Big Brain Academy
Encyclopedia
Big Brain Academy, known in Japan as , is a puzzle
video game published and developed by Nintendo
for the Nintendo DS
handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan on June 30, 2005, and was later released in North America on June 5, 2006, in Australia on July 5, 2006, and in Europe on July 7, 2006. It has been compared to Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
. It is marketed under the Nintendo's Touch! Generations
brand.
A sequel, Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
, was released on the Wii
in April 2007.
The TV advertisements for Big Brain Academy was not only to debut the game, but also the Nintendo DS Lite
system.
After the test, the player is given a letter grade. Dr. Lobe (the "headmaster" of Big Brain Academy) also assess what areas the player needs to improve in and what ranking they would be; professions include museum curator, librarian, astronaut, investor, fashion stylist, diplomat, cave man, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, politician, poet, banker, doctor, musician, etc.
There are five different categories of tests with three activities per category. The categories are (followed by their activities):
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Interviews and media
Computer puzzle game
Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion....
video game published and developed by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan on June 30, 2005, and was later released in North America on June 5, 2006, in Australia on July 5, 2006, and in Europe on July 7, 2006. It has been compared to Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, also known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an entertainment video game that employs puzzles. It was developed and published by the video gaming company Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console...
. It is marketed under the Nintendo's Touch! Generations
Touch! Generations
is a Nintendo brand used for the Nintendo DS and Wii showing games created to appeal to a broader audience than the traditional gamer. Nintendo have announced that they will be retiring the brand with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS.-Games:...
brand.
A sequel, Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, known in the PAL region as Big Brain Academy for Wii and in Japan as , is a video game released for the Wii. A sequel to the game Big Brain Academy for the Nintendo DS, it too measures a player's brain's weight, but with new games and puzzles to solve...
, was released on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
in April 2007.
The TV advertisements for Big Brain Academy was not only to debut the game, but also the Nintendo DS Lite
Nintendo DS Lite
The is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It is a slimmer, brighter, and more lightweight redesign of the Nintendo DS, designed to be aesthetically sleeker, while taking styling cues from the Game Boy Advance SP, and to appeal to broader commercial audiences...
system.
Gameplay
In Big Brain Academy, tests are done in order to measure a brain's mass. The heavier the brain, the smarter the brain is or the better its reaction time. There is no single game mechanism to Big Brain Academy; as it is an assortment of puzzles with no one puzzle having greater priority than the other. There are three modes of play: Test mode, Practice mode, and Versus mode.Test mode
Test mode consists of a formal test consisting of five puzzles, with one puzzle taken at random from each of the five categories to determine the player's brain mass.After the test, the player is given a letter grade. Dr. Lobe (the "headmaster" of Big Brain Academy) also assess what areas the player needs to improve in and what ranking they would be; professions include museum curator, librarian, astronaut, investor, fashion stylist, diplomat, cave man, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, politician, poet, banker, doctor, musician, etc.
There are five different categories of tests with three activities per category. The categories are (followed by their activities):
- Think (Logic-themed questions)
- Analyze (Reason-based questions)
- Compute (Math-themed questions)
- Identify (Visual-themed questions)
- Memorize (Memory-based questions)
Practice mode
Practice mode allows the player to select which specific exercise he or she wants to do in order to train their brain. The tests available for play consist of those available in Test mode. Each mode has three levels of difficulty, and the player can earn either a bronze, silver, gold, or platinum medal for achieving a certain brain mass on each difficulty level.Versus mode
In Versus mode, players can compete to determine who has the heaviest brain. Anywhere from 2 to 8 players can join a hosting player whether or not they themselves have a copy of the game.See also
- Brain Age and Brain Age 2
- Brain BoostBrain BoostBrain Boost, also known as The Professor's Brain Trainer in Australia and Europe, is a series of three brain-training games developed by Interchannel for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. Brain Boost was originally released in 2005 in Japan...
- Brain ChallengeBrain ChallengeBrain Challenge is a mental exercise video game similar to Big Brain Academy, featuring "brain exercise puzzles". The game was developed by GameLoft for mobile phones and iPods and released on September 5, 2007. It was followed by a Nintendo DS version on January 8, 2008, an Xbox Live Arcade...
- English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills!
- Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a DayFlash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a DayFlash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day is a Touch! Generations puzzle video game developed by Namco Bandai and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console...
- Minna de Kitaeru Zenno TrainingMinna de Kitaeru Zenno Trainingis an arcade game released only in Japan by Namco Bandai Games on December 21, 2006.-Introduction:This game, like Brain Age, was supervised by Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University. It uses the Rewritable Stage arcade cabinet...
- Professor Kageyama's Maths Training: The Hundred Cell Calculation MethodProfessor Kageyama's Maths Training: The Hundred Cell Calculation Method, is a puzzle video game published by Nintendo and developed by Jupiter for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in Europe and Australia. It was released in North America as Personal Trainer: Math on January 12, 2009. The game is part...
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