Aquapets – cute, collectible and due out this month
MFM had an early-bird sample of the new Aquapets to play with… here’s what we thought of the new toy for school-age girls
Puku, Bebe, Harf - these are just a few of the Aquapets due out in the UK this month. They’re designed for children 6 years and up, and with an RRP of £9.99, they’re not quite pocket-money prices, but may just encourage your child to save up for a few weeks.
When MFM HQ first heard the term Aquapets, a few of us had terrible visions of Sea Monkeys being tarted up for the kids of 2011. But we needn’t of worried… what arrive was a small and sweet underwater character, floating in a water-filled drop-shaped pod. The little character, which wouldn’t look out of place in a Pokemon episode, makes chirpy noises, moves and dances to little melodies. Oh, and makes cutesy sounds and movements when spoken to!
Small enough to sit in your palm, there’s just two buttons to operate – a heart button and a star button. Using these in different combinations makes the Aquapet move or dance. We’ve been told that if you put two or more together, they play off each other.
Aquapets certain score full marks for cuteness. In the hands of a 10-year-old, we were told the Aquapet (we had Puku) looked really cool, but as a Nintendo DSi user (and stereotypical Year 5 kid), she was soon wishing they could do this and that and 100 more techno-savvy things. For younger girls though, the reasonably simple two-button operation is probably ideal. The directions on the box weren’t sufficient for us to really understand what our Aquapet was capable of, but the downloadable pdf from the Aquapets site clearly sets out the instructions for basic play and the three different games.
If you have older children, don’t think you’re going crazy if the name may sound familiar - Aquapets first made an appearance in 2004 (apparently they were one of the most wanted toys of the year). This year, they’re said to boast "more features, new design and technology".
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