Webkinz, the virtual stuffed animal world of the 2000s, recently put out an app and those who grew up with the game are all for it. Ten years later, people are trying to frantically remember their passwords from 2007—having to travel into the inner depths of their brain so they can jump back into those glory days of taking care of their Googles and Cheeky Monkeys, playing “Polar Plunge” and building a sweet house.
This new wave of returning Webkinz users calls for a list of other memorable childhood games that are deserving of an app.
Club Penguin
Don’t we miss the days of logging onto the winter wonderland of igloos, snowball fights and interacting with other penguins around the world? Although the game discontinued a couple of years ago, the idea of a mobile app is not too far-fetched. It would be amazing if we could experience the pure fun of “Pizzatron 3000” and “Sled Racing” once again. The app should cater to those whose parents never allowed them to get a paid memberships—finally receiving the fancy clothing options and igloo decorations we desperately wanted to make our penguin’s life just a bit better.
Nintendogs
This game, one of the first to be on the Nintendo DS console, was truly revolutionary when it came out in 2005. Using the newly innovative touch screen, players taught their dogs tricks, took them on walks and enrolled them in agility trials with the witty comments of announcers Ted Rumsworth and Archie Hubbs. An app version would take this legendary game to a whole new level. Just imagine having dog playdates with your friends. Nintendo, please make this happen.
Mario Party
This one might be a stretch, but if Nintendo can transition the phenomenon of “Mario Kart” into an app, then there’s no reason for “Mario Party” to be left out. In a dreamy scenario, the app could allow you to connect with your friends in a four-player game and include all new mini-games along with some throwbacks—including “Booksquirm” from “Mario Party 4,” “Hydrostars” from “Mario Party 5” and “Dust ‘til Dawn” from “Mario Party 6.” Even though it would probably make more sense to sweep the dust off of your old GameCube, this app would be perfect for the boredom that often consumes road trips and airplane rides.
The Chao Garden from Sonic the Hedgehog
In addition to the main gameplay of “Sonic Adventure 2: Battle,” raising Chao on the side became one of the major hallmarks of the franchise. It was simply a wonderful way to take a break from the intensity of the Hero and Dark stages, which is why it should be formulated into its own separate app. This installment could connect with other users to battle each other out with the popular Chao Karate and Chao Racing games. Honestly, there was nothing better than naming your Chao, giving them animals for their physical transformation and feeding them Chaos Drives to improve their speed, flight and power—they were basically our children.
Any of the Disney Channel Games
The Disney Channel website had all of the good stuff. The “Lilo and Stitch” game, “625 Sandwich Stacker,” gave us a mixture of anxiety and excitement as the sandwich got taller and our wobbliness increased. Journeying through the past, present and future of Kim Possible’s life in the classic “A Sitch In Time” game was also a blast. And who could forget frantically looking for pieces of Hannah Montana’s wardrobe in the timed “Rock Star Fashion Challenge” game? Some random websites have made them available, but it would be incredible if Disney made these memories available right at our fingertips.
Rylee Jackson can be reached at ryleejackson@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @rybyjackson.
