I’ve been playing Viva Pinata for the DS over the past week, and I just wanted to reap praise on this little title that could. What, you say, little? Hasn’t Rare’s franchise been in the critical limelight for years already? Yes, and well, I thought the original Viva Pinata game for the Xbox 360 was more than just a little underwhelming. But now I’d like to set the record straight.

I always thought Viva Pinata had the underpinnings of a good game, it was just in a sour wrapper (oh what a pun!). And I wrote years ago how I thought it would have better legs as a PC game. But lo and behold, Rare decided to make a DS version, and I have to say this is probably the best possible incarnation of this title. Not only does the dual screen presentation and touch functionality make it snappy and more user friendly, but it remarkably does this while packing the Xbox 360 game in its entirety to the little handheld platform.

Sure, it still has some of the shortcomings, such as the linearity and lack of online play, but it trumps its next-gen brother in others. Load times are reduced to the point of being non-existant, which helps tremendously when popping in and out of game menus. The encyclopedia, which was buried behind loading screens and menus in the Xbox 360 version, is but a quick click and touch away. And the encyclopedia is essential for progressing through the game, mind you.

The DS game has not only vindicated Rare’s original concept, but proved this is the platform on which it should have existed all along.