First Haruhi Suzumiya took Japan by storm in a series of light novels, of which there have been nine with another on the way. Then she infiltrated television in the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. After that, she slipped into video games as the star of The Perplexity of Haruhi Suzumiya (PS2), The Promise of Haruhi Suzumiya (PSP) and a forthcoming, yet unnamed Wii title. Now she has forced herself into the Pinky St world as a new P:Chara release.

JBox is one of the first retailers online to offer this character figure. Haruhi is expected to be released sometime in March 2008, and by preordering you can guarantee that you will have own the diminutive leader of the S.O.S. Brigade.

Title: Pinky St. Kira Kira Music NightPrice: Game: $48.90. Game w/figure: $64.90. Paired with Pinky St. Kira Kira Music Hour: $74.90System(s): Nintendo DSRelease Date: 12/20/07Publisher (Developer): Dimple Entertainment (HuneX)ESRB Rating: N/APros: Challenging, cute music, adorable graphics, lots of clothing options, loads of replay valueCons: Can’t raise the difficulty level after the first playthrough, the music isn’t MP3 qualityOverall Score: 9/10

While it may be impossible to have a game like Dance Dance Revolution on a portable system, Pinky St. Kira Kira Music Night comes close. The title, which features a young woman trying to become a famous dancer in the fictional Rainbow City, offers more challenges and depth than a casual observer would expect. Rather than being some lighthearted girly game, which its excessively purple packaging and adorable art would suggest, the title requires keen observational skills, rhythm, style and hand-eye co-ordination. This sequel is even more entertaining and challenging than the original.

The story is slightly fluffy, but unexpectedly funny and snarky as well. In the previous game, Pinky St. Kira Kira Music Hour, the “Green Girl” Pucchi succeeded in beating her mentor, Ange, and becoming the lead dancer at the club Angela. This doesn’t sit too well with Evil, Pucchi’s rival, who spent all of the previous game trying to out-dance Pucchi in hopes of becoming the best. So now Evil sets off on her own to dance-off against the other districts’ best dancers to improve herself and prove she’s the star….

Pinky St. Kira Kira Music Hour was an adorable dancing game released for the Nintendo DS a year ago (2006) which featured addictive game play and a ‘gotta get ‘em all’ approach to outfits. Yesterday (November 6, 2007) 505 Games announced that it will be translating and publishing the game in Europe as Kira Kira more »