Pixel Chix: Love-2-Shop Mall (Salon/Pet Store)

The Pixel Chix Love 2 Shop Mall was released in 2006 and retired circa 2009. The toy is stylized like a hand-held bag or purse when closed, and opens to reveal 2-story mall inside. It utilized the flip screen function that was originally introduced in the 2-Story House toy. The two versions of this toy are the Salon/Pet Store and the Food Court/Boutique.

Objective
The object of the game is to earn money, then spend it on a variety of cool stuff for your Pixel Pal.

Each mall has different items to unlock for your inventory through purchases. Money is stored both on-hand in your Pixel Pal's purse, and in an ATM. Every ATM withdrawal is $20 before spending. The max amount of money you can save in the ATM is $999 total.

While the on-hand amount technically has a maximum of $20, the visible maximum is $15 due to only being able to withdraw during shopping purchases, with the cheapest possible purchase being $5 in the game. In other words, $20 is removed for a purchase, but then $5 is immediately deducted as the purchase takes place directly after. Attempting to cancel the purchase after the ATM withdrawal also inadvertently cancels the withdrawal as well. Therefore, you are only able to view a max of $15 on hand from the inventory.

Shop Mode
If your Pixel Pal has enough money, she can go shopping for various items at the mall! Money is usually spent from what is on-hand in her purse, and if she does not have enough, she can withdraw some from the ATM machine. However, if there is no money in the ATM either, your Pal will not be able to make any purchases.

While the intended main way of earning money is through Work Mode, money can actually also be earned in Shopping Mode. For a quicker play-through, enter shopping mode, then press the Fun button and afterwards the No button in order to run through the games until you reach the One Millionth Customer/Catch the Flying Money game. The max amount of money that can be collected is $10 each time. Through this method, it is actually possible to save up plenty of cash without having ever worked at all. This method is additionally one of the faster ways to earn money in the game.

Work Mode
For an income, your Pixel Pal will need to go to work! Press the Work icon and your Pal will help a customer or play a minigame involving customers. Usually a customer would ask for something. Alternatively, you will have to solve a puzzle or play a game to complete your task. To receive pay from the boss, three Fun Mode activities must be completed with success. When these requirements are met, the boss will pay you $25 each time.

When work mode is activated for the first time, your Pixel Pal will talk to the current employee at the cashier, and the following exchange will take place:

Your Pal: "I'm looking to get a job."

Cashier: "Okay. You'll have to meet the boss!"

The cashier then walks away, and the boss enters from the elevator.

Boss: "Hello there!"

Your Pal: "Hi! It's nice to meet you."

Boss: "I hear you need a job."

Your Pal: "Yes sir!"

Boss: "Can you start right now?"

Your Pal: "Absolutely!"

The boss hands Pixel the work apron.

Boss: "Here ya go."

Your Pal: "Thank you."

They shake hands, and the sequence ends. This occurs once on the first floor, and again for the first time on the second floor. Once these two sequences have fully played on each floor, they will never play again unless the game is reset.

Most of the work activities outside of Fun Mode are deciding on whether or not to help a fellow customer. However, there appears to be no real penalty for choosing to be rude or unhelpful to any inquiring customer when not in Fun Mode, other than irritating your customers.

When your Pal switches between Working or Shopping mode, she will refuse to make another switch again if done right away. The game requires you to start 3 games in Fun Mode, and then will allow you to exchange shifts. It is not required to complete any of the games. To quickly bypass this, you can start a game then immediately cancel it with the No button, repeat this sequence two more times, and then your pixel Pal will able to change shifts right away.

= Food Court/Boutique Mall Toy =

Food Court & Boutique
The Pixel Chix Food Court/Boutique featured the wavy-haired Gal. When shopping, your pal will ask "What should I buy?". When idle, she has a content smiling expression. When changing from work or shopping mode, she will silently exchange shifts with the other Gal.

Food Court Costs

 * Burger: $5
 * Soda: $5
 * Pizza: $5
 * Popcorn: $5
 * Arcade: $5

Boutique Costs

 * Cream: $5
 * Sunglasses: $5
 * Shoes: $10
 * Clothing: $20

Errors

 * A crash error occurs at random when a connected Pal from the Salon/Pet Store toy is doing any activities in the Food Court/Boutique toy. The reason for this is unknown. When the error occurs the game freezes mid-activity, and both toys will say "Thank You!" before they both turn off simultaneously. If this crash occurs, the game's play data is not saved and will return to the last save state prior to connecting.
 * One of the Break Time activities is listening to music on headphones. In Food Court/Boutique, the animation plays too quickly, which results in the Gal removing her headset too early while the music is still playing. This animation plays at the correct pace in the Salon/Pet Store toy.
 * While technically not an error, getting your Pixel Pal to wear the striped dress from the inventory is a bit tricky. Selecting the dress and agreeing to her fashion show request will not apply the dress to your Pal. To wear it, select the dress then wait as she asks about having a fashion show. When the mouth animations have stopped, count to three full seconds, then press the No button. The dress should now be applied, with an accompanying "Fabulous!" cheer from your Pal.

