Interactive Yoda

The main use here is in Jedi training, of which there are four levels. Courtesy of the sensors within thehands, chest and an internal one, Yoda – who must be placed at the same height as yoursweeping movements – and your lightsaber, will instruct you to swipe yourstick around in short, sharp motions and gain the praise of the great one.Be warned though, practice doesn’t make perfect, but LOTS of practice makes’getting nearly there’.

Two other games are built into the unit. They’re quite simple ones, but areeffective and are suitable for all ages.

Yoda Says is “Simon Says”. When I was a wee nipper, one of the hot toyswas a circular object with green, blue, red and yellow buttons. Press themin sequence and, if you manage it, the same sequence will be repeated withone extra addition. And so it goes on.

Here, it’s a case of ‘left hand’, ‘right hand’, ‘force’ (chest sensor) or’tilt’.Tiger Toys also have a variant on this called ‘Copy Cat’.

Ask Yoda requires you to think of a question that can only be answeredwith yes, no or maybe. After doing the necessary, he will reply, making itrather like one of those ‘magic 8-ball’s.

I haven’t really mentioned Yoda’s voice, other than the name of the actor/directorwho does it. As he talks his lips move, the eyes open and close, but he’salways speaking in backward-English tones, be it “Tired of this, I am”,“Put me down, you will”, “You must unlearn what you have learned”,or if you’ve been rather cruel…, “Upside down, am I” !

When Yoda groaned though, he sounded exactly like the moment from an episodeof The Simpsons when they went back in time and we heard a young campussecurity guard, who later rose through the ranks to become Police Chief ClancyWiggum, clearing his asthma.

Overall, Interactive Yoda is a toy that can teach some learning skills to theyoung – and is mostly for their age group, while no doubt providing anothermust-have for the Star Wars generation. I did tire of it fairlyquickly though.

OVERALL

OVERALL