The Pokemon Company has a brand new game in the Play Store as of May 25th and it may not be what longtime Pokemon fans expect, but the art style is cute and it does look like a load of fun. The game, called Pokemon: Magikarp Jump, was actually outed several months ago, but this makes it official. Before anybody in the know says anything clever, even the developers have taken the opportunity to participate in a bit of self-deprecating humor about the game’s main protagonist. Magikarp is, as the app’s description says, “the weakest Pokemon ever.” However, just because fans of the core series have been openly mocking the fish-like creature since its inception – with such endearing descriptors as “pathetically weak,” “unreliable,” and “generally useless” – doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve its own game.
As to the game itself, players take control of a trainer in Pokemon: Magikarp Jump and train a wide variety of Magikarp to jump. Generations of Magikarp need to be raised and each generation trains up a bit faster and a bit stronger. Users can feed and interact directly with their Pokemon, decorate the pond where they are raised, and even them interact with some of the game’s more popular characters. Each of those actions will, of course, make Magikarp of all stripes grow and power up faster than they otherwise would. Those core mechanics should be pretty familiar to anybody who has spent any amount of time playing mobile games. League “battles” are also available, so users can take their Magikarp online to see how it fairs in a jumping contest with other users.
There are only one or two caveats, but those aren’t unusual for many modern mobile games either. Players on rooted devices will have limited functionality in online matches and some other areas because The Pokemon Company wants to keep the online competition “fair.” In-app purchases don’t help that situation, although those have been pretty fairly weighted in the developer’s other games. The game will also only work with Android 4.1 or better and issues can arise when backing up save data, making purchases, or playing online if a player’s connection isn’t good. Users can contact The Pokemon Company with any issues with that, and future updates to the game may address at least some of the issues. That out of the way, the game itself is free and available through the Google Play Store right now through the button below.
