Review - Furby Connect

In 1998 I was relieved to have finished my first year of A Levels. It was a year that I was concentrating on drinking, partying and doing all the things that a 17 year old boy was doing at that time!

It was also the year that parents suddenly went wild in a Christmas frenzy for the latest must have toy, Furby!

At the time I knew a handful of children within the family that managed to get one and from what I could gather they were well received and enjoyable toys for them.

Not having one or experiencing them first hand admittedly I either saw them as a craze or heard horror stories from parents about annoying repetitive sounds and being awake of activated at night. Yet, I do remember them being in a variety of colours, bulky and electronic, blinking eyes and learning to speak English.

The boys have always been slightly too young for me to buy one previously with William only turning 7 this year and Furby’s age appropriateness being 6 – 14 years. However, it was something that I was going to consider for this coming Christmas.

I was pleased and excited when the Hasbro team said there was one on the way to us!

Despite it being 18 years on and having a variety of changes I suppose I was expecting it to be similar to the ones I remember but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Furby has been brought right into the 21st Century and has morphed into a Furby Connect! It still is cute, fluffy, engaging and fun but now with an added modern twist!

The box is bright, colourful and engaging and shows you the comparison between the older "classic" models and what is new!

On one side, as seen above, you can see the shape, fluffy exterior and the cute pointy ears are still the same; just to reinforce this you have a small sample on top providing the actual colour and texture.

 

The other side of the box, which is just as colourful, shows the new features of the world that is opened up by the new app.

On opening the box you see magic about to happen.

The Furby connect needs 4 AA batteries inserted into the base which is easy to unscrew. So make sure you have both the batteries and screw driver available!

 

Apart from the new features like the 150, and more, expressive animations via the LCD eyes, ears and light-up antenna the classic features of being able to fed, stroke, tickle or shake the Furby are still available.  

I love that this is still available! From a parent point of view it means that the boys could grab and play instantly whilst I downloaded the app.

The LCD eyes are fantastic as the changes help show the different reactions to help it communicate.

Above you can see heart shape and colour pupils where as the picture below shows a rainbow sparkle. (Although the boys and I still haven't discovered what the rainbow sparkle means yet!)

The new design has the added twist of having an added antenna onto of its head. This, of course, helps connectivity via Bluetooth to the device and app but adds to the interaction and game play by moving and pulling it. The antenna will glow through interaction or if there is an update from the online game. (As seen below)

One of the new added features that I was please to see is the sleep mask!

I have to admit and say that it was the biggest fear of mine that we would own a Furby and it would be going off through the night because my poor ninja abilities had inadvertently set it off! However the new sleep mask makes this much better!

The sleep mask clips directly into the sensor above the eyes and this activates it sleep mode and allows it to sleep through the night!

I know, I shouted a massive thank you too!

So what about the Furby Connect app?

Whilst the boys were off playing I went to my app store and downloaded the free app.

Upon initiation you can choose to either connect with the Furby of carry on playing away from home.

Once you choose to connect it will start scanning to pick up your Furby.

As mentioned above Furby connect will automatically update from the online game which includes  phrases, music and videos which allows continual change in the physical and digital play; Ideally connect allows the boys to explore the Furby Connect World app and discover surprises together!

When you have the Furby and app on the connectivity means that whatever you do on the app the Furby will subsequently interact with it. As the boys explored and ventured around the app they collected different Furblings (as seen above).

Furblings seem crucial to the continuation of the game where they help you collect items that advance game play such as medicine and food. The more you play, the more Furblings you will hatch and the more opportunities will be created.

The game play is fantastic and even after exploring I think there is plenty to still find out and learn. There is even the option to allow the Furby to have a poo which I am sure James especially will enjoy!

The Furby has been and continues to be a must have toy and I can see why. Adding a digital game that allows you to explore, interact and then connect with your friends and their Furby's is a brilliant idea; however, added features such as an internal year- round clock that allows it to know if its Christmas, Easter or even Valentines day makes me feel confident that this will be a toy that always finds ways to engage the boys.

The Furby connect currently come in four colours: Blue, Pink, Purple and Teal.

Hasbro's Furby Connect  might be seen as expensive at RRR of £99.99 but with all the added features I can see that this will be a hit with any child especially if the response is anything like the boys!

(I was given this product for free to review. My opinions are my own and I am under no obligations to give a positive review! Please see my full disclosure at the bottom of my blog)