OM21: Tamatown Tama-Go Review

I've finally managed to grab the new Tamatown Tama-Go toy! The Wave 2 collection has begun to appear at Target, oddly only $10, compared to the Wave 1 set that was $20. To go along with this, I also bought a Sebiretchi Gotchi Figure.

Please note: I'm reviewing the toy on its own, without the inclusion of the PC compatibility.

Shell

This Tamagotchi manages to be bigger than the others of the previous line and yet somehow feel lighter. It's made to an identical shape of the Tamagotchi iD from Japan, with the exception of the top portion having a section to insert the figures. There's an FCC warning label on the side of the shell, which is unusual; there's never been a warning that large on a Tamagotchi toy before. Usually there's just a warning symbol of a garbage can with an X over it.

One thing I do enjoy is that the top, clear plastic portion of the screen can be removed, and the decal on the inside can be removed or replaced at will. You can even flip it over to the white side and decorate it if you'd like. Decals are sold alongside the Gotchi figures, and each one is different. Collect them all, I guess? Another thing I absolutely love is the new buttons. Like the Tamagotchi Plus Color, the buttons are now made of hard plastic, which is a huge step up from the older, rubber buttons included in the older toys.

The biggest disappointment so far is that the toy runs on two AAA batteries, but they're not included. The Japanese Color, iD, and iD L all come with those same batteries, so why not the English variation? Disappointing, Bandai.

Growth Cycle

This is one of my biggest complaints about the toy: the growth cycle is far too short. It takes one hour for the baby to become a toddler, and a day for it become a teen. But then, it takes only one day for the teen to become an adult. Negating the 24 hours spent sleeping, that means only 24 hours are used to determine what adult character you get. Even the Music Star gave the teen stage an extended period, so why is the growth so quick this time around?

The growth chart:

Chart property of Tama-Zone.

It's nice to see some old favorites returning alongside new ones - plus an American toy FINALLY gets to see Necktietchi - but I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I don't like the inclusion of ChaMametchi and Kikitchi as adult characters. It's really creepy, especially since the Tama-Go can connect to the Music Star and V5 series, which include those characters as teens. It's even worse this time around with including Ringotchi and Nonopotchi as adults. Please, Bandai; just because a character is popular doesn't mean you should push their age up so kids can see them more often. They should stick to being teens.

Games, Food, Items, House Redecorating

I'm putting these three under one category since Bandai has as well. You'll see what I mean in a moment.

The Tama-Go includes a new type of screen that allows different shades of the pixels, which means there can now be backgrounds for your Tamagotchi. The background is different every time you reset the toy, and you can remodel your home by clicking the "Play" icon and selecting "Remodel". It's a nice feature, but it's limited, as you'll soon see...

Meanwhile, the shop feature is very disappointing. As in previous toys, you can only view up to four different items at a time, but this time around, you can only buy food. Food and home renovations. That's all you're allowed to buy. But the Tama-Go does have items...

Meanwhile, there are two games that your Tama-Go can access from the Game Center. One is "Shoot the Bug" and the other is "Long Jumper". One involves riding a little space ship and shooting little bugs that crawl toward you, and the other entails your Tamagotchi running down a line and trying to jump across gaps. Both games are bland and boring.

So how are all three of these problems resolved? The Gotchi figures.

Top: Variations that come with the toy. Bottom: the ones sold separately.

Once you connect a Gotchi figure to your toy and access it from the menu, special features are given to you. For the ones provided with the toy, it's just one extra game. For the one sold separately in stores, they provide one or more games and different foods (and, for some, items). It's a cute and innocent feature at best and a money-making scheme at worst. No Tamagotchi before this one needed to have in-game items available as a separate purchase. Why this one? I purchased the Sebiretchi figure and it only game with two new games. The Mexican food items it included couldn't be added to the Tamagotchi's inventory; they could only be bought and eaten right that second.

Also, the Tama-Go keeps track of how many figures you connect to it. I'm not sure what happens after you connect them all. Is there some sort of reward? If you tried, let me know in the comments!

