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Viva Piñata & Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise |OT| Rare's Secret Best Game(s), Now in 4k and Part of Game Pass

Dancrane212

Dancrane212

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,962
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Platform(s): Xbox 360, Windows PC (GFWL), Xbox One
Genre: Simulation
Player(s): 1-4 (Shared cursor in the original game. True multiplayer in the second)
Format: Digital/Physical
Developer: Rare LTD
Publisher: Microsoft Games Studios





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What is Viva Piñata?
Viva Piñata is a garden simulator where you build up a garden to attract and then manage Piñatas. You build Piñatas homes, plant seeds to attract them, let them romance, and—of course—beat them with a shovel feed and feed their innards to each other. It's very targeting the same area of your brain as games like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. As seen in the above GIF, Viva Piñata is pure joy.

So Trouble in Paradise is a sequel?
Think of it more as a game of the year edition than a whole new sequel. It's the same base game but with additional content like new environments and features such as 2 player offline co-op. Some UI features have also been streamlined over the original release.

Which one do I want to play first?
Trouble in Paradise is an expanded version of that first game. If you aren't interested in seeing the original game for curiosity's sake than there is no reason not to start with the latter release.

The original game does feature a more in-depth tutorial though. Might be worth playing that before moving over to Trouble in Paradise.

Can I bring my garden from the Xbox 360 into my Xbox One?
Yes. If you upload your Viva Piñata to the cloud on a 360 console your Xbox One will pull it down when booting the same game on that platform.

How complex is this game?
Surprisingly complex. You need to deal with hostile piñatas, manage watering/fertilizing plants, prevent piñatas from eating each other and seeds (when you'd rather them not). Trouble in Paradise does add a passive mode that disables a lot of the difficulties of the game and lets you focus just on gardening and raising pinatas.

How long is the game?
Via howlongtobeat:
Viva Piñata - ~19 hours
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise - ~19 hours

Is there any difference between playing this via a disc, standalone digital release or the version in Rare Replay?
No. The only difference is in picking the original release or Trouble in Paradise.

The original game was previously released on PC? Can I still play it today?
Kinda. The game was released as part of Microsoft's Games for Windows Live program and, while the digital storefront is long gone, you should still be able install and activate the retail version that is still available at some retailers. I just did this recently with Halo 2 without issue and whenever I find my copy of VP on PC I'll check that as well.

When can I play the game as a part of my Game Pass subscription?
June 20th. Grabbing Rare Replay will let you pull down the separate downloads for the 360 BC games in the collection include both Viva Piñata games.

I have Game Pass on PC. Can I play Viva Piñata through that service?
No. Rare Replay is only on XB1 and not PC, so you can't access Viva Piñata through that collection on PC.

How does the game run on the different platforms?
Xbox 360: 720p @ *30fps
Xbox One: 720p @ **30fps
Xbox One X: 4k @ **30fps
PC: Native support for up to ***1920x1200 @ 60fps

*Screen tearing and framerate dips.
**Locked aside from Piñata dances which are uncapped.
***You can go higher than this by modifying the game but it breaks the GFWL overlay so you cannot sign-in. This disables saving. http://www.wsgf.org/dr/viva-piñata

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XB1X Screens
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Viva Piñata - Metascore 84

IGN 8.5/10
https://ca.ign.com/articles/2006/11/11/viva-piaatas-review
If you've played The Sims or Animal Crossing and enjoyed them, Viva Pinata is a safe bet. The gameplay is more interactive and hectic, and facing the consequences of your actions, be they good or bad, is enjoyable gaming. Viva Piñata may have been designed with children in mind, but Rare has created a game that anybody with an open mind can get into and have fun with. The characters are endearing and the abounding sense of discovery can't be denied. Despite the slim interpersonal Xbox Live interaction we would hope for in a game like this, Viva Piñata has enough to explore and keep you busy that it makes for a solid purchase.
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Viva Piñata - Metascore 82




