Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile was a mobile game developed by Cybiko Wireless and published by In-Fusio in 2004. The game was available on almost any phone at the time of release and was quite different from the versions of the game on the PC or DS, the game also had different graphics and features depending on what kind of phone and version the player played the game on.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile later had a sequel made in 2007 called Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile, based on Zoo Tycoon 2's expansion pack, Marine Mania.
Gameplay[]

Gameplay demo published by In-Fusio.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile features only one game mode, Campaign Mode. At the beginning, there is only one map available to the player, Picayune Park, this map contains a tutorial exhibit which teaches the player basic controls and how to take care of animals using the Bengal Tiger.
Once the player finishes the tutorial they will be able to move on to their first proper exhibit, having only tigers to use to generate money as long as the animals are happy.
After the player completes their goal of raising $5,100 they will unlock a second exhibit where they will be able to take care of Chimpanzees or Black Rhinoceros' depending on game version. The player will continue to unlock exhibits, maps, animals and items throughout the game as they meet goals and progress.

Once a goal is met, the player is then given an option to move on to the next exhibit or map, or continue taking care of their current animals. The game also features an auto save mechanic so the player can return to older exhibits any time to check up on their animals, the tutorial exhibit being the only exhibit that does not save.
Once the player meets the last goal of the final exhibit on The Menagerie they will be congratulated and rewarded with a bonus $250,000 for their efforts to play with as they like on the final exhibit.
Unlike other instalments in the series, Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile does not have Zookeepers or Zookeeper Recommendations, instead the player must manually take care of their animal's needs and use the Zoopedia and some guess work to satisfy their animal's needs and keep them happy; animals that are very happy will generate more money.

Game banning player from adopting animals until their needs are met.
If the animals in an exhibit become too unhappy, the game will not let the player buy any more animals until their happiness is brought up.
Unlike other instalments of the series, Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile does not have a bulldozer or dedicated delete button, instead, to delete items or animals the player must pick it up and either drag it outside the exhibit or hover it in an area the item or animal cannot be placed, which will change the Action button to a Remove button. The player will be given a prompt to make sure they really want to get rid of the item or animal before it is deleted.
ExEn Gameplay[]
The ExEn version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile is unique in its gameplay in some ways, it plays similarly to the Nokia version of the game, being top down and lacking the fence decay and favourite toy mechanics. Unlike other versions of the game, the ExEn version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile was designed to run on EXEN Generic Simulator, an old mobile game emulator developed by In-Fusio in 2003 for mobile devices and Windows computers, the software however is very unstable, prone to crashing and runs at a very low frame rate. The software also does not externally save game progress, meaning the player has to keep the program running in order to not lose progress.