"Friendship" and Death

This Tamagotchi takes a radical new look on the concept of how to kill your virtual pet. Your Tamagotchi pretty much no longer has to worry about food. If his or her hearts are empty for too long, they will literally feed them themselves. In all previous versions, not feeding your Tamagotchi or making it happy would give you a "care mistake", a hidden counter inside your Tamagotchi that determines how soon your Tamagotchi will die, and accumulating too many will make your pet pass away.

On this toy, however, your primary concern is your Tamagotchi's level of "Friendship". If THAT gets to zero hearts for too long, your Tamagotchi will get fed up, pack its bags, and leave. It doesn't die anymore. It just leaves. So essentially, the only way to end your Tamagotchi's life cycle is to be a huge jerk.

I don't mind this feature; I think it's pretty creative. But why completely rule out death? That was the Tamagotchi's main grab back in the 90s: if you were a poor caretaker, it would die. People literally cried over digital, plastic eggs, and online graveyards were erected so people can memorialize their lost Mametchis and Kuchipatchis.

You think losing a Tamagotchi is bad today? Try hearing their last heartbeats.

It's really upsetting that with every generation, Bandai keeps trying to sugarcoat the concept of death for Tamagotchi, when the entire point of the toy is to prolong the pet's life until the inevitable. Bandai, if you're listening, please reconsider how you approach this subject in future toys.

Final Views

This toy is just...okay.

Don't get me wrong. I've loved Tamagotchi ever since they first made landfall in the United States far back in 1997. I've enjoyed Tamagotchi toys old and new. But this one doesn't feel like a proper Tamagotchi to me. Caring for this toy is far too simplistic, and the features that should naturally be included are instead exported into $4 mini-figures.

Despite that, they're very basic and fun, and the new house remodeling feature is a very nice touch. We might never get a color-screen toy, but this comes pretty close. The character choice is surprising and pleasing, and the animations are adorable to boot.

If you can afford the toy and the additional figures, go ahead and pick them up. But if you want a toy on its own, I'm not sure this is the right Tamagotchi for you.

~ OsuMesu21

OM21: Tamagotchi Nano Review

REVIEW: Tamagotchi Nanao

Release date: October 31, 2010

A slightly newer Tamagotchi toy from Japan, the Tamagotchi Nano serves as a big update for the Tamagotchi Mini (aka Tamagotchi Chibi). Chances are if you have the Mini, you'll want to pick this up. I got mine from my blog partner Jesmond. Thank you again!

The shell shape is more identical to the Tamago-Chu toys instead of the Mini: the screen is very deep and thick, magnetizing the pixels beneath. The shell's border is more of a tear-drop shape instead of the traditional "cracked egg" design. The back of the shell has a "pop-out" sort of back that the Tamago-Chu had, and the copyright information is surrounded in a "cracked-egg" boarder. It comes with a small keychain on top, allowing it to be latched on to the Tamagotchi ID, as well as cell phones or other places.

Like the mini, it has a simplified growth pattern: you start off with an egg that hatches into a baby, and within 24 hours, it will evolve into an adult, depending on your care. Unlike the mini, however, characters are now determined by the gender of the baby. You start off with either Pachikutchi or Pichikutchi, two babies native to the Tamagotchi iD (who can be seen here). From there, the boy can become either Mametchi (best care), Kuchipatchi (average care) or Kikitchi (worst care). The female may become either Lovelitchi (best care), Chamametchi (average care) or Memetchi (worst care). Two secret characters, Spaceytchi and Meloditchi, also exist. Apparently, Meloditchi is obtained through playing the Nano's game 40 times before the baby evolves, while Spaceytchi is obtained through feeding the Nano only snacks until it evolves. I have not managed to get either yet, but Tarokaja of Tama-Zone has, and he has been more than happy to share photos.