1UP A
https://web.archive.org/web/20110604042954/http://www.1up.com/reviews/viva-pinata-trouble-paradise
If you hated the original, Trouble in Paradise isn't going to change your opinion. If, however, you somehow missed out completely on the piñata party the first time around, I implore you to check it out now -- it's certainly much deeper and more addictive than its playful visuals would lead you to believe.
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Gamespy 4.5/5
http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/viva-pinata-trouble-in-paradise/907993p1.html
Even without some of its improvements, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise would be a solid sequel, but the more user-friendly gameplay, online features, and variety make it better in nearly every way. It may not win over the haters (you know who you are!), but it's definitely worth a look if you're in the market for an entertaining strategy game that just happens to star a bunch of brightly-colored adorable critters. Here's hoping that this won't be the last time we get a taste of their sweet, sweet candy.
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Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
Rare Replay
Pinata Island Gameplay tips
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Dancrane212

Dancrane212

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,962
I was just going to play it for a couple minutes to grab some screens for a little thread and fell into it all over again. Viva Piñata is a treasure and we don't deserve it.
 
a Master Ninja

a Master Ninja

Member
Dec 11, 2017
4,825
Trouble in Paradise is the original game plus new content. It's the better package overall.

That said, I think I like the tutorial in the original better as an introduction to the gameplay.
 
Shoozle

Shoozle

Banned
Dec 2, 2017
319
UK
Man, I wish they did more work regarding the memory limitations in the gardens. It sucked to be told you ran out of space when placing a bunch of scenery but still had over 50% of your garden left to use. Either way, still classic games, with fond memories that I will revisit again in the future. Rare imo work their best in smaller confined spaces than going all out like Banjo Nuts n Bolts or Sea of Thieves.
 
The_R3medy

The_R3medy

Member
Jan 22, 2018
2,840
Wisconsin
Can we talk about the fact that Viva Pinata had one of the best soundtracks in video game history? Grant Kirkhope outdid himself.
 
Killthee

Killthee

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,169
Ingueferroque said:
Wasn't expecting any more BC updates. Maybe all of the Rare Replay games are going 4K?



You mean a remake? Because this is essentially a remaster.
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A remake would be nice as well, but I'd settle for a remastered version of trouble in paradise so PC could get a port of it or shit even the original game so they could remove the gfwl trash.
 
Cincaid

Cincaid

Member
Oct 28, 2017
687
Sweden
Oh my freaking God. I'm seriously considering getting a Xbox One X soon, so many titles in the old generation I want to play.
 
Pancakes R Us

Pancakes R Us

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,336
I feel like I'm going to crack and buy a One X either later this year or next year. Hoping to pick it up during a big sale.
 
Chettlar

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
So question for people who have saves on xbox 360. Are you able to access them on your xbox one X? Because on my 360 it doesn't let me add them to cloud saves.
 
Hana-Bi

Hana-Bi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,010
Germany
Chettlar said:
So question for people who have saves on xbox 360. Are you able to access them on your xbox one X? Because on my 360 it doesn't let me add them to cloud saves.
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You have to upload them to the cloud first. I had a similar problem but I couldn't upload them because I couldn't load my profile on the 360 / I wasn't logged in.
 
Alex840

Alex840

Member
Oct 31, 2017
5,114
One of the best games of last gen. Those 4K screens look incredible. (I don't need an Xbox, I don't need an Xbox, I don't need an Xbox).
 
Kaz Frankenstein

Kaz Frankenstein

Member
Feb 15, 2018
790
I remember seeing this when it launched and being really tempted, but never biting. Now i have a 1X and Game Pass there is zero excuse (other than the backlog). But this might be my next game.
 
Chettlar

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
Hana-Bi said:
You have to upload them to the cloud first. I had a similar problem but I couldn't upload them because I couldn't load my profile on the 360 / I wasn't logged in.
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For me there are just certain games that just won't allow me to upload saves to the cloud, but others do. I'm on my 360. I think like for Forza Motorsport 3 it won't let me upload saves to the cloud, but Forza Motorsport 4 it will. It's very odd. Unfortunately Trouble in Paradise does this to me as well.

