No, Just No. No, No, No, No, No.

[nightfall8705]

So, I've been seeing the word MaraPets floating around Facebook recently.

 

Mara-what?

 

Apparently, they've been around since 2001.

 

Again-what?

 

I spent less than 5 minutes on that site before I declared SHENANIGANS!

 

But, I must say this:

 

* The worlds seem interesting to explore.

* They have a pet school. (And car garages, but no actual cars. And prisons. PRISONS! And a cleaning supply store.) :O

* There are a lot of activities there... however.

 

It is a complete, blatant rip off of Neopets. The "MaraPets" look like Neopets. The worlds and games have soooo many similarities to Neopets and Neopia. I mean, I could not keep track of all of them! Even the site layout is similar!

 

And the art. Well, the art made me cringe!

 

See for yourself: http://www.marapets.com

 

Somebody help me please. I've facepalmed myself into oblivion.

 

In the words of Slim Shady himself, which I doctored for my amusement:

 

"I'm a Neopian, yes I'm a real Neopian, all you other Neopias are just imitating, so won't the REAL Neopets please stand up, please stand up, please stand up."

 

I so wonder what TNT thinks of these "Mara-rippingoffNeo-Pets" shenanigans.

 

Also: Your thoughts?

[Dragonrider0592]

Wow. Neopets is still best! I can't blame them for trying to rip off Neopets because Neopets is the coolest thing. But seriously people if you're gonna rip someone off you should at least do it right.

[blackberrypatch]

Yes, this is why the phrase "mara pet" is banned on the neoboards (or was it neomail?), i.e. when people are trying to trade maraquan pets. They've been around for years, as a knock-off. :)

[nightfall8705]

Exactly! I made an account to further investigate shenanigans, and I now have the BIGGEST headache ever. Everything is sooooo disorganized in my opinion. There's like 3 or 4 different kinds of currency, and your "bank" is in one place, and your inventory is in another. It's just awful. Also, you randomly get handed electricity bills in Marapets apparently. If you don't pay the bill, your "pet" gets sent to prison. REALLY?

 

This is like Neopet's extremely dumb-downed version. I admit sometimes Neopets frustrates the heck out of me, but Neo will always be the best.

 

I played ONE single game on there. (It was called Whack An Azul (very similar to Kass Basher/Whack A Kass.) This thing that very much looks like a Tuskaninny trapped in Terror Mountain takes a swing at a pet called an Azul that sort of looks like a teddy bear. To level up, you have to get a certain score within 5 hits. Each level gives you something to hit the pet with. Get this, the pet is a pet, not a plushie. Why do I know this? It goes WHEEEE as it FALLS OFF THE ROOF OF A SNOW COVERED HOUSE, trying to die or even be hit like a home run.

 

WHAT.

 

(Also, it should be noted that your pets CAN die. Usually by starvation... and get sent to an undead graveyard.)

 

(I should note again, that said graves can also be robbed for bones in Marapets.)

 

*shakes hurting head*

 

I feel like I'm losing brain cells here.

[Ruto]

Also, you randomly get handed electricity bills in Marapets apparently. If you don't pay the bill, your "pet" gets sent to prison. REALLY?

:O Seriously? That's strangely awful and hilarious at the same time. But now you know why marapets isn't as popular as neopets. ;)

[Sara_1]

I investigated said site while neo was down. I lasted maybe an hour because I played whatever game it is that you can play pool - but it's with bombs that explode because you only have a certain amount of time to knock all the balls into the holes. I like to play pool so it was fun... but then I found out I was only earning mara points until my account has aged 30 days. Then you apparently no longer receive money for playing the game? WHAT IS THE POINT OF THAT? To create a new account and transfer the points every 30 days? Like how do you make money?

