If you'd like to view the Flipnot animation below, I'd recommend clearing your history if you're on a DSi.



Flipnote Studio

First of, this is a rant praising Flipnote as a software but ranting about the online.

Flipnote was probably the most highly anticipated DSi software. The summer of 2009 was buzzing with rumors of when the game would be released, and when it finally was, it did not dissapoint one bit.

The software is incredibly versitile, and allows you to animate just about anything you could imagine, with 8 different speeds, up to 999 cells/pages, dozens of special tools, line and brushes make this software such an amazing package- all for free.

You can also save your animations as .gifs which is how I was able to post the animation above for you all to see (one of mine).

The probem lies within the software's online function, known as Flipnote Hatena .

Hatena is the "YouTube" for the Flipnote Animations. It launched with the game and most likely has over 1,000,000 archived animations.

This feature has several majors flaws and problem however that detract from it heavily.

First off, you cannot search for a video using text, you have to use your up, down, left, right, X, Y, A, and B, buttons instead. In addition to this, in order to change the name of your uploaded Flipnote, and to change the details of it, you have to go to their online site.

Second, you have to post your video in a specific channel, much like a catagory. The "hot flips" feature supposedly shows the newest flipnotes, however it doesn't seem t work very well.

Third, the star addition system. Honestly they need to fix this. The system adds one star for every time your click the screen. Instead of just picking the number of stars you wish to add. (while I understand why, there should be a max for how many you can add per video).

Fourth, Spinnoffs. The absolute worst thing about Hatena is when a member with a good flipnote (wire frame tower chase for example) is copied and re-post over and over and over and over again to the point of insanity. While I see how this feature is good, it causes so much annoyance that It's not worth the trouble.

Fifth, the people. When Hatena started, there were members, and no one had a distinct advantage over another. Members like Boss and 100% began to rake in stars and other members were left in the dust who had just as much talent.

Eventually, the online became the "Social Network For 12 Year Olds" to quote about 20 how I've heard it from. DSiPaint was also advertised on Hatena, and that caused a huge influx of good, and bad, and horrible members, to swarn in from Hatena.

While Hatena remains nearly unchanged since day one, they have found more ways to take money from you. You can buy colored stars to "award" other members, and in turn, those stars can be spent on various upgradable profile backgrounds. Hatena + was also released, but is not used as heavily as Hatena expected.

While Hatena has some major flaws, Flipnote's amazing software make up for it in nearly every respect. Tne only complaint would have to be the lack of colors, but that's such a small point that I don't mind.

Flipnote remains addicting and fun to use to this day, and with a few fixes, the online could be just as much.

Flipnote Studio: 9/10
(If Hatena ever changes, It'll be 10/10 )

Hope you liked my Flipnote Review & actual flipnote!