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Price: Free!
Release Date: June 15, 2020
Rating: E (Everyone)
Platform: Nintendo Switch
What's It About?
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man, I love the Switch, but I wish there was a game about a jump-roping bunny rabbit!”? If you answered “yes,” then I have a game you're really going to be excited about. And if you answered “no,” then don't leave just yet. Because while the Ring Fit Adventure on the Nintendo Switch may still be hard to come by right now, the good folks at Nintendo have created something to occupy your exercise time while staying safely inside your home.
It's called Jump Rope Challenge, in which you can spend as long as you'd like using the JoyCons to imitate jumping rope. And your avatar is a cute little bunny rabbit (and, yes, you can change its outfits). The goal is to log in every day and meet your challenge requirements. You can alter those requirements, but the default is 100 jumps. In other words, this is a game that you're not meant to spend a lot of time on. It's a game that you boot up, do your daily challenge of jumping rope, and then log out of. Whether you want to play for two minutes or thirty, it's all up to you.
The Good
For what it is, there's a lot to love about Jump Rope Challenge. Personally, I love it because it's a great way to tire out my four-year-old. And she loves it!
For adults who want to use it for exercise, it's still pretty nice, too. A highlight is when you meet your goal, the background turns to a cat, and every time you jump, it makes a “meow” sound. Why? I have no clue. But my kids liked it, and I liked it, and it's one of those trademark weird things that Nintendo does.
Like I mentioned before, you can also change the bunny's outfits by clicking left or right on the directional pad. It's a simple thing, sure, but there's some satisfaction from jumping rope as a rabbit in a tuxedo. And if there's a second person at home who wants to jump with you, there's thankfully a nice 2-player option so you can exercise together.
The Bad
This game is free, so expectations shouldn't be too high. I mean, it's a game where you jump rope as a bunny avatar. That's pretty much it. So if you're looking for some in-depth exercise game with lots of challenges and rewards, you may be slightly disappointed. It's early in the release of this game, so there may be rewards and additional challenges added in to later patches.
Some extra customization would've been cool too, but I don't want to nitpick the game too much. It's fun and fine for what it is. Will I still be logging in every day a year from now? Probably not. But until that shine wears off, it's a fun way to exercise a bit in the mornings.
The Ugly
The only real problem with the game is that it doesn't count your jumps correctly. In fact, it's WAY off.
It was pretty obvious from the get-go. I barely moved the JoyCons, and it showed I had over a dozen jumps already. While my daughter was playing, I actually counted her jumps. She jumped about fifty times, but the in-game counter showed her well over 100. With that kind of inconsistency, I wouldn't place too much credibility on the game's counter. So, maybe use the game more as recreational fun than an actual workout routine.
Final Thoughts
Jump Rope Challenge is an enjoyable (and free) game that lets you workout for as long (or as little) as you'd like. It's great for kids, and adults are sure to have a good time with it too. I'm just not sure anyone will be playing this a year from now. Still, it's a nice move from Nintendo to give us all something for free that can let us exercise while a lot of folks are still staying indoors and trying to avoid places like the gym.