 

There's also a ridiculous bunch of quests you have to try to complete and those give you a different currency, that you can only spend in certain places... yeah it's a giant headache. I quit after an hour. There was another one going around Ice pets - there you could buy their currency. I would NOT waste money on that. Even though I waste money on neo, I LIKE NEO. There's a difference. haha

[nightfall8705]

It IS hilarious, but awful at the same time. There's a portal where "illegal" activity takes place. Pets commit crimes there or something. I like the aspect of going to school/university and I wish TNT would have made that happen, but you have to earn crystals in the undying woods to train a pet, and you have to earn different currency like I said. It's just a huge hassle. There's even a "prison" color. If your pet goes to prison, your pet could change color. If you don't want that to happen, you can pay a fine, or you can bribe a guard for a high price.

 

What the heck kind of ethics is that teaching kids? /facepalm

 

I had never even heard of Marapets before. I wish I could go back in time. Ugh.

 

Oh, and Ruto? Get this: They have something called the Decapitating Faerie. You visit her in a guillotine, and if she is impressed with your bravery, she will reward you. If she isn't impressed, she'll cut your pet's head off. I'm serious! HAHAHA

 

Neopets is and always will be the better of the two. The general world of Marapets has a slight appeal, but then later, you realize you would rather die a thousand and one deaths in a fire than keep playing. No, it will never, ever be as popular as Neopets. In fact, a lot of the people on FB talking about it said "It looks like a ripoff of Neopets. No thanks."

 

Which I completely agree with!

 

Edit: Sara, I had never heard of Ice Pets either. I agree though, 30 days to earn Mara points? It's dumb. You do have shops where you can sell items for MP as they say, but you can only have one account per person. That's it, or all of your accounts get iced. Too much hassle for me. I don't mind spending dubloons the rare time I go to Krawk Island, but come on. NP is very easy to earn and fun in the process. On Marapets, is there even a message system? I didn't stick around to find out!

 

Edit 2: I agree Sara. I've had my account for a long time, and I actually enjoy Neo, so I don't mind paying money for premium and playing every day when I get a chance. I think that's how a lot of us feel too. Some of us have truly had good times on Neo, and all of the people I've met because of Neo, like everyone here, that's just icing on the cake. If anything, THAT keeps people playing. Comradery!

 

Edit 3: Avia, I completely agree! MS paint. Makes me cringe, as i said. Ugh.

 

Edit 4: Blowupthesun: Yeah! Their maps are massive! There's over 21 lands I think! And yeah, I think it's a daily or a game or something. The Decapitating Faerie is real! The pets earn charisma points for trusting her. http://www.marapets.com/guillotine.php The "fairy" as they spell it is the most evil and psychotic of all the fairies. Her job used to be that of an executioner for pets who broke the law. Now they just go to prison. And it DOES look like an Usul! There's three pets on one of the main pages I think that look like a Draik, Xweetok, and Lupe respectively.

 

Edit 5: Dorkitty: You can feed aquarium fish there on MP in order to earn scholarships for your pet to go to university. That's their version of feeding Kads. *shakes head*

[Sara_1]

I have no clue if there was a message system but there were message boards. All I know is it wasn't enticing enough for me to stay.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure if I hadn't been playing neopets for years and years that I'd even stick around to play neo. I've just had my pets a super long time and I've had my accounts for so long. I've got, not plenty of NP but enough to purchase 3 PB's and a birthday alabriss to drain my bank account and not be too, uh, unhappy? Actually FC is broken so it was a dumb move. I banked on FC making me back what I spent. BOOOOOO.

 

But yeah I'd never want to start over completely and I think that was the reason I didn't stick around, well, the biggest/main reason, besides all the other stuff. Too much work and I've gotten lazy in my old-neo-age. :icecream:

[Avia loves Chias]

it's always nice to see competitors (as long as it's not a blatant ripoff), but so many of the sites that are in the same genre as neopets are just so badly done that it doesn't make me want to support them. obviously they don't have as much money, but when it looks like their pets are drawn in ms paint, it's just a constant eyesore and deters me from playing.

[blowupthesun]

Is that a usul in that first picture on the site? The other one looks half neopet, half pokemon. And that icon for shops looks just like the one in the old neopets toolbar!!

 

Good grief...I was thinking it looks nowhere near as massive as neopets and clicked explore...are you kidding me? Look at that map!! There's faerieland...lost desert...terror mountain - wow. Actually, their map looks kind of fun, other than the fact that I can only see rip-offs of all the neopets lands. The rest of the site looks kind of junky to me, though.

