My surprise was great when Nintendo earlier this year Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads announced for the Nintendo Switch. This series flourished during the heyday of the Nintendo DS and Wii. Virtually everyone who owned a Nintendo console at the time was familiar with Big Brain Academy and its polar opposite Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training. The series was known for being able to be played by everyone. That certainly happened. At my primary school, classmates regularly tried to get the highest possible brain score. But the dark red DSi XL devices with Big Brain Academy are still gathering dust in retirement homes today. After a few installments, the Big Brain Academy series was crammed into Nintendo’s vault. A lot has changed in the meantime. The smartphone has conquered the world and has now become an indispensable part of our society. Numerous brain teasers and brain teasers are now available for free on mobile devices. Will Big Brain Academy still have a place on store shelves in 2021? To answer that question, I reworked the game. However, I did not do that alone. I enlisted the help of my 81-year-old grandmother to review the game from a completely different perspective. To what extent is this game accessible to the elderly? You can read it all in this review of Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads.
Particularly fascinating brain teasers
The concept of Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads is simple. The game is made up of twenty different exercises. These are spread over five different categories: vision, memory, analysis, arithmetic and insight. By performing different exercises, you try to get the highest possible brain score. To really put your gray matter to the test, you can take an exam every day. During this exam you will be presented with five exercises – one from each category. This way you can always work towards a better score. Although the concept is relatively simple, it is still attractive to try every day to get a better score. I don’t know about you, but I can’t live with a six. That constant improvement was motivation enough for me to keep playing. However, I would not strive for improvement on television. It’s great that you can play the game on the built-in touchscreen as well as with a controller, but the touchscreen is without a doubt the superior control option. You can choose your answer via the touchscreen with one tap on the screen. For the same action on the television you have to press the buttons several times. If you really want to improve that six, it’s best to remove your Switch from the dock.
The exercises that you are presented with in Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads may only fall under five categories, but they do know how to distinguish themselves from the other brain teasers. For example, in the ‘Calculating’ category you try to move clocks at a rapid pace one moment, while during the next exercise you click numbers from low to high as quickly as possible. This variation in minigames makes it tempting to do a number of exercises every day. I had a good time with most of the exercises. Still, as in almost every minigame compilation, there are a few highlights and some downers. One of those downers was Fotofocus. In that minigame, a picture of an animal slowly appears. Your task is to guess which animal appears in the frame as quickly as possible. A nice concept, but the execution could have been better. The picture forms very slowly, so you spend a large part of the time waiting until you can see something more. A striking choice, especially since many other exercises can be performed in just a few seconds. That one minigame didn’t spoil the fun, however. Each exercise only takes a minute and there are nineteen other concoctions to sink your teeth into.
Welcome to the academy
When you start up the game, you will be greeted by Professor Kwab. This gracious scholar will be your crutch throughout your quest to achieve a stunning brain score. To be admitted to Kwab’s academy, it is important to create an avatar. That’s not a Mii for once, but a completely unique character. Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads includes plenty of options to dress up your character and make it your own. That’s also where the game’s reward system comes in. Every time you complete an exercise, you receive coins. The better you carry out the assignment, the more richly you will be rewarded. With every ten coins you collect, you will receive a new way to dress up your character. Handsome Koppen is bursting with these kinds of rewards. If you want to receive all of these, you will be busy for many hours. Fortunately, playing the game is not a punishment. The controls are fast and snappy, the menus look slick and the brain teasers are fun. The only thing that didn’t really cheer me up was the music. The soundtrack is in line with the previous installments in the Big Brain Academy series. However, the background noise was not the strongest point of the game at the time. If you play Handsome Heads, I therefore recommend that you mute the sound and play your own music.
