Neko Atsume

BY GABY JASPAN AND WENDY LUN

We have all seen iPhone apps take over the life of young teenagers. Some stick, such as Instagram and Twitter, but it is the games that come and go. Lately, the craze has been about Neko Atsume, a kitty collector game.

Neko Atsume is a new Japanese game that allows you to collect cats by leaving out furniture, food, and fish. The game works by giving the player a generic “yard,” which is the space that cats come to visit. By putting different options of furniture and food, different cats will visit. After they have had their fill, they disappear and leave behind gifts in the form of fish and goldfish. The fish are the currency of the game, and they are used to buy in-game items in the Shop. Regular fish are easy to obtain, and are often left by cats. Goldfish, however, are rarer. The options that attract rare cats require these instead of regular fish.

The menu button leads to several more options besides the Shop: Cats, Goodies, Camera, Gifts, Settings, News, and Other. In Cats, there is a catbook to see which cats have visited, how many times they have visited, and what their personalities are like. The Album includes pictures the player has taken of their cats. There is also the Mementos tab; after a cat visits a certain amount of times, it will leave a memento item to remember them by. These can range from random seeds to precious stones. The Goodies box is what you have purchased to use in your yard and can be placed anywhere the player sees fit. The Camera option allows you to take cat pictures in-game and yard pictures for your phone. Gifts is where you collect the fishes your cats have left you. Settings allows you to control volume and sound. News shows advertisements, and Other is – well, it is self-explanatory. There are also “cheats” in the game, such as the daily password under News that gives you free fish and sometimes goldfish.

This game may just have the most adorable array of cartoon felines the world ever saw. Including regular cats that visit no matter what setup, such as Snowball (a fully white cat), Pickles (a gray and white Tabby), Ginger (red with white paws), and many more. Then, there are the rare cats. These cats are each unique, with their own outfit and/or preferred object. For example, Ramses the Great is a Sphinx cat, dressed as a pharaoh. He only comes to visit if there is a pyramid tent present. Bob the Cat, a bobcat in a hiking outfit that is too cute for words, only visits if the Cat Metropolis has been placed. Certain cats like Ms. Fortune and Lady Meow Meow only visit if there are luxurious foods served. These foods include Bonito Bitz, Deluxe Tuna Bitz, and most importantly, Sashimi. Watch out for Tubbs, though – he will eat the whole serving by himself!
Many, including us, the writers, think this game is adorable, addicting, and enjoyable. It is gratifying when the cats choose to visit, especially if it is the cat that we have been waiting for. There are so many cats to collect in the Catbook, as well as even more photo-ops as the cats visit different attractions. The only thing that would improve the game is a notification system that would alert you to the cats you have been waiting for. However, not knowing who’s visiting gives the game more excitement and motivation. After playing the game for more than a day, Neko Atsume will become more than just a kitty collector game.