 

They can get their heads chopped off?!?!? WHY? Are your pets just dead? That's horrible.

[Duskitty]

There's similarities between sites, and then there's ripoffs that are actually pretty terrible.

 

This one's pretty terrible.

 

It even made me miss the Kads because I was distracted. :I

[Aquamentis12]

I've played MANY games IRL that are VERY much like games on Neopets. Mainly on a multi-game arcade machine called itouch 8 many years ago.

Hard to find that machine, given the iTouch names of things that Apple products have.... Found one though as an example.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JVL-CONQUEST-ITOUCH-8-TOUCHSCREEN-COMMERCIAL-VIDEO-ARCADE-GAME-LIKE-MEGATOUCH-/231244837210

 

It had well over 100 games, and I had over 100 high scores. ;) (Not all 1st place, but in the top 10 and many WERE multiple places! LOL)

 

I definitely saw games that were similar to Neo games on that machine. It was pretty fun. ;) My favorite, was a game I believe was called Monster Mash. I aced that game, it was a load of fun and filled the entire top ranks with my scores! XD I wish I could play one of those iTouch8's again. XD

 

Anyway, I don't even feel like going to that rip-off site. lol It sounds, by your description Nightfall, like it doesn't even make an attempt to hide that it's trying to copy the success of Neopets. I've heard of a number of "pet-raising" sites over the years, not that one, but others. Neopets is still going pretty strong though. ;)

[deboratibi]

Not gonna lie, I played Marapets for a few years. I'd go there whenever I got bored with Neopets. The trashiness amused me :P

I also liked that we had our own character we could customise and dress up, even if it was poorly drawn. You couldn't dress up pets though.

 

Anyway, it's definitely not to be taken seriously, and as others have said, it's definitely not appropriate for kids. Not only was there the Decapitating Fairy, but there was also the Obesity Fairy, or something like that. There was also a drunk fairy (I can't remember her actual name). Pretty messed up.

[HomuraAkemiTheHero]

There was also a drunk fairy (I can't remember her actual name). Pretty messed up.

I think you are thinking of the Trash Fairy in Vortex Park. I made an account for Marapets and I got bored after a few minutes too bad I can't find out how to delete my account. The school feature is nice but Neopets could probably implement something similar also I'm surprised Marapets hasn't been sued for using Neopets's likeness.

[leverhelven]

Decided to explore the site (maybe I'm a masochist...) and found this:

 

"Undying Minipets are minipets that have been brought back from the dead in Undying Woods. A Murfin called Franken can perform the resurrections in Undying Woods if you bring him the correct bones and some blood. Every Undying Minipet has five different bones, and each bone comes in a different colour. You will need to bring 5 of the same colour and species bones and a blood item of the same colour as the bones to Franken and he will perform the resurrection for you.

As more and more people are robbing graves in Undying Woods, more and more bones are being found and new species of Undying Minipets are regularly discovered. "

 

AW GAWD! To think the unthinkable! There is so much creepy stuff like this it almost makes me laugh... Almost. :mellow:

 

edit: OH. MY. GOD.

 

Edited September 28, 2014 by leverhelven

[alola9]

WHAT is this?! A very interesting .... site there. It does look like they took a lot of aspects from Neo....

[Ranaki]

I think I had an account there AGES ago o.o It looks familiar.

 

"Collect and feed your pet all the different kinds of Gourmet Food to get special prizes from the Obese Fairy."

 

"The Decapitating Fairy enjoys executing marapets. Submit your pet to her will and she may reward its bravery... or it may lose its head."

Do whut nao?

[Shelley]

haha! oh my goodness I remember making an account there YEARS ago. It was much different as I recall? Like it wasn't as trashy back then? Or maybe my innocent mind didn't make connections that it should have 0:) hahah. Oh man, I bet all the staff at neo is just so insulted.

 

^oooooh so that's why we can't say the shorthand "mara" pets on the neoboards! I've always wondered that xD

[caspase91]

I've never heard of it before, and never played it... but the images here and a quick 2-minute survey showed just how hilariously horrible it is!

