Tamagotchi was released at the tail end of the virtual pet craze in the 90s. This was kind of like Pokemon before Pokemon. They were initially released as key chains and had a few different themes.
The one that I had was a Dinosaur themed Giga Pet. It was fun for a while, but like many other fads, it got old and was forgotten by most kids my age. They have seen a resurgence like many things from the 80s and 90s.
So, what about the Game Boy game? It is a very good recreation of those little key chain pets. The little Tamagotchi are adorable, and taking care of them can be fun!
TLDR: Tamagotchi is a fun little game where you raise a cute animal.
History
Tamagotchi was released in 1996 in Japan and 1997 in North America. It is a digital pet that can be attached to your keychain or backpack. It was a huge fad in the late 90s and early 2000s.
I had no idea how big of a media empire was attached to this little toy! I only knew about the Game Boy game and the little keychains. There is a lot attached to it. Here is a short list of other things I found:
- 16 console and handheld games released on the Game Boy, SNES, N64, Sega Saturn, Wii, DS, and 3DS. Many of these were Japan exclusives.
- 6 mobile and PC games.
- There are several arcade games where you can win prizes for your Tamagotchi.
- 2 anime films were released. Tamagotchi: The Movie (2007) and Tamagotchi: Happiest Story in the Universe! (2009)
- There are several anime TV shows.
I had to cut it off at some point. There are probably more things that I missed. Let’s talk about some controversy!
They were apparently distracting students in class. I can see that. New things like this can often become a distraction, and I know I looked for any opportunity to not pay attention to what my teacher was saying.
There are also some rumors of suicides. Your Tamagotchi has a lifespan, and you would have to reset it to start over. According to some urban legends, a child had her Tamagotchi taken away as punishment, and she hung herself.
I know that was a bit of a down note, so let’s move on to some gameplay and try to think happy thoughts!
Gameplay
You hatch each of the Tamagotchi from an egg. I couldn’t tell if the different eggs matter in what Tamagotchi you end up with. They’re all pretty adorable!
There isn’t a lot going on in the game. You have to take care of your little virtual buddy. You have to feed it, clean up after it, get it to play, and do your best to keep it happy.
A lot of what you need to do is respond to the needs of your Tamagotchi. Visual cues on the screen will let you know what is happening. You can also check the character screen to see what you might need to do at any particular time.
This is similar to how the key chain versions of the game worked. The big difference is that the Game Boy version is better looking and plays better, in my opinion.
One thing that I do want to point out is that you don’t beat this game. I don’t think that there should be an ending. It goes against what the game should be.
The goal is to raise a little Tamagotchi, briefly mourn its death, and then try again with the next one. It feels a little heartless when I think about it. It does create something that I’ve seen in other games. You might want to see all the different Tamagotchi you can raise.
I’ve never seen all of them. At least, I’m not sure if I’ve seen all of the different Tamagotchi. When I first got the game, I tried using all the different eggs.
Visuals
This game looks nice. It has a cute design that matches the these of raising a little blob into something else. It is a cartoonish game that is nice to look at.
The visuals of Tamagotchi let you know what you need to do next. They alert you when you need to do specific tasks. A lot is told to the player this way.
You know when your adorable little blob is tired, hungry, needs to be cleaned, and anything else. You don’t need to go through a bunch of text. The story is told to you by looking at the game.
Everything works in this game. It’s an easy game to pick up and know what is going on.
Replayability
This is one of the many time waster games on the market. Part of the fun for me was trying to see what each of the eggs did. I remember wanting to see what some of the other Tamagotchi I could raise.
This does create a problem with the game. You keep doing the same thing, and you keep watching these little guys die. Also, at the time, I didn’t know how many Tamagotchi were in the game.
Once you find all of them. Either by playing the game or by looking it up online. There isn’t anything left for you to do.
Once that happens, there isn’t much reason to keep playing. If there were something aside from raising a Tamagotchi, then the game would have more replay value.
While I was playing this, I kept thinking about Monster Rancher. In that game, you do similar things as you would in Tamagotchi. The difference is that you have more to do in Monster Rancher.
With Tamagotchi, you raise a little blob and watch it change throughout its life. Monster Rancher is similar; however, you also can enter your monster into tournaments. It adds something fun to the game that I enjoy!
7/10. It is a fun game. However, it can get boring after a while as the gameplay is repetitive, and there isn’t much to do.
Pros
I think this game does have a few things going for it. Let’s talk a bit about them.
- Pick-up and Play
- Good graphics
- Tamagotchi is a simple game
This is a game that doesn’t need an in-depth story. You can pick the game up and play it for as long as you want.
Tamagotchi is a cute game. The graphics are friendly, and the gameplay works well for the Game Boy. Simple games like this one work well for a handheld system.
Cons
I’m going to try not to be too harsh here. I have a lot of memories of playing this game, but there are flaws with it.
- There isn’t much to do.
- It’s been passed up by better games
- It’s very repetitive.
Once you have gone through the game once, then you’ve experienced everything that it has to offer. Tamagotchi is a very repetitive game with little payoff. It’s fun in short bursts or if you need a break from a different game.
Once Pokemon, Monster Rancher, and other similar games were released, there wasn’t much of a reason to play Tamagotchi. I’m sorry to say it, but this was the culmination of the digital pet fad from the mid to late-90s.
Conclusion
Tamagotchi is one of those games that I think was very important for a brief period. It was a mid-point that helped to get gamers to Pokemon. I’m sure we would have gotten Pokemon, Monster Rancher, and Digimon without Tamagotchi.
The fad of Digital pets like Giga Pet and Tamagotchi was cool for a short period. It has made comebacks, and I think they’re fun to mess around with. It also had a longer shelf-life than other fads from the 90s.
The Game Boy game is the culmination of this version of the Digital Pet fad. I think the game is fun in short bursts.
I remember getting this game when I was younger. I was usually behind the times on some of these fads. When I got this game, my friends had moved on. A similar thing happened to me with Pokemon.
I still have fond memories of playing Tamagotchi. It is one of the games that I probably thought was better when I was a kid.