Pokemon: Magikarp Jump
By Neilie Johnson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Silly Pokemon spin-off offers boat loads of fishy fun.
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Pokemon: Magikarp Jump
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Based on 1 parent review
Hours of fun, with some caveats
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What’s It About?
POKEMON: MAGIKARP JUMP is a tongue-in-cheek competition app starring everyone's favorite, most-useless Pokemon -- Magickarp. In the Pokemon universe, Magikarp is known for being weak and pointless; here, its pathetic flopping and jumping is turned into an asset. Players fish for, train, and battle their Magikarps against one another in order to see whose Magikarp can jump the highest. The winners earn gold and diamonds while the losers are shipped off to a watery retirement.
Is It Any Good?
This simple little app is more entertaining than it has any right to be. It takes a sense of humor to build a game around the world's worst Pokemon, and humor is what makes this silly collectible-slash-competition game so much fun. After fishing a promising Magikarp out of the water, (if you get a bad one you can -- providing you have diamonds in your pocket -- throw it back and cast your line again) you feed it, train it, then when you're ready, take on other Magikarps in various challenge leagues.
Though much of the gameplay is automated (training and jumping, for instance) it's fun upgrading your Magikarp's food supply and training options, not to mention using your reward money to buy Pokemon friends like Pikachu to cheer you on. Further, there are themes and decorations to buy for your Magikarp's underwater home, and of course, Pokemon Magikarp Jump wouldn't fit into the Pokemon world without a collection feature. Avid collectors will enjoy collecting the many Pokemon companions and different Magikarp patterns, while sharing their finds on social media. If the app has a down side, it's that its free play is limited. A built-in timer forces you to space your Magikarp's training out over many hours unless you're willing to spend the cash to speed the process up. If you're not, the most you can hope for is five or ten minutes of play at one time. Even with this hindrance though, Magikarp Jump offers a lot of fishy fun and proves that even world-class flops like Magikarp sometimes finish first.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about in-game purchases in collectible games. How do you set purchase limits for games that are all about collecting things?
Discuss sharing your in-game progress on social media. How often should you share it? How often is too often?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Pricing structure: Free (Contains optional in-game purchases.)
- Release date: May 25, 2017
- Category: Role-Playing Games
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts , Ocean Creatures
- Publisher: The Pokemon Company
- Version: 1.1.0
- Minimum software requirements: Requires iOS 8.0 or later, Android 4.1 and up
- Last updated: June 26, 2017
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