Trashy fairy? Really? I don't think that website is appropriate to children.

[Ranaki]

I've never heard of it before, and never played it... but the images here and a quick 2-minute survey showed just how hilariously horrible it is!

 

Trashy fairy? Really? I don't think that website is appropriate to children.

 

I would have to kinda beg to differ. Trashy Fairy is an example like "lesson" to not drink and gamble. At least in my perspective.

[Breaziecat]

Icepets is a rip-off too! But this is such a twisted version of Neo, it's actually kind of funny. Although I would have expected the Obese Fairy to be much fatter...(not that she's not fat!)

[nightfall8705]

Had to make another comment, the other one was getting pretty long! I can't like any posts because I'm at my limit today. Just to say..

 

Aquamentis12: I hope Neo continues to be strong. I think it will be no matter what because like I said, comradery between users is what keeps us loyal.

 

Deboratibi: The Obese Fairy? Drunk Fairy? I laughed out loud much more than I should have! XD Is there a High Fairy too? I don't think I could handle it if there were a drug dealing fairy. Too much fail in one place for me.

 

Kodylaurentia: The bank IS annoying! I always try to imagine my Neopets with an ATM. I mean walking around with giant sacks of coins? No thanks. The actual ATM in MP, while it has a real life aspect to it, the bank closing so much is pretty frustrating for users. I agree completely.

 

Homura: I REALLY like the aspect of school for pets, and buying them supplies for certain classes. It sounds very, very fun. Lol, there was a Trash Fairy too? Hahaha! I am also surprised there weren't a lawsuit!

 

Patty - Glad I am not the only one exploring the site. Omg, the Trash Fairy? Reminds me of a redneck fairy, lol. That is just hilarious!

 

Alola - Yeah, it looks a LOT like Neo once you start exploring.

 

Ranaki - The fact that there's an Obese Fairy is both hilarious and sad at the same time. Not sure I would want a gift from the Obese Fairy...

 

Shelley - Or they're laughing at how much fail is on the Marapets site. The more I look at it now, the more I laugh.

 

Caspase91 - It definitely isn't for kids. Gambling fairies and blood and prison and grave-robbing? HA.

 

Ranaki - Then again, you are right. Drinking and gambling isn't cool. Actually drinking and doing much of anything isn't a good idea.

 

Breaziecat - Is Icepets as bad at Marapets? And I agree! However, she wouldn't be called the Obese Fairy if she was much bigger. More like the Morbidly Obese Fairy. Is there a Diabeetus Fairy too? :O

 

Oh goodness. Now that my headache is gone (temporarily) Marapets is hilarious! Still terrible, but hilarious.

[Breaziecat]

Masochist...? Really guys? I-I don't know... :sad01_anim: isn't hurting your Marapets more sadistic?

[deboratibi]

I just logged back in to my account to see how things are... The site actually looks somewhat better now, it used to be a lot worse. It's still pretty bad though, lol.

 

 

 

I would have to kinda beg to differ. Trashy Fairy is an example like "lesson" to not drink and gamble. At least in my perspective.

 

I see your point, and I suppose that's probably what the Marapets creators were going for, but imo it's still inappropriate. Even if the message is "don't drink", it's vague and stereotypical. She lives in "Hicksville" and her looks are very trailer trash. Also, they make it sound like there's no hope for her: "She moved to Hicksville with the job of protecting it, but was passed out at the dog track when the Vortex hit. She doesn't do a lot now but she still loves to gamble!". A more positive and appropriate message would be to give the fairy a chance to recover, so instead of just learning that "addicts are losers", kids could learn that addicts need help and can recover (Think how many kids have parents/family members who are addicts. Seeing the same stereotypes over and over again doesn't help). But still, I think it's best to avoid these topics overall in a kids' site, finding the right approach is quite complicated.

[Breaziecat]

A kid's website? Maybe that wasn't what they were going for; it sure doesn't sound like it, after all. I mean, just because something has (somewhat) cute graphics doesn't mean it was ever meant for children.