ExEn version of the game warning the player that their previous exhibit will be lost if they move on to the next exhibit.
Unlike other versions of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile, the ExEn version relocks certain animals on different exhibits of the last two maps, having only three of the five animals available on all exhibits. The game also erases data of older exhibits as the player advances to new exhibits, giving a warning before doing so.
This version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile also features a high score mechanic, the player's score will continue to go up as the player progresses through the game and can check their score at any time by simply exiting their zoo to the main menu. If the player sent their score to In-Fusio by SMS (texting), their game would be ranked against other player scores. This part of the mechanic however is no longer functional.
The ExEn version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile also has a rating feature, the player can rate the game from one to five stars and send the rating to In-Fusio. This mechanic however, just like the high score mechanic, is also no longer functional.
The ExEn version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile also lacks the ability for the player to access the main interface by selecting an empty tile, instead the player must press 0 on their keyboard in order to access the main interface. This version also features unique sprite work not found in other versions of the game.
Animals[]
The Standard, Java version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile has four to nine animals available, which include:
Image | Animal | Biome | Price | Unlock | Game Versions |
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Bengal Tiger | Tropical Rainforest | $2,000 | Beginning | All known versions |
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Chimpanzee | Tropical Rainforest | $3,000 | Second or third Exhibit on Picayune Park map, after Tutorial depending on version. | All known versions |
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Giraffe | Savannah | $3,200 | After completing Picayune Park map | All known versions |
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Black Rhinoceros* | Savannah | $2,400 | Second Exhibit on Picayune Park map, after Tutorial | 01.01.23, 01.01.62, 01.01.75, 1.0 |
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Cheetah* | Savannah | $3,200 | After completing Exhibit 1 of Central Zoo map | 01.01.23, 01.01.62, 01.01.75, 1.0 |
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African Elephant* | Savannah | $5,000 | Third Exhibit on Central Zoo map | 01.01.23, 01.01.62, 01.01.75, 1.0 |
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Lion** | Savannah | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
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Lowland Gorilla* | Tropical Rainforest | $5,000 | Fourth Exhibit on Central Zoo map | 01.01.23, 01.01.62, 01.01.75, 1.0 |
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Giant Panda | Highland/Coniferous Forest | $10,000 | After completing Central Zoo map | All known versions |
*Only available in certain versions.
**Known to exist but not found in any known archived version of the game.
Nokia Animals[]
Unlike the Standard, Java version of the game, the Nokia version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile only has four animals, which are:
Image | Animal | Biome | Price | Unlock |
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Bengal Tiger | Tropical Rainforest | $2,000 | Beginning |
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Chimpanzee | Tropical Rainforest | $3,000 | Second Exhibit on Picayune Park map, after Tutorial |
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Giraffe | Savannah | $3,200 | After completing Picayune Park map |
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Giant Panda | Highland/Coniferous Forest | $10,000 | After completing Central Zoo map |
ExEn Animals[]
In the ExEn version of the game there are five animals, which include:
Image | Animal | Biome | Price | Unlock |
---|---|---|---|---|
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Bengal Tiger | Tropical Rainforest | $2,000 | Beginning.
Locked on third exhibit of Central Zoo map.
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Chimpanzee | Tropical Rainforest | $3,000 | Second exhibit of Picayune Park map. |
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Giraffe | Savannah | $3,200 | After completing Picayune Park map.
Locked on fourth exhibit of Central Zoo map.
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Black Rhinoceros | Savannah | $2,400 | Third Exhibit on Central Zoo map.
Locked on third, fourth and fifth exhibits on The Menagerie map. |
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Giant Panda | Highland/Coniferous Forest | $10,000 | After completing Central Zoo map.
Locked on third exhibit on The Menagerie map. |
Animal Gameplay[]
Animals would be unlocked as the player progressed through the three zoo maps, with the Bengal Tiger being the first available and the Chimpanzee or Black Rhinoceros being the first to be unlocked. The Giant Panda always being the last animal for the player to unlock.

Popup telling the player that their animals have bred.
If animals are happy enough, and there's at least one adult male and one adult female, they will have a chance at breeding, the player will know when the two animals are ready to breed when the animals have red hearts above their heads. The animals will then walk to each other and mate, red and orange hearts will be seen above their heads, the player will know if the female is pregnant by the animal emoting a second red and orange heart shortly after. Once the baby animal is born, the mother animal will automatically be sold to another zoo and the player will keep the baby and father. The player can also name their animals by going into the Animal Stats panel when the animal is selected. The ExEn version of the game however lacks the ability for the player to name their animals.
Animals can also escape their exhibits if the exhibit fence is not maintained for a long time. If an animal escapes, the player only has a small amount of time to grab them before they despawn and are lost forever, forcing the player to have to buy new animals. This mechanic is not present in the Nokia or ExEn versions.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile also allows the player to play with their animals, though the player must guess what toys the animals like, different, individual animals will favour toys that are either natural, green, or red in colour. Animals do not like to play when their needs are low or simply not in the right mood. If the player tries to play with an animal when they are not in the mood or with the wrong toy the animal will emote an angry emote, however if the animal's toy need is low a ball emote will appear above the animal. When the player plays with an animal when they are in the right mood and with the right toy, the animal will emote a happy emote and do a playful animation.
Photo Objectives[]
In Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile there are various Photo Objectives, when the player completes one they would gain a code, which the player could redeem at the Photo Objective Bonus Homepage on the In-Fusio website, doing so would unlock cheat codes for use in the game. For the player to view their codes, they would simply start the game on their phone and select Zoo Photos from the Main Menu, then select Objectives. For the Photo Objectives that the player had completed, the name & code would appear next to the photo icon.