EDIT: tried it again and it worked this time. Weird. FM3 still does not work though :(

EDIT: it's a bit weird not knowing which to upload, since the most important part for me is my book progress, but oh well, I'll just upload everything I see and hope. It'll be some time before I can get an X or a Scarlett.

Kaz Frankenstein said:
I remember seeing this when it launched and being really tempted, but never biting. Now i have a 1X and Game Pass there is zero excuse (other than the backlog). But this might be my next game.
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Give it a shot! I never expected to like a game like this but it's one of my favorite games of all time. Both are great. I actually think the first does a better job of giving an initial experience, and Trouble in Paradise is a good kind of Viva Pinata 1.5. It reworks a few things, including quite a few attract/resident requirements. I went at it kinda like, started the first game, and played through it a bit, and then moved on to the second. Then I didn't have access to my 360 for a bit so I played through the first again on GFWL. They're pretty similar overall. I like things about both.
 
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black070

black070

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
5,583
Put a little bit of time into Trouble in Paradise and felt quite lost, like it expected me to know what to do. Think I'll jump into the first one instead as I'm assuming that ones more beginner friendly.
 
Chettlar

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
FreezerGeezer said:
This on the PC Game pass too? Loved this years and years ago on the 360, will have to take a look again!

Edit: Oh just saw in OP no PC! Damn.
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If you want you can jump through some hoops for the GFWL version. Not that bad of an experience. Sometimes on very advanced saves GFWL likes to corrupt them (although I heard this happens on xbox as well so it may be a problem with just the game? Either way just back up your saves every once in a while.). I just found a physical copy. If it doesn't come with a key you can literally use a key for like any GFWL game, because lmao. The PC controls are actually really good. Only PC thing you'd need to remember is to, is if you want 1080p (or 1200p like me), there's a .ini file that you can change the resolution if you want. Easiest fix you'll ever do. After that I had no problems with the game or GFWL or anything. Switched between M/KB and controller seemlessly, etc. Honestly the most difficult part is probably finding a disk drive lol.

It sucks only the first game is on PC, but the first is a great game and will run on anything.


The only thing that sucks about these 4K BC versions on Xbox is they aren't 60 fps. The game doesn't "need" 60 fps in the least, but it really helps the game look it's best at a higher framerates. Animations are really smooth and polished, and that shines more at a higher framerate. I have no idea what would be required for that to happen, but maybe Microsoft could look at it. Who knows. I'm super glad we at least got the 4K in this last batch though.

black070 said:
Put a little bit of time into Trouble in Paradise and felt quite lost, like it expected me to know what to do. Think I'll jump into the first one instead as I'm assuming that ones more beginner friendly.
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Yup. The first eases you into it better. TiP is kind of a 1.5. Start out with the first until you get the hang of it (though you mind find yourself getting sucked in lol). Then move on to TiP. Some of the knowledge for attract and resident requirements transfers over, but quite a bit of it is overhauled since they introduced a bunch of new plants and pinata species, and they try to integrate them in early on

Dancrane212 Might be worth adding to your FAQ that the first game has a much more in depth tutorial that might be worth checking out if people have access to both games before moving on to TiP.
 
Chettlar

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
The_R3medy said:
Can we talk about the fact that Viva Pinata had one of the best soundtracks in video game history? Grant Kirkhope outdid himself.
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I think I would have said "yeah it's pretty good" early on but man I think it just jives so well with the game and it's now so deeply ingrained with the experience for me mentally. The whole audio/visual experience from the art to the animations to the music to the sound effects (I heard that Rare had each pinata voiced by a different rare employee?? how awesome is that), it's all just so good.

I love the music so much. Ahhhh I love this game.
 
Spitz

Spitz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
107
The games look stunning in 4K and my famous Piñata and my Dragonache where still stored in the Post Office. I wish I could delete my Gardener Level and start a new career in the game.
 