Like the Mini, the Nano includes no screen icons. Unlike the Mini, the Nano includes a game function. The object is very much similar to the V3's "Get" game, moving a basket under objects to catch them. In the Nano's game, you have to catch the word "TAMAGOTCHI" twice, meaning catch 20 letters in a specific order. Random letters fall from the top, and the right side of the screen shows what letter you have to catch. Miss the letter when it appears or catch the wrong letter, and the game is over.

So unlike the Mini, the A button always has a function. Pressing it will take you to a menu. The top selection is "FEED" and the bottom is "GAME". The food selection takes you to the typical MEAL and SNACK options, and C brings you back to the previous screen. Playing games in place of feeding snacks is counted as being better for your Tamagotchi, thus earning you a healthier character. You can also use the A button to wipe away waste when your Tamagotchi goes to the bathroom, and turn off the lights when your Tamagotchi goes to sleep. The B button will bring up the clock screen. The C button has two functions. If your Tamagotchi needs something, pressing C will make it do a particular animation to tell you what's wrong. If your Tamagotchi needs nothing, it will simply come up to the screen and wave at you.

Currently, there's no information regarding a United States or worldwide release, so for the time being, go ahead and pick one up off eBay! If you're the kind of person who wants to care for a Tamagotchi but you're too busy with daily life to care for one of the bigger, more sophisticated toys, this one's for you. It has a cute little game to keep you entertained, and plenty of adorable characters. I definitely recommend it. There are also several brand new shell designs being released, so there are plenty of colors to choose from!

EXTERNAL LINKS:

• Bandai Japan's Tamagotchi Nano page
• Tamagotchi Nano Growth Chart Project
• Scanned instruction manual

VIDEOS:

Please feel free to leave questions/comments!

OM21: A reminder about Tama-Go Gotchi Figures

I may have messed up in my previous post about Gotchi Figures, so let me clear up some confusion.

There are two types of Gotchi Figures:

• Type A : (seen above) These are the ones that come with the Tamatown Tama-Go when you first purchase it. They only include one game; they do not unlock any new foods or items, and you don't see the character while you play.
• Tybe B: These are the ones sold separately. They include not just a new game, but also foods and possibly items. If you connect one of these to your Tama-Go and go to Tamatown.com, special features are unlocked.

Currently, three Type A figures exist: Mametchi, Memetchi, and Kuchipatchi. But these three characters are also available as Type B figures. To tell the difference, Type A will have a clear base, while Type B will have a colored one. Also, the poses for the character on top will be slightly altered.

In this image, Type A is the first row, and Type B is the second. What startles me is Kuchipatchi; the only difference in his pose is that Type A just has him squinting...

I hope that clears up any confusion. :)

OM21: Binary's Tama-Go Experiment!

So Binary of Tama-Zone was running some experiments on his Tamatown Tama-Go, and came up with some interesting findings!

http://tama-zone.com/index.php?showtopic=23596

It's possible to raise an Umino Tamagotchi (Japanese version of a Tamagotchi Ocean) from hatch to adulthood without ever feeding it a meal.

So far I haven't fed any food (meal nor snack) to my Tama-Go Gen 4 character, at any growth stage. Hungry hearts have always been empty. Happy and Friendship hearts were filled by playing the built in games.

Because I never fed him, he acquired many care misses during each growth stage.

The findings were the following:

Hungry / Happy hearts:

If you don't raise a Hungry or Happy heart when your Tamagotchi calls for it (meaning zero hearts), it will feed itself after the icon vanishes. For Hungry, it will select a random meal from your selection of food. For Happy hearts, it'll pick a random snack food.

Friendship level:

If you let the friendship hearts drop to zero, but don't raise them quickly enough, the Tamagotchi's "death" screen appears: they show up with a big bag and prepare to walk out the door.

It looks like there's a lot more to the Tama-Go than previously thought...!

OM21: And more Tama-Go information!

First, I would like to mention that I have recently spotted the new Tamatown Tama-Go! It was at a Toys-R-Us store in Buffalo, NY, and in a Walmart in Coral Springs, FL. Unfortunately, I did not buy one on either occasion, because I am a poor college student that has no spare money. :( But I will soon, hopefully, get my hands on one! Also, the packaging seems a lot smaller than I assumed it was...weird how pictures do that.

