5 Reasons to Play Bratz: Rock Angelz in 2021

When Bratz dolls first released in 2001, it was hard to tell what kind of impact they’d have on the doll industry. At the time, it was largely dominated by Barbie, leading to a poor initial launch for “the girls with a passion for fashion.” However, sales picked up and Bratz became a cultural staple for many kids, creating tons of different doll collections as well as movies and video games. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Bratz franchise, and the core four girls (Cloe, Jade, Sasha, and Yasmin) are being re-released for the “20 Yearz” line that will debut in-stores and online.

The new dolls won’t be available until later in 2021, but the designs have already been revealed and show the girls looking as stylish as ever. To pass the time until the new Bratz dolls release, it might be a good time to revisit some of the Bratz video games. Bratz: Rock Angelz debuted in 2005, but it still stands up as a fun game from an older console generation.

The Bratz: Rock Angelz game takes inspiration from the movie of the same name and focuses on fashion as the Bratz girls start their own fashion magazine. Each Bratz: Rock Angelz doll was released with each girl having her own instrument and a mini-CD that featured the main Rock Angelz song, “So Good,” alongside a song from the Bratz: Rock Angelz movie that related to the character.

Both the Bratz: Rock Angelz movie and video game feature fun, catchy original songs, which is part of the appeal of the game. Any time players enter a store, they can go to the radio and choose which Rock Angelz song they’d like to hear. The soundtrack features entries from Aly and AJ in addition to the full Bratz: Rock Angelz original soundtrack. It’s hard to not sing along to the songs, even stopping gameplay to hear the full song before continuing gameplay.

With a tagline like “the girls with a passion for fashion,” it’s hard to imagine that the Bratz: Rock Angelz game wouldn’t feature trendy outfit choices. Players can purchase tons of different clothing items and accessories from the different areas they explore and then dress up the four girls as they please. Bratz: Rock Angelz features fashion from the doll line of the same name, but as well as a ton of others like “Ooh La La,” “Treasures!,” and “Birthday Bash,” to name a few.

One catch, and a bit of a funny detail, about fashion in-game, is that NPCs will react to how players have styled the girl they’re playing as. Whether it’s Sasha, Cloe, Yasmin, or Jade, people they pass by will give a remark about their outfit, hair, and makeup (all of which are customizable by the player.) If something doesn’t match, though, NPCs will give a derogatory comment and say how out of style the girl looks, so it’s important players piece together outfits that actually make sense.

As with most video games, the voice cast can make or break a player’s experience during the game. Bratz: Rock Angelz may not win for best one-liners or having a superb script, but most of the voice acting is done well by some surprising actors and actresses. Sasha, given the nickname Bunny Boo from the other Bratz, is voiced by former Disney actress Tia Mowry. The “Tweevils,” so nicknamed because they’re twins and evil, Kirstee and Kaycee are voiced by The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco and Mean Girls’ Lacey Chabert, respectively.