Barbie as the Island Princess is a mini-game collection based on the 2007 animated movie of the same name. It is different from the PC and console versions (those versions feature 28 minigames instead of the count of 12 in this version). The game is set on a tropical island where Barbie, as the shipwrecked princess Rosella, is raised by her new family of animal friends and eventually rescued off the island by Prince Antonio. By progressing through the mini-games the princess moves from her island home to the prince's coastal castle. Next to the mini-games, different outfits can be tried in the dressing room section of the game.
The mini-games include catching coconuts launched by an elephant, fishing with a net, rotating objects to match a shape, grabbing and stacking fruit before it falls down, bouncing a bubble in the air, a "Simon Says" variant, a timed input game involving dancing, collecting flowers, connecting stars as a memory game, collecting birds, playing a song by selecting the right notes, getting rid of bugs in the garden and so on. Many games have a time limit and the game keeps track of the score. By doing well points can be scored to unlock accessories for the dressing room.
The Nintendo DS version changes the rotating objects to match a shape minigame to a minigame which utilizes the stylus and is about tracing an outline. Also, the bubble bouncing game has been expanded to multiple bubbles instead of only one found in the GBA version. Another difference from the GBA version is that the DS version also has animated movie clips which unlock through gameplay and can be watched again in the Extras section found on the DS main menu.