Also, the Tama-Go will be in New Zealand soon, for those of you in the Oceania and Asian regions, keep an eye out! Keep in mind, too, that the Tamagotchi has a different name; it will be called Tamagotchi Connection Version 7.

http://planetfun.co.nz/toys/brand.asp?bid=49

http://planetfun.co.nz/toys/product.asp?pid=262

Gotchi Figures!

So as it turns out, some of the Gotchi Figures have a special function: items!

First, when you plug in the Figure, a box appears in the background of the screen. When Mametchi's figure is in, it's a toy chest; when Memetchi's figure is in, it's a wardrobe. Something different for every character.

Once it's there, you can use the Tama-Go Figure icon to access the shop to buy the items. The shop will only have a maximum of four figures at any given time.

After you buy the items, you can play with them!

I honestly don't know if you keep the items after the Figure's taken out, or if they're only available when it's plugged in. If you own a Tama-Go, please post a comment and verify!

Again, with much thanks to Ra of Tama-Zone for the wonderful images! Check out his Tama-Go logs for even more pictures!

http://tama-zone.com/index.php?showtopic=7566

OM21: Lots of Tamatown Tama-Go Info!

So it's been an exciting few weeks over at Tama-Zone. Ra, a moderator, and Binary, an admin, were both sent the new Tamagotchi directly from Bandai, and have both been keeping logs of them. There's a whole lot of fun new features on the Tamatown Tama-Go, and it's certainly shaping up to be interesting for both old and new fans...

Toilet Training

A feature fans have begged for finally arrives! Through the Tamagotchi's life, they will need to be punished or praised, which brings up their "Training" meter. Though now, if you catch your Tamagotchi about to use the bathroom, selecting the "Toilet" icon right before will increase training too. Once your Tamagotchi makes it to adulthood, they'll be able to go to the bathroom all by themselves!

Overfeeding

A rather humorous nod to the Mesutchi and Osutchi, as well as the Family pets (V5, Celebrity, Royal). Ra describes it as such:

Another interesting thing is, I decided to try and see what would happen if I maxed out her weight. Her weight was already pretty high, so I kept feeding her snacks to bring it up. A really funny thing happened as soon as it reached 99! She started shaking, and suddenly bloated up! Then she just sat in the middle of the room with her enormous belly, drooling out the corner of her mouth, and refused to do anything!

I was starting to get a little nervous, as I didn't know how I was supposed to get her weight down. She wouldn't let me click the door icon, nor the discipline. In desperation, I started to try and click all the icons, and finally the medicine icon worked. She began shaking again, and pooped her weight down!

So for those of you planning on stuffing your Tama with snacks to keep it happy... be careful! :P

Shop

Just like in the Music Star, Nazotchi runs the shop. The TMGO does not feature any items at all. However, it does offer a variety of foods and home renovations.

Home remodeling not only changes the living room, but the rest of the house as well! It's an actual improvement over the Tamagotchi Plus Color, where each room would be a separate cost.

Marriage

If your Tamagotchi marries a character from the Dating Place, the partner will move in. After 24 hours, a new baby will be born, and the parents will leave the following night, leaving you to care for the child.

Age Counter Glitch

One slightly unnerving issue has come up with the TMGO: the age counter. Changing the time on the clock screen will reset the internal age counter back to where it was from the beginning of the day, and connecting the toy to TamaTown.com for an extended period of time freezes the counter. In both cases, the age number remains the same while the Tamagotchi itself continues to age.

While this doesn't affect the Tamagotchi's growth, it prevents the "Dating Place" from appearing when the Tamagotchi reaches adulthood. Typically, a Tamagotchi adult is ready to marry after 72 hours, or 3 years on the age counter. But with the age counter frozen, the Tamagotchi will have to wait longer to marry, and risk evolving into Ojitchi or Otokitchi.

Videos!

Want to see the Tamatown Tama-Go in action? Check out the awesome videos below!

Links!

