Wappy Dog for Nintendo DS

Just when we thought we’ve seen everything a Nintendo DS could do, along comes Wappy Dog. Wappy Dog is a toy puppy that interacts with the player through the Nintendo DS system.

“Wappy Dog teaches young gamers to raise their very own puppy in both the real and virtual worlds and teach it cool tricks, play mini-games together and even converse! Each pet is a fully personalized experience, enabling players to customize both the in-game version and physical dog with different colors and accessories.”

The Wappy Dog toy runs on 3 AA batteries (included) and has an on/off switch under his chin. Just turn him on, insert the game cartridge into your Nintendo DS system and you’re ready to go. The interaction between toy and game performs better if they’re within 3 feet of each other but I found that it did work well even though I was about 10 feet away.

There are 2 different modes of play: Home Mode & Travel Mode.

Home Mode allows you to interact directly with your toy puppy. You can choose from a selection of commands/questions and see how Wappy responds. For example, you can ask, “Wappy are you hungry?” and he’ll respond by saying, “I couldn’t eat another bite” or “Give me a shortcake.” Although, I would have preferred something more along the lines of “Please may I have a shortcake.” He can also respond by barking, moving, and doing tricks. The more you play with your Wappy Dog the more things he’ll learn how to do as he grows from a puppy to an adult dog.

Travel Mode allows you to play the game without the physical toy puppy in front of you and will save and update your progress for the next time you’re in Home Mode. This is a great feature since it isn’t always feasible to bring Wappy along for the ride.

Travel Mode seems to have more games and activities available for the player. Here you can play with Wappy by blowing bubbles or throwing a ball and watch him run after them. You can also feed him by preparing different types of food like slicing a jelly roll, putting the filling into an eclair, or emptying cans of dog food onto a plate. There are also mini-games to play like catching falling fruit or a “whack-a-mole” type game. We really enjoyed that last one because we had to play against Wappy and he has some pretty fast paws.

In Travel Mode you can also change Wappy’s appearance, the room he’s in, and groom him to your heart’s content. Again, the more you interact with him the happier he’ll be which unlocks more games, appearance & room options, and play things.

After playing with Wappy for a few days he’s now 3 years old. The brochure says that eventually Wappy will learn how to dance and sing which we haven’t come to yet but that should be something cool to see! This game is perfect for any child who loves animals and taking care of them. The game is easy enough for Kiana (6) to play on her own yet cool enough for even Kacie (9) to be interested in it. Even I had a blast playing some of those mini-games.

I think Wappy Dog has made a breakthrough in taking the Nintendo DS a step further in interactive fun. I can see many more virtual pets making a physical appearance in our homes very soon.

Purchase your WAPPY DOG FOR NINTENDO DS at Amazon.com for $48.83.

This post was written for Activision who provided the complimentary product in exchange for our honest review.