Barbie dolls by bringing an edgier, sexier fashion doll line. The collections span decades and the success brought them their own cinematic universe. However, in 2013, the dolls underwent a style change, dropping sales immensely. In 2016, MGA shut the Bratz line down for good. But in June 2021, the girls with a passion for fashion made their long-awaited comeback, just in time for their 20th anniversary.
MGA released a doll collection nearly identical to the first Bratz dolls that were released in 2001. They also announced that they’d be teaming up with Outright Games to release a new video game. My favorite piece of Bratz media growing up had to be their games. Like many others my age, I would spend hours playing Bratz: Forever Diamondz and Bratz: Rock Angelz, so to say I was happy when I learned that my favorite four girls would be returning to my gaming console would be an understatement.
Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion was my most-anticipated video game of 2022 and I ran to my Switch’s Nintendo eShop to preorder the game. This was back in August. After three long months, Flaunt Your Fashion was finally released on November 4. I woke up at 7 a.m. just to play the game, eager to return to Stilesville and journey on another fashionable adventure with the Brat Pack.
Except, it only took an hour of playing for me to realize that my high expectations wouldn’t be met. To start, in the 10 years since their last console game, Bratz: Fashion Boutique, was released, the visuals haven’t improved much. In recent years, technological advancements have allowed game designers to include complex and detailed areas for players to roam around. However, Flaunt Your Fashion feels empty; players are given small and spaced-out maps with only a few stores we are allowed to interact with. Games can run at much higher frame rates than they did before and utilize high definition to give players the most immersive experience possible, but Flaunt Your Fashion doesn’t reflect that. While the character models were definitely an improvement from the blocky characters we got in previous games, the lack of definition is evident in the makeup. Putting on eyeshadow and cheek designs will give you a pixilated blur of colors that contrast against the much higher-quality characters.
The makeup gameplay in general was one of the main things that ruined my experience. In previous Bratz video games, players were allowed to get creative with makeup. With airbrush and lipstick tools, we could make our own designs. This feature was loved by many, but Outright Games chose not to include it in Flaunt Your Fashion. Instead, players are given a small number of predesigned eye, lip, and cheek makeup to choose from. I would also add that while playing as Sasha, the only black girl in the OG Bratz crew and the darkest of the four, many of the blushes didn’t work for her skin tone. Most colors catered to the lighter-skinned girls, leaving me with only a handful of colors that she could wear.
Flaunt Your Fashion was made for kids, which is understandable. The quests were simple and easy and according to other players, the game could be finished in a matter of hours. Bratz has always been a doll collection for young girls, but most people who are paying attention to this revival are the older members of Gen Z who grew up loving Bratz. The game would’ve benefited from having an easy version for younger players to tackle and a harder one for the older players in search of nostalgic, but still rewarding, gameplay.
That said, the game still had many features that I enjoyed. I especially loved the plot. In Flaunt Your Fashion, we follow the core four as they build traction for their Bratz Magazine. We travel around three major cities, Stilesville, Barcelona, and New York, holding interviews and taking pictures to post on our website. It’s only fair of me to love the girly journalist representation given to us. While the clothing options are more limited than in previous games, I still enjoyed building outfits and buying hairstyles around the maps. The music was a melody of childhood memories, playing iconic songs from the Bratz soundtracks.
All in all, Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion reminded me of playing a classic mobile game, but that doesn’t cut it for its $39.99 price point. When it’s placed on the shelves next to games like Animal Crossing: New Horizon and God of War Ragnorok, its faults are even more evident.
When moving forward with their Bratz games, the safest route for MGA Entertainment and Outright Games is to remaster the previous Bratz video games. The negative reviews that Flaunt Your Fashion has been receiving really highlight the question: “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” Hopefully, the Bratz team will realize the answer before it’s too late.