Summary
“Barbie: She’s everything.” This tagline doesn’t just signify that she’s important (although that’s undeniable), but the phrase also gestures to the kaleidoscope of careers and guises Barbie has taken on over the years, including her play sets, a blockbuster live-action movie, and, perhaps surprising to some, an extensive catalog of video games.
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Barbie helped young girls discover video games at a time when they were being aggressively marketed as products for boys. From detective to ace horse rider, the fashion doll has starred in as many genres of games as there are shades of pink. While many Barbie games were quick tie-ins to animated feature films, a number of her titles hold up and still pass the test of time.
10Barbie As Rapunzel: A Creative Adventure (2002)
In a tie-in to the movie of the same name, Rapunzel Barbie finds her prince, Stefan, turned to stone and her home stripped of its splendor thanks to the jealous rage of the evil witch, Gothel. Between collecting the prince’s crown jewels to restore him to flesh and blood, the player wanders between each of the castle’s dreary rooms with Barbie and her magic paint box, refurnishing and beautifying her abode back to its former glory.
Although the painted backgrounds and animations are a little dated by today’s standards,Barbie As Rapunzelsparks creativity and offers engaging visuals for young players. With the popularity ofdecoration games likeThe SimsandUnpacking, it’s easy to see the appeal this game might have on impressionable gamers.
9Barbie Fashion Designer (1996)
If there’s one thing that Barbie does best (and really, she can do just about anything she wants), it’s adorning herself in theresplendent threads of the highest ofhaute coutureand dazzling onlookers with sartorial resplendence: in other words, dressing up. In that sense,Barbie Fashion Designerputs Barbie in her element.
Although there isn’t much to write home about in terms of gameplay, the vast array of outfits and creative combos available is impressive, even to this day, and the game even landed a spot in The Strong Museum’s Video Game Hall of Fame, beating out the many other dress-up and stylist games produced under the Barbie brand throughout the years.
8Barbie Magic Genie Bottle (2000)
This 3D puzzler is unique in several ways. For one, it isn’t a tie-in with a Barbie animated film. It did, however, tie in with the release of a genie-themed toy: a plug-in accessory for the PC that allowed players to summon Barbie in the game by rubbing the bottle.
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The player walks around the world ofBarbie Magic Genie Bottlein first person speaking to various people on their mission to find the jewels for Barbie’s amulet, the source of her magical powers, which really gives the player the feeling that they are hanging out in a fantastic world with the icon, despite the “animatronic” vibes that some of the NPCs give.
7Barbie And The Magic Of Pegasus: The Video Game
Taking on the role of Princess Annika, Barbie, her sister Brieta (who was transformed into a flying horse), and the adorable polar bear, Shiver must team up to create the wand of light, an item of pure good that can undo the evil magic that Wenlock inflicted upon the cloud kingdom.
The PC game features traversal (ice skating, flying, and riding), puzzle segments, some very pretty level design, and wonderful fairytale storytelling. Meanwhile, the GBA game is more of an open-ended platformer with power-ups and bosses scattered throughout.
6Secret Agent Barbie (2001)
Having a working knowledge of color theory helps with maintaining effective camouflage, and a snappy dress sense is helpful in blending into the crowd, making Barbie the perfect candidate to assist in a fashion-related espionage case. In the PC version, Barbie must chase down the thief who stole a special translucent cloth before they are able to finish designingan invisibility stealth suit.
In the GameBoy Advance version, Barbie has to track down a jewel thief and retrieve the crown jewels.Secret Agent Barbieshipped with “surprising complexity,” according to some critics of the time, who remarked upon its similarity to theMetal Gear Solidgames (not a bad thing in and of itself).
5Barbie And The Three Musketeers
As a tie-in to the animated movie of the same name,Barbie And The Three Musketeerssees the iconic doll-faced fashionista step into a more action-oriented role. The game, set in the idyllic 1600s French countryside, is one of the more engaging in the Barbie line, introducing combat,Metroidvania-level design elements, and multi-character puzzles.
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This includes Barbie’s pet cat, who can swipe mice and crawl into tight spaces to grab otherwise-unattainable loot. The Three Musketeers (gender-swapped versions of the original trio) also come with their own brand of weapons (Barbie herself dual-wields rapiers with a stylish flourish). While the game doesn’t exactly require expert dexterity to finish, it is more challenging than most of her other entries.
4Barbie Pet Rescue
While there are plenty of examples of Barbie games involving horses, unicorns, or horses with wings,Barbie Pet Rescueis the go-to for Barbie fans who love animals. Barbie swaps careers once again and takes up the mantle of animal veterinarian.
The game aims to be educational as well as fun and has plenty of cute moments for young players (or grown-ups) to enjoy. Most interaction done inPet Rescueis done in the point-and-click format, but a few mini-games are thrown in, offering some gameplay variety.
3Barbie Explorer (2001)
Between attending glamorous parties and taking dreamy summer vacations, Barbie leads a highly-active and exciting lifestyle, as seen inBarbie Explorer. Adventure awaits as Barbie dives, leaps, and rolls through tricky platforms and traps in this PS1 classic.
As she ventures on with her quest to retrieve all the pieces of a magical mirror, Barbie will gain skills and power-ups to help her navigate any situation, including a super-powered version of her ballerina-heeled pose, “tip toes.” With all the crypt delving and mountain climbing,Barbie Explorercould giveTomb Raider’s Lara Crofta run for her money (thankfully, though, unlike Ms. Croft, Barbie will try to avoid any wild animals where possible rather than attack them on sight).
2Detective Barbie In The Mystery Of The Carnival Caper (1998)
Who doesn’t love a good mystery? InDetective Barbie, fans got to see the pink PI show off her brains as well as her impeccable dress sense. The point-and-click format works perfectly as it allows the player and Barbie to hang out and explore at a comfortable pace.
Freshly graduated from the detective academy, Barbie needs the player’s help to solve a mystery at the carnival: the disappearance of Ken (and a sizable sum of charity money) after a mischievous magician magics them both away. One remarkable feature of the game is that Barbie will say the player’s real-life name, thanks to a near-exhaustive list of pre-recorded names.
1Barbie Horse Adventures (2008)
Having horse physics is something of a prestige feature in video games, andBarbie Horse Adventurereally went all in with equine animations and activities, especially on the console versions. Barbie fans who like the idea ofroaming around on horseback, taking in the sights, and helping out local folksmight find something especially enjoyable in this one.
The gameplay is relaxing and doesn’t have much of a difficulty curve to speak of, and the riding itself feels intuitive and fun. Of course, being a game about horses,Barbie Horse Adventuresoffers different breeds of horses to gallivant around with (once they’ve been rescued, taken care of, and given love).
