New 'Pokémon' mobile game is all about the most useless Pokémon ever: Magikarp
Magikarp, the most useless Pokémon ever, is the star of a brand new Pokémon mobile game: Magikarp Jump.
Magikarp Jump, released yesterday on iOS and Google Play, is all about catching Magikarp, training them to jump as high as possible, and competing against other Magikarp in jumping contests. That's pretty much all this dopey-looking fish-mon can do.
Instead of running around and catching Pokémon with Pokéballs in traditional Pokémon fashion, you reel in Magikarp with a fishing rod to take them under your wing. The goal is to train your trusty Magikarp enough through feeding and exercise sessions to compete in Magikarp jumping leagues.
The gameplay isn't anything amazing -- you tap on food that floats in your Magikarp's pond and occasionally interact with other Pokémon who give you either jumping power (JP) or useful items. The training sessions are not interactive.
All you have to do is accrue more jumping power than your opponent to make it through the eight leagues of the game. If you don't have enough jumping power, you just have to keep tapping food and going through more training sessions.
The depth of the game pretty much lines up with how deep Magikarp is as a Pokémon: aka immensely shallow.
On the positive side of things, the music in the game is reminiscent of main series Pokémon games -- super upbeat and pleasant. The writing in the game is pretty funny, too, and isn't afraid to jab at the lowly status of Magikarp.
In fact, one item in the game opens up this hilarious YouTube video:
The more you play, the better Magikarp you can fish up. Some Magikarp have unique attributes that let them level up faster and some have cool cosmetic patterns.
Once you boil it down though, Magikarp Jump isn't particularly engaging or exciting. It's basically a Pokémon version of Tamagotchi, except your Magikarp retire after finishing a league or hit level 20, so don't get too attached.
