Barbie is hitting movie screens across the globe this week and after an extended period of pink-tinged hype (and an amazing Oppenheimer crossover fan campaign), it’s safe to say that plenty of us are damn keen to see Greta Gerwig’s exploration of the iconic doll. But Emily, you might ask, what’s in it for the gamers? Well, gamer, if you weren’t already in the know, Barbie has spawned a whole host of games in a variety of genres over the decades, and to be honest? They kinda slap.
I’ve taken the liberty of ranking the top five Barbie games based on completely objective criteria (okay, it’s definitely subjective) for your viewing pleasure. These are the cream of the crop for the hardcore gamers among us wanting to don a blonde wig and probably a very fashionable pink get up and get shit done.
5. Barbie as The Princess And The Pauper
Barbie as The Princess And The Pauper is the accompanying 2004 game to the movie of the same name (which is also iconic) and sees Barbie take on the roles of Erika and Princess Anneliese. In the game, Erika must try to prove that she’s worthy of being crowned as queen, all the while helped by Princess Anneliese through puzzles, decorating for the coronation, overcoming obstacles, and trying to find the villain Preminger. As expected, it involves some seriously cursed looking animal companions and singing – and is a certified banger.
4. Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise
Ever wondered what it might be like to interrogate witnesses, look for clues, and solve a mystery L.A. Noire style, but you also happen to be Barbie? Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise really went there. Developer Runecraft (also the masterminds behind Barbie: Race & Ride) worked on this title, which involves solving the mystery of missing artwork on a cruise ship. The Mystery Cruise received less love than the first two Detective Barbie titles (robbed, honestly), but in my opinion is way cooler – Agatha Christie, eat your heart out.
3. Secret Agent Barbie
If you’re a fan of intrigue, Secret Agent Barbie: Royal Jewels Mission is right up there with the best of them. The 2003 game launched on PC and Game Boy Advance on release, and follows Barbie chasing down the Queen’s Jewels that were rudely stolen by Camille. The game takes you around the globe, and is honestly just great fun – IGN called it ,”the best Metal Gear knock-off that the GBA has at the moment” – although points are docked for not having Camille and Barbie fall in love in the end, as is obviously the ideal secret agent versus international jewel thief trope.
2. Barbie and The Three Musketeers
Barbie and The Three Musketeers was released in 2009 on Nintendo DS, Wii and PC, and while I’m well aware that about 70% of things described as a Metroidvania are, in fact, not that, I confidently assign that genre to this banger. You get to pick between four characters — Corinne, Renee, Viveca, and Aramina — and all four come with different load-outs that include whips and all sorts of other weapons you’d expect from a musketeer. As an added bonus, as you roam the French countryside and Paris, you can also play as Miette the cat (iconic, tbh).
Barbie and The Three Musketeers involves puzzles, battles, and an adventure to save the prince, as well as cutscenes straight from the movie. It gets a place in this list due to really coming out of left field with the gameplay and genre.
1. Barbie: Race & Ride
Barbie: Race & Ride could be considered a spiritual predecessor to the Barbie Horse Adventures series, and the 1999 PlayStation classic really went hard. As a horse girl at heart, Race & Ride was a daily grind for a key part of my childhood. As noted when I first began writing for Kotaku, Barbie: Race & Ride walked so that Red Dead Redemption 2 Online could run. It got seriously the worst reviews on release, receiving a ‘DUD’ rating from Daily Radar, but I’m brave enough to call it a sleeper hit, a potential cult classic if you will.
If you’re new to the world of Barbie games or simply slept on it, Race & Ride involves picking a horse, caring for and grooming it, partaking in riding lessons, races, trail rides, and a rather large amount of minigames (if you’ve ever wanted to help a squirrel collect acorns while sitting atop a buckskin horse, this game does that).
Given I think David will cry if I make this whole list only equestrian-based games (Editor’s note: I will — David), I’ll give an honourable mention to the 2003 Barbie Horse Adventures: Mystery Ride here too. If you were anything like me and pushing for open-world gaming before most game franchises were ready to create anything open-world, Mystery Ride was the perfect game to simply ignore the trail ride routes and do whatever the hell you wanted. Barbie constantly telling me that I’d missed a checkpoint is burnt into my brain permanently.
While obviously, I’m looking at these games through hot-pink tinted glasses (we won’t talk about the graphics on some of these bad boys), Barbie games are a must-play for a bit of nostalgia — whether for stepping back in time to sitting in front of a tiny computer, handheld, or TV screen after school, or for the at times surprisingly compelling stories themselves — and are perfect for getting you prepped before the movie premieres.
What’s your top Barbie game, and if it’s not Race & Ride, why are you hellbent on being wrong?
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