How long can you hold your breath? It doesn’t matter; I’m not listening. Equally important, you needn’t be Wim Hof to fraternise with those who live under the sea; FF is back, this time it’s Fantasy Friends Under The Sea for the Nintendo Switch.
Ever keen to take new talent under my wing, my daughter (the same one from the first Fantasy Friends review) was the chief appraiser of the game but didn’t (couldn’t) want to write a review. Once again, I make no hesitation in saying this was solely for my her, still four, and that’s the market you should be looking at. Unless you genuinely want Sebastian as your bestie.
Once again, we’ll set out to make some new friends, this time in a vibrant, coral-filled environment. Our guide is Aurea, the mermaid, but those familiar with the first game will know their way around the controls, giving birth to the animals (all from Easter eggs), naming them, feeding them, dressing them up, and of course, playing with them too. Oh, and hygiene. That’s super important.
Fantasy Friends Under The Sea Switch Review
In the main hall are three pedestals that hold eggs. Initially, they are free, then later, you unlock them with your earnings but have no idea what’s inside. That’s the excitement side of things, kids. After giving the egg a rub with the hand cursor (joystick only – no touch option), the animal will hatch, and you can provide them with a namesake. I created my characters to fill in the gaps when my youngest wasn’t playing the game; the first was Mike, after Mike(s) in UnMetal.
Immediately after hatching, the little critters in Fantasy Friends Under The Sea need to eat – initially a baby bottle until they evolve, a wash (under the sea) and then some love. You can say what you like, but they can’t hear you, so you have to show your love by petting, then entertaining them with one of the many mini-games.
It doesn’t take long for your friends to evolve, which means is there will be some new mini-games – notably for feeding them as you’ll have to complete a few tasks before they can have a bite of a rainbow cookie. All this care and attention isn’t just ‘the right thing’, but ensuring that the friends are well fed, groomed and happy will award you points that can be used to hatch new eggs and even unlock some accessories.
Neptune’s New Clothes
You only need to read a handful of posts to know I’m a customisation whore, so even I gorged on some of the available items like specs and jackets to dress up your characters. Not that I’m trying to be nonchalant, but I’m not the target audience, so it got a little bit monotonous quite early on.
However, ‘the kid’ was loving it once more, yelling at me now and again to show a new mini-game they’ve unlocked or whether fjre9vmw is an actual name (she’s learning phonics, so experimenting). You can call them whatever you like, I said. Fortunately, she’s not a fan of gangster rap, so all the names were family safe.
Fantasy Friends Under The Sea is quite slow-moving, but that’s due to the type of player that will lap this up. There are no game overs or storylines – simply take care of your new found friends and ensure they’re content. As I said for the first game, this teaches children how to be consistent and take responsibility – yes, yes, it’s a game, but the fundamental parts are encouraging, and I saw a difference with her attention to our dog when she played the first game.
Billy-No-Mates
The animals – whatever hybrids they may be (bunnies with mermaid tails are common), aren’t judgemental and will love any cynic who gives them the attention. They’re pretty demanding, though, and you may find that maxing out their stats, you go to another animal for a couple of minutes, return to – let’s say… Mike, and he’s filthy as can be and wants another cookie.
High maintenance.
Again, it’s ain’t about me, or you (unless you’re a child with excellent reading comprehension) – it’s about the kids, and on this part, Fantasy Friends Under The Sea is good. By the way, you may need to assist younger ones with the reading, but it’s relatively brief, and the actual controls are intuitive and will assist their motor skills.
One thing worth mentioning since the last review, Fantasy Friends did frequently crash. My daughter said it would freeze, and we’d have to hard reset. It wasn’t so often that it was game-breaking, but enough to note it for future reference. The same thing happened once with Fantasy Friends Under The Sea, and fearing the worse; it was actually the joy-cons – they needed charging. Once swapped over, there hasn’t been one technical issue. Touch/knock on wood.
In my opinion, this game is better than the first. The visuals are a bit more polished, the friends are more excitable, and there’s a better variety of mini-games. Equally important, there weren’t technical issues. While this is cheaper on launch than its predecessor, I couldn’t recommend it if it were glitchy. Fortunately, it’s not, and it was a success with my youngest. The eldest wasn’t interested in the slightest, so definitely for younger players – maybe up to six or eight years old? You’re the parent; you make the call. If it’s for you, go for it.