Chettlar

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
Spitz said:
The games look stunning in 4K and my famous Piñata and my Dragonache where still stored in the Post Office. I wish I could delete my Gardener Level and start a new career in the game.
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Well if you were to delete your game save don't forget to give your pinata away first. I uh...know someone who'd be interested in having one. :P
 
Spitz

Spitz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
107
The gardener Level is tied to the Gamertag and stored at the Server. So deleting the game saves does not delete the Progress.
 
Oinone

Oinone

Member
Oct 12, 2018
4,156
Mtn. Ida right of Troy / But mainly Germany
FreezerGeezer said:
Edit: Oh just saw in OP no PC! Damn.
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Chettlar said:
If you want you can jump through some hoops for the GFWL version. Not that bad of an experience. Sometimes on very advanced saves GFWL likes to corrupt them (although I heard this happens on xbox as well so it may be a problem with just the game? Either way just back up your saves every once in a while.)
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I bought the first back in the day and played it on Win10. You just need to download a specific version of GFWL, but then you can create a profile just fine and play.
Framerate is still shit though; just a few Pinatas in your garden and it will go down every now and then. Not unplayable, but still a bit sad.
No issues apart from that. I actually had more trouble getting it to run on XP in the past. Never encountered the corruption of profile or save files either, although I heard about it too.
 
OldBoyGamer

OldBoyGamer

Member
Dec 11, 2017
525
Just wanted to say - if you haven't played either of these games, do so. They genuinely are brilliant. It's a crime that MS didn't continue evolving the gameplay over the years.

Warning though - if you don't enjoy laid back games where you can just potter around, might not be for you. Having said that, the love put into it by Rare shines through and almost makes you love it anyway.

For me, #1 was better than 2. There's nothing wrong with 2, I just enjoyed #1 more. maybe because it was such a fresh idea?

I feel like if Rare had polished the game play further and evolved the animal characters so that they became household names (like Pokemon do), this would be a massive series on XB1 right now.

Was this Rare's last great single player game???
 
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Dancrane212

Dancrane212

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,962
More screens.

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GigiF said:
I feel like if Rare had polished the game play further and evolved the animal characters so that they became household names (like Pokemon do), this would be a massive series on XB1 right now.
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The more I play the game the more I want a Piñata catching RPG.

GigiF said:
Was this Rare's last great single player game???
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Nuts and Bolts was released a month or two after Trouble in Paradise.
 
OldBoyGamer

OldBoyGamer

Member
Dec 11, 2017
525
Dancrane212 said:
The more I play the game the more I want a Piñata catching RPG.

Nuts and Bolts was released a month or two after Trouble in Paradise.
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Wait, did you say a Pinata RPG? Oh god yes please, yes!

Now I need to consider if Trouble was better than N&B's..... Not sure. I did enjoy N&B's but it definately did not tick all my Banjo boxes....
 
castaction

castaction

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,229
I played the first one a lot but never got to play viva pinata trouble in paradise, should i play the original again or trouble in paradise?
 
reminiscingLemon

reminiscingLemon

Member
Nov 18, 2017
1,273
castaction said:
I played the first one a lot but never got to play viva pinata trouble in paradise, should i play the original again or trouble in paradise?
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As long as you can remember how the original played you should be fine to hop into the newer one.

Its basically exactly like the original with 2 new areas where you can trap wild pinatas and bring them back to your garden to then try and convince them to stay like the regular wild pinatas
 
JayWood2010

JayWood2010

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,120
This is an amazing game. My friend and I use to play this game a lot. RIP my frog Licky in which he was brutally murdered :'(
 
xendless

xendless

Teyvat Traveler
Member
Jan 23, 2019
10,613
If this was on pc it would have got me to buy the game pass, had the windows live one back in the day before it disappeared
 
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Dancrane212

Dancrane212

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,962
JayWood2010 said:
This is an amazing game. My friend and I use to play this game a lot. RIP my frog Licky in which he was brutally murdered :'(
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Was just about to put my only two Mousemallows to "work" when those visiting Syrupents decided to settle down and devour them.

Now I need to pay out to get new ones while the home stands vacant...
 
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