Selfy Collection: The Dream Fashion Stylist is simple but endearing

We are in a fortuitous position with the Nintendo Switch. Companies are more likely to take risks and localize games for a worldwide release, thanks to things like a massive user base and the ability to focus on digital releases. It means smaller games, ones that are unusual and odd, get to appear everywhere. Yes, the translation suffers in the process, but we get to see something like Selfy Collection: The Dream Fashion Stylist, have a moment.

Selfy is, in general, an avatar system. It’s a GCrest property that’s been used in social sites and games. Previously, one of the past English-language efforts involving them was TinierMe, an avatar dress-up site that also had social elements and minigames. Selfy Collection pulls from this repository of existing parts for an entirely offline, one purchase and you’re done game, as opposed to other efforts with the art and characters that could involve a gacha system.

People who have spent time with the Style Savvy series will find Selfy Collection a rudimentary and often less-demanding take on the concept. Your character is a fashion stylist who helps people pick out the right clothing for any occasion, and they’re descended from a legendary fashionista. You’re only finding your footing, but might not have a chance to thrive. The queen of the country is going to implement what would basically be a uniform system where she decides what everyone wears. You fight back by, well, going around the world telling people what to wear instead to become popular.

There isn’t too much to process. A request board appears with about five different jobs. (One of them will always be a story quest.) You can see the basic idea , the difficulty level of it and your past rank if you completed it before. (You can repeat quests to try and earn a higher rank’s reward or get more in-game money.) This prompts a conversation where the client tells you what matters. They might ask for a certain level of charm, degrees of certain traits like elegance and femininity, a certain price range, and a specific color. Getting the A and S rank results will net you items, money, more reputation with shops to add to their inventories and perhaps an opportunity to improve your notoriety.

There are absolutely good things happening here, once you get accustomed to the surprisingly annoying loading times. Once you take an assignment, you have a phase where you can go shopping to specifically find appropriate items. There’s a sorting system that can be helpful when trying to meet requirements. You can reattempt requests, so you never miss rewards. All clothing is gender neutral and you have all sorts of people asking for your assistance. Its story is also incredibly goofy in a charming sort of way. (I have no idea where this country is and what the currency is like, but $1,350 for a well-dressed friend is a steal!)

Which comes to the only true downside. Selfy Collection is a budget release. You can tell this is quite possibly a machine-translated game. It is absolutely playable and often even more enjoyable because the localization goes awry. It is the epitome of a game we only got because it is so easy for titles to appear outside regions now, regardless of how good of an idea that may be.

It’s an underdog, just like the player’s avatar who is trying to ensure everyone can wear whatever they want by telling them what to put on. The translation is laughable. The concept is silly. The loading times are annoying. The tasks are more often manageable than not. It’s a plucky pal and guilty pleasure I can’t help but return to and, even though it isn’t perfect, I am very glad it is here.

Selfy Collection: The Dream Stylist is available for the Nintendo Switch worldwide.