All Photo Objectives from version 01.01.23. The ones that are complete show a tiger icon.
If the player completed all photo objectives they would unlock a special code that would have allowed them to download the Asiatic Black Bear to the PC version of Zoo Tycoon 2.
Number of Photo Objectives depends on what version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile the player has, version 1.1.7 has six objectives while version 01.01.23 and higher has 11, including one for the African Elephant, which this version also introduced.
Photo Objectives List |
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Chimpanzee & Poo
Lonely Elephant*
Rhinoceros Bathing*
Bengal Tiger Swimming
Dirty Chimpanzee
Sleeping Giraffe
Bengal Tiger Eating
Gorilla Dancing*
Cheetah Escaping*
Rhinoceros Eating*
Pandas in Love
Final code after completing all Photo Objectives
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*Added in version 01.01.23.
Cheat Codes[]
- Gjkexb - Gaves $50,000 to the player's zoo if entered while playing.
- centralon* - Unlocks Central Zoo early, only first exhibit unlocked.
- zooty2go* - Unlocks The Menagerie early, only first exhibit unlocked.
- getithere* - Unlocks The Menagerie early, unlocks all exhibits.
- Nhfdrf - Changes exhibit's biome.
- Jnrhjq - Unlocks all maps and exhibits.
*Can be used in Nokia and ExEn versions
Gallery[]
BREW Version: |
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Nokia Version: |
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Version Unknown - Nokia 7210 Version 01.01.27 - Unknown Nokia Device |
Known Standard, Java Versions: |
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Version 1.1.7, 2004 Version 01.01.23, 2004 Photo Objective image showing a Cheetah escaping due to fence decay. Photo Objective image showing a Giraffe sleeping. The Giraffe has a different sleep animation in this version. Image showing a Chimpanzee becoming pregnant. Version 01.01.75, 2005 Image showing a tiger and Rhinoceros fighting. Different species will fight if put into the same exhibit. Version 1.0, 2005
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ExEn Version: |
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Unlike other versions of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile, the ExEn version lacks a version number, however it is dated to 2005. All six Photo Objectives completed. Curiously there is no Objective for the Rhinoceros. |
International Versions: |
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Version Unknown - Japanese Version 01.01.62 - Russian |
Unknown Versions: |
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Miscellaneous: |
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Promotional material showing an African Elephant which was introduced in 01.01.23. PC Magazine clipping featuring the lion. Curiously it also shows a Staff button, which is not in any known version of the game but is present in the files. US price of the game on Clickgamer GameAxis Unwired clipping from 2005 showing an unknown version of the game. |
Trivia[]
- Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile is the only game in the series where:
- Guests are not present.
- All animals are bought as babies, indicated by a pacifier icon that follows the animal.
- The player does not have free choice on animal gender, instead when adopting animals the first will always be female, the next male and back to female; continuing in that pattern.
- Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile is one of only two games where staff are not present, the other being Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile.
- Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile is the only Zoo Tycoon 2 game with the Highland biome.
- The Giant Panda is the only animal that uses the biome.
- The Highland terrain tile is called Coniferous Forest, however the biome is still called Highland in every other instance in the game.
- In version 1.1.7 there are files for the Cheetah, Black Rhinoceros, African Elephant, and Lowland Gorilla, however these files are empty. The same files are updated in 01.01.23.
- The loading screen of the ExEn version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile shows an African Elephant, Cheetah, and Lowland Gorilla despite these animals not being available in the game.
External links[]
- Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile website (Internet Archive mirror)
- Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile Photo Objective bonus homepage (Internet Archive mirror)
Zoo Tycoon |
---|
Zoo Tycoon ā¢ Dinosaur Digs ā¢ Marine Mania ā¢ Endangered Species Theme Pack ā¢ Complete Collection |
Zoo Tycoon 2 |
Zoo Tycoon 2 ā¢ Endangered Species ā¢ African Adventure ā¢ Zookeeper Collection ā¢ Dino Danger Pack ā¢ Marine Mania ā¢ Extinct Animals ā¢ Ultimate Collection |
Zoo Tycoon (Xbox) |
Zoo Tycoon (Xbox) ā¢ Ultimate Animal Collection |
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game |
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game ā¢ New Shores ā¢ Additional Species Pack |
Spinoffs |
Zoo Tycoon Card Flip Game ā¢ Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile ā¢ Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile ā¢ Zoo Tycoon DS ā¢ Zoo Tycoon 2 DS ā¢ Zoo Tycoon Friends |