Tue Oct 21 2025
*** Version 2.1.6 (latest version) ***
- Minor bug fixes
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Zookeeper DX is a masterclass in the match-3 genre. While many games have tried to emulate its success, few capture the sheer frantic energy and charm of this classic. The premise is simple: swap animal tiles to create rows of three or more, but the execution is what makes it legendary. The 'Normal' mode provides a satisfying progression, but the real heart of the game lies in 'Tokoton' and the competitive 'Score Attack' modes where every split-second decision counts.
The visual style is iconic, featuring pixelated animal art and a quirky, high-energy presentation that feels like a classic Japanese arcade game. It’s a game of 'just one more round'—you’ll find yourself constantly trying to beat your previous high score or reach a higher level in the endless mode. The touch controls are perfectly calibrated for the iPhone, allowing for high-speed swaps that feel tactile and rewarding. It remains one of the most polished and addictive puzzle games on the App Store.
Iconic pixel-art graphics
Frantic match-3 arcade gameplay
Global leaderboards via Game Center
Three distinct and deep game modes
Intuitive slide-to-swap controls
To get high scores, don't wait for animations to finish. You can continue swapping animals while others are falling into place. Creating 'Chains' (consecutive matches) is the key to massive point boosts and extending your time limit in the later stages.
Normal Mode tasks you with catching a set number of each animal to progress. Tokoton Mode is an endurance test where you must catch 100 of each animal to level up, while Score Attack is a high-speed sprint to get the highest score in just three minutes.
Fever Mode occurs in Score Attack after you reach a certain point threshold, increasing the point values of all matches for a short duration.
I would give this game 5 stars IF it had a mode without the timer bar. I get why it’s there but I mainly play for a few minutes and I’m not interested in competing against anyone or myself.
This game is fun to play when you have a few minutes. And the recent updates have optimized it for today’s bigger phones, so it’s much better than it used to be. It’s a fun game for a great price with no ads or IAP. Totally worth the download.
Now that they've fixed the screen centering bug, I'm giving this a quick review. The bottom line is that if you loved this game on the DS, you'll love it here. They do need to add the quest mode, and it would be nice if they were to give iPhone users something extra or some new modes or a new character or something. The game is old, and it's great, but I still think they could put in a little extra effort. In the end, I'm just happy to have the main Zoo Keeper game on my iPhone, so this is an easy four stars! There are hundreds, or maybe thousands, of copies of this game on the web and in the iTunes store (someone even copies their name), but this is the original. Get it!
I love this game but please update for modern phone resolution. Thank you!
The little Zookeeper is a brutal taskmaster.
The issue with the iPhone display is now fixed! Game play is excellent, and I'm sincerely enjoying this game on my two favorite Apple devices (iPhone & iPad). The only thing that would make me any happier would be the Time Attack mode of game play! Have seriously loved this game since it was on Nintendo DS. Looks like they dropped a game mode or two (Time Attack was my favorite), but it's nice to have Zookeeper here. I'm with the folks who have noticed that the left side of the screen is partially hidden on iPhone 4. This is why I give this app only 3 stars. It looks fine on my iPad. Will update my review when the iPhone issue is fixed. My wish list would also include having Time Attack as a game mode. I don't always have time to play the longer games.
Zookeeper was just about the best puzzle game ever made for the Nintendo DS, and now it's a stone-cold classic on the iPhone. Personally, I think this is the better version, since it does away with that wretched Quest Mode (which relied purely on luck) and is paced much more quickly. This is a very fast and challenging match-three puzzler, absolutely perfect for touch-screen controls, ideal for high-score hunters. I do recommend buying a stylus for control, as that feels quicker and more precise than fingers. Zookeeper DX easily earns my highest score. 99 Cents?! This is an absolute steal, friends. If you doubt me, take a look at what Zookeeper DS is fetching these days. You want a great puzzle game on your iPhone? Here it is.
I love Zookeeper on the Nintendo DS, so I was excited to see it in the app store! I bought it on sale for $1, and I'm not sure I would pay more than that for this version. What is there - normal and tokoton modes, at one difficulty level - is great. The game you love in other formats, on the big screen of the iPad. However, on my DS I mostly play Quest and Time Attack modes, both of which are absent from this version. Nor can you choose a difficulty setting in either included mode. If it gets updated to include the other two modes, I'd say it was worth at least $3, but as-is, it's a good game but buy it on sale.