= Salon/Pet Store Mall Toy =

Salon & Pet Store
The Pixel Chix Salon/Pet Store featured the black-haired Gal. When shopping, your pal will ask "Should I buy something?". When idle, she has a neutral seemingly bored expression. When changing from work or shopping mode, she will greet the other Gal with "What's up!" before exchanging shifts.

Pet Store Costs

 * Bird: $10
 * Kitty: $20
 * Puppy: $20
 * Hamster: $10

Salon Costs

 * Facial: $5
 * Shampoo: $5
 * Manicure: $5
 * Hair Styling: $20

Tasks involving games or puzzles

 * What should I do first? There will be three different events happening within the same time and you must choose which needs to be done first. The other two may be done in either order after the first task is complete. If you do not select the first task correctly, the event will play but your character will not do anything. These are the times this puzzle appears (the underlined task is the one that should be done first).
 * Man flirting, mouse, pouncing dog
 * Little boy, mouse, phone ringing
 * Package delivery man, customer, phone ringing
 * Mouse, robber, package delivery man
 * Man flirting, mouse, bottle spill


 * Do you have any black cats? Get 3 black cats in a 3x3 grid. There cannot be more than one black cat per row. The 3 cats will not always be in a straight row and do not have to be. After 3 black cats or 3 misses, the game is over.


 * I would like to buy a fish After a customer requests a fish, two fish will plop out of the fishbowl and you will have to get them to flop back in by pressing the Work and Shop icons as arrow keys.


 * Catching the dogs 2 girls will rush in and toss dogs and your character's job is to catch them before they hit the ground. To catch a dog, move your character close to it at the right time. She will say "Phew" and catch it. If 5 dogs hit the ground, you lose the game.


 * Can you make them look like this? A girl will go into the Salon and ask for her nails done. You will have to memorise a pattern of 10 nails with 3 colours and colour the girl's nails accordingly. If you don't get the combination correctly, she will wail "This is horrible!" However if you complete it correctly, she will say "I'll take this" and complete her purchase.


 * Can you help me with this? A girl will go to the Salon for her hair done. There are 3 cards with hairstyles, one good hairstyle and two bad hairstyles. The cards with the hairstyles will flip over and shuffle, you will have to guess which hairstyle is the right one. The girl will instantly take whichever style you picked and act accordingly. It is believed that this game is luck-based, as the shuffling can easily mislead.

Responses

 * YES
 * "Absolutely!"
 * "Sure thing!"
 * "Sure thing, right this way."
 * "Right over here!"
 * "We sure do."
 * NO
 * "No way!"
 * "As if!"
 * "Whatever!"
 * "Nuh-uh!"
 * "I'm on a break."
 * A gesture indicating to go away.
 * Customer Requests
 * "Do you have kitties?"
 * "Do you have puppies?"
 * "I would like to buy a fish."
 * "Do you have pet food?"
 * "Can you help me with this?"
 * "Do you have shampoo?"
 * "Can I get my nails done?"
 * "Can I get a facial?"
 * Should I get my hair done?"
 * Customer Satisfaction
 * "Fabulous"
 * "I'll take this"


 * Customer Dissatisfaction
 * "This is horrible!"
 * "Grr"
 * Smoke puffs on top of their head in anger and they go down the elevator angry.


 * Boss responses
 * "Here ya go."
 * "This better not happen again."
 * The boss will whistle a disapproving sound should you fail to capture loose birds.

Errors

 * The Pet Store/Salon game's inventory is buggy, and will not save the following items should the Gal have purchased them from a connected Food Court: Soda, Popcorn, and the mouse game from the Arcade machine. Along with these bugs, the only way to save some of the foods to your inventory is to have played the arcade first. Without the initial arcade purchase, no food purchases will save to your inventory.
 * In one of the working tasks, a Gal with messy hair will ask if she should get her hair done. If you refuse, her hair changes back to normal when she gets angry and leaves.
 * Many times in the Salon, a wavy-haired Gal will change to light-haired after paying for her items.
 * When customers get their hair done, they have a tunic and pants. After paying, it changes into a shorter top with a long skirt.
 * There is a minigame where you must help 3 Gals with a bad hair day, but they are never satisfied regardless of how you score.
 * During the One Millionth Customer sequence, the employee who announces such with the trumpet fanfare is actually missing her speaking animations in the Pet Store/Salon toy. The animations are present in the Food Court/Boutique toy.

= Connection =

Mall to Mall
To safely save your game after playing in a different mall, press the No button on the toy that your Pal is currently in. Wait for your Pal to appear in her original toy and finish walking away from the elevator, then disconnect the two toys. The game data is then saved properly.

When left idle for too long, both malls will say "Thank you!" before turning off.