Stressed from a fast-approaching deadline and Halloween haze I headed to my google search bar to look for the answer to some random inquisition. To my utter amazement I see a new Magic Cat Academy game has been released. Brushing off my shock and quickly clicking the play button, excited for another Halloween cat game. I had known for several years Google released games and informationals in the spirit of holidays, historical events and cultural traditions. I have always seen this as a creative way to teach web users fun facts and have a little holiday cheer. I get especially excited when I realize there is a new game to play.
As of Oct. 30, Google released a third installment of
“Magic Cat Academy,” one of my favorite mini-game series. “Magic Cat Academy 3” features a cat named Momo going on an out-of-world adventure to battle ghosts and her long time rival, Marshmallow, in outer space.
The player’s job is to eliminate ghosts as they pop up onto the screen by drawing the corresponding symbols that hang over their heads. Players have a total of five lives but are able to replenish them as they go, by drawing a heart symbol. The actual game and mechanics are a breeze to use for those with a mouse or touchscreen, however, quite difficult for computer touchpad users. For me, it was simple to fall into a rhythm of drawing the symbols to defeat the ghosts. Even if a player isn’t as obsessed with a cat game as I am, the tutorial makes it simple to understand the idea of how to play the game.
The game was straightforward and interesting and it took me all of ten to fifteen minutes to complete. This game is perfect for a small brain-break among someone’s already busy life. If you’re like me with a million things to do, it is quite easy to put your life on pause to play “Magic Cat Academy 3.”
Previous installments of “Magic Cat Academy” include “Ghouls in School” the first installment and “A Commotion in the Ocean,” the second installment. These games appealed to me from a young age and even as a young adult because of the cute animated animals and distinctive mechanics. I loved the game’s unique art and animation style; it had a cartoonish and airbrushed style to it that appealed to my inner child. The story line cleanly picks up after each installment so it feels as if every installment was released together and is consistent. I enjoyed seeing the short animations of Momo and other characters; the purpose, to show how the game progresses.
Juliana Chen, one of the artists behind “Magic Cat Academy,” was first inspired by her cat Momo who would often sit near or around her as she worked. Clearly the team behind “Magic Cat Academy” enjoys what they do as they had many ideas for character designs and even the game itself.
According to GoogleDoodle, “The original concept for the game involved a magic cat making a soup that was so good, it raised the dead. Connecting soup to Halloween proved too abstract, so the team shifted to the idea of a wizard school. This opened the door to a more robust world filled with interesting characters and paw-some themes.”
The team tries to include learning into “Magic Cat Academy.” The game consists of five levels, each level is named after a level in the atmosphere: the troposphere, then the stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. After completion of each level, a small picture of Momo with the mini-boss at that altitude.
In the final level animations, Momo teams up with Marshmallow to defeat a star-possessed sun. This teaches the audience of players that everyone should strive to work as a team and forgive others for their mistakes.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing all of the “Magic Cat Academy” games, although it is no longer Halloween I hope many can afford themselves the joy that comes from playing “Magic Cat Academy.”
