Game Review: Magikarp Jump

Not too long ago, The Pokemon Company released a cute song on Magikarp, arguably the weakest Pokemon in the franchise. We laughed, sang along and thought it was all in good fun. Until they decided that Magikarp was going to be their next hit icon.

Magikarp Jump is just that over top push for Magikarp to ascend the Pokemon popularity charts. Despite being the weakest Pokemon in the franchise, it is the center of attention in this publicity stunt of a game.

The game starts you off with Mayor Karp in a small, appropriately named, town called Hoppy town, where apparently everyone loves Magikarp. What a weird world to be in. The gameplay mechanics resemble some of the more contemporary mobile games in that the player needed to do very little work. It is also pay-to-win.

The three key principle, Feed, Train, Battle is the only three things you can do in the game. You start off fishing for a Magikarp, from which you feed, train and battle in the League. There isn’t much to do after that. Just like the same old everyday life, you repeat the cycle many times, with many Magikarps until you finally complete all the leagues.

Truth be told, I did not complete the game. One hour in, I was fully accustomed to the boring repetitiveness of the game. And despite not finishing the game, I can already tell you the storyline for the many more hours to come. It is the same Feed, Train, Battle.

Overall, this brainless game stands as an obstacle to The Pokemon Company’s push for Magikarp prominence. Though the art is attractive and the variety of Magikarp patterns is something I wish I could see in future mainline Pokemon games. The game is ultimately just another mobile shovelware.

Verdict

Thus, for my final verdict. If New England Clam Chowder is considered good, and Herring Brine is considered disgusting. This game smells fishy, very very fishy.

Pokemon: Magikarp Jump is now available on the iOS Appstore and the Google Play Store