Those who are confident in their own mind and have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription can compete online against other Einsteins in Ghost Battle mode. Here you fight against the ghosts of other real players around the world, similar to the Time Trial mode in Mario Kart. In other words: you do not play against another player at the same time, but against a recording of a previous playing session. Although on the one hand it’s a shame that you can’t put your gray matter to work at the same time as someone else, I have no problems choosing this mode. We all know that Nintendo’s online services aren’t great. The choice of ghosts eliminates potential lag issues, making the online mode playable. So no problems here. You can compete against a worldwide ghost, a ghost of a friend, a ghost of another user on the same Switch, or a ghost of your choice with a ghost ID. This is the mode you will likely return to often and adds a competitive edge to the game. It is immensely satisfying to completely smash a friend’s ghost to the ground. Take it, Dan! When you take on a ghost, you also get to see that person’s avatar. What I really liked was that the characters have the same controller in their hands as they use in real life. My character always had a white Switch OLED in his hands, but sometimes I would compete online against people with a Splatoon 2 Pro Controller, or the red/blue Joy-Cons. Those kinds of details make the game even slicker. However, the difference between handheld and docked players is particularly noticeable in this mode. If you’re as smart as your opponent, but he’s playing with a controller and you with the touchscreen, you’re basically guaranteed to win. It’s a shame you can’t create a level playing field.
Look grandma, my brain score!
For a spry student like me, Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads is good to play. But I realize that the target audience for this game is a lot broader than that. That’s why I paid my grandma a visit and asked her to test Handsome Heads with me. Three glasses of tea, two biscuits and one chunk of chocolate later, the fun could begin. I handed Grandma my Nintendo Switch and tried to guide her through the menus. However, that is where the first problem arose. The navigation through the main menu was not entirely self-explanatory. This was mainly because Professor Kwab couldn’t keep his mouth shut. The text that appears in the image does not disappear by itself. To do this, first press the A button or the touchscreen. I soon realized that I had to take care of the navigation and let Grandma do the exercises alone. Fortunately, the exercises went well. My grandmother wasn’t as quick with answers as I was, but she understood the commands and was able to handle them. Because she was a bit slower with answers, the one-minute time limit was always up in no time. Unfortunately, the game does not have the option to adjust the timer. Still, my grandmother was pleased with the performance she had achieved. She didn’t find the game difficult and she certainly enjoyed it. This also had to do with the clear Dutch translation and the large letters. These two elements make the exercises a lot more accessible to a wide audience – young and old. However, I would still recommend this game for the real assholes. Some reading and math skills are required.
In the end, Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads got a big thumbs up from my grandmother. That speaks volumes about the accessibility of the game. Never before have I seen her enjoy a video game so much. She even indicated that she would like to play the game more often. With the Party mode in the game, we have found a nice alternative to a game of cards post-corona. This mode allows two to four players to play exercises against each other at the same time. That guarantees a lot of fun and chaos. My grandmother did indicate that she wanted to do this in moderation; about once a week. I definitely agree with her on that point. Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads is a fun game, but not one that you will play for a long time. The short exercises lend themselves perfectly to short play sessions. If you play the game for the first time, you will be through all the content in about 45 minutes. The value is in replaying and getting better in the exercises. If this doesn’t appeal to you, this latest installment in the Big Brain Academy franchise probably isn’t for you. Does this make you warm? Then carefully consider your choice. The game is on the shelves for thirty euros. That is thirty euros more expensive than most brain teasers on smartphones. With Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads, you get a polished, ad-free game that exceeds the quality of the average smartphone app. Whether that’s worth it to you depends on your own standards. My grandmother indicated that she was willing to pay for this game, but thought thirty euros was on the pricey side. I agree with that. We both would have found a price tag of twenty euros a bit more appropriate.
The final verdict of
Nils Hoogervorst
Big Brain Academy: Handsome Heads is a worthy addition to the Big Brain Academy franchise. The game looks slick, plays nicely and puts your gray matter to work as usual. Although the game is still a bit too difficult for the very young, a wide audience can enjoy Handsome Heads. The twenty exercises in the game are varied and for the most part very entertaining, provided you play the game in short sessions. Although the game is a bit on the pricey side, this is a polished alternative to the brain teasers on your mobile. At least my grandma approves!
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Pros
- Big Brain Academy is terug!
- Good Dutch translation
- Varied Exercises
- Most of the exercises are fun
- Controls feel good
- Online mode is entertaining
- nice details
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Negatives
- Handheld players have an edge
- annoying music
- You can’t create an even playing field online
- Menu navigation not obvious for the elderly
- Timer cannot be adjusted
- On the pricey side
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Score
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