I did the review for Fantasy Friends a while back, in which I compared it to the Tamagotchi’s, My FurReal Friends, Furby’s, and the likes. Well, they released a sequel, and yes I covered this one with my daughter as well!
Fantasy Friends – Under the Sea ..?
Fantasy Friends – Under the Sea takes place in a gorgeous fantasy ocean where anything is possible, or at least that’s what they promise… With the help of Aurea, the magic mermaid (instead of fairy), you will care for twelve adorable new pet friends! Take care of them and make sure you give them all the love they need. If you do, your pets will grow up and play with you!
The whole setting reminded me of Viva Pinata under the Sea like they released this game in the Little Mermaid universe or something. While the first one felt like an abomination from hell, the second one feels a bit more polished. The whole sea theme is well done and the waiting times I hated in the first entry are shortened (which makes the game more paced).
To give you some purpose in game, Fantasy Friends has a time-consuming care system. The more you care for them, keeping them happy and healthy, the more mana you will earn. Use your mana to get new creatures, buy them new clothes or even cooler toys to play with, and decorate the ocean with incredible fun items! Or, that’s what the game tells you – it still takes ages to gather mana, which results in boredom while waiting for the bars to drop so that you can feed or rewash your animals. Luckily it’s a bit quicker and you can easily buy new pets to take care of. The underwater world feels a bit more vibrant as well, and since my little one loves sea-critters, this one was a better fit than the last one.
Features!
If you were wondering about features, yes, Fantasy Friends – Under the Sea has the same features as the old one! – From a cute dogfish to a surprising frog, discover 12 incredible aquatic creatures you will love to cuddle and play with. Each animal needs a specific food you will have to produce. As soon as they hatch, all of them will need your attention. You start with some basic creatures, which will evolve into more complicated sea-critters, which my daughter all called dog and cat (even though they were clearly not).
Just like in the first game, they each live in their own house and have a game that they like best. Sadly, most of these games are rehashed from the base game and feeding/playing/taking care of them still feels dull. And yes, this version also challenges you to collect hundreds of colors and skins for your pets and challenge your friends to see who will have the most unique creatures. Be the first to find the rarest ones since you’ll be the only one playing with them. But hey, you can always put on the game as a screensaver, instead of an aquarium or fireplace.
Conclusion
As you might have already guessed, I still did not enjoy my time with this candy-wrapped-underwater-monstrosity. Luckily my daughter enjoyed the few hours we played with Fantasy Friends Under the Sea, and that’s the most important part when I play a game with my daughter. It’s less bad than Fantasy Friends, but I still urge you to stay away from this game – even if you can’t resist the cute-looking mascots glaring at you in the e-shop.