Ra's Tamagotchi Logs - lots of detailed information on the Tama-Go, and first-person accounts on it. With much credit to him for most of the images you see above! :)

Binary's Tama-Go Logs - details and pictures, and even includes a pic of the TMGO taken apart!

Bandai's Official Tamagotchi Page - recently updated for the TMGO, with more coming soon, including a wiki!

OM21: Tamagotchi Tamatown Tama-Go Information

So Tamapalace.tk has recently gotten a hold of one of the new Tamatown Tama-Go toys courtesy of Bandai America. Sad to say, however, their coverage on the toy itself has been incredibly poor. I've decided to compose as much information and images as I can on the new toys, perhaps to give Tamagotchi fans out there a better sense of what the Tama-Go is and what it does before it hits the shelves this summer.

First off, the Tamatown website has been updated with the new "Swirly Sweet City" and, like the Music Star before it, there's a section in your apartment that lists all of the Tama-Go characters you've logged in as previously. The images are all in silhouette, but the owner of Tama-Yama-Wuv (along with several others) traced the shadow images back to other Tamagotchi artwork, eventually uncovering all of the characters.

From what it looks like, the Tama-Go cast will be a mix of the Tamagotchi Plus Color and Tamagotchi iD, along with some Bandai improvisation as per usual. It also seems to turn Ringotchi, ChaMametchi, Nonopotchi, and Kikitchi into adult characters, which is actually somewhat unnerving. The iD at least excluded the Senior and Special stages and called it the "Friend" stage, instead of adult, to avoid this kind of confusion..

And if you're wondering on the size of the new toy, look no further than this particular image posted by TamaPalace:

It's HUGE.

Yup, it's the same dimensions as the Tamagotchi iD! Supposedly this is because of the new figurines that get attached to the top of the device, but other than that, the HUGENESS of the toy seems rather unnecessary. The iD at least had an updated color screen, leading me to my next topic. Images once again courtesy of TamaPalace.

(Admittedly, the "Welcome!" would have looked better if it didn't have the shade of gray and instead just had white...)

Instead of just the typical black-and-white screen, we now have what Bandai America describes as a "four-gray scale display". In other words, shades of gray have been added to give a better illusion of the Tamagotchi world inside your toy. Thanks to this, you can now see the actual background of your Tamagotchi's home, hinting that like in the Plus Color, you will be able to refurnish your home (maybe rooms too?). Again like the Plus Color, you can name yourself and when your Tamagotchi calls for attention, it will say your name in a speech bubble. Up to 8 letters can be used! A big improvement over the 5 letters on previous versions.

Also, what in the world is that fifth icon supposed to be? I think it's meant for the figurines, but doesn't look anything like them to me. Unless it's supposed to be an icon of a sitting Mametchi on a little black platform? Is that what it is?

The other icons are: Health Meter, Food, Bathroom, Door (hopefully will be identical to the Plus Color and iD), Training, Medicine, Connecting, Friendlist, and Attention. Noticeably absent is the Item Trunk icon. Maybe it's been merged with the 5th icon? I'm not sure. We'll have to wait and see for somebody to either show us or scan an instruction manual.

Now onto the packaging, with images provided by the Administrator of TamaTalk (click for more images):

Much like the toy itself, the box of the Tamatown Tama-Go is massive. My biggest problem with it, other with the amount of huge unused space? It goes on to describe the accessories and web site much more than it describe the actual toy and what it does. The last thing the target audience needs to think is that the toy is completely useless without the aid of a figurine and Internet connection.

Also, the box reveals the Tama-Go takes 2 AAA batteries, which are not included. Never, EVER have I seen a Tamagotchi that couldn't be played with right out of the box. Even the iD and Plus Color came with the necessary batteries. Why now exclude them?

So, is the Tama-Go worth the new $20 price tag? Are the $7 figurines worth it? There's still not enough information to tell for either. I'd like Bandai America to convince me how wonderful this new toy is and how the figurines make it even better, but all of the advertising seems to be geared toward the new face decals of the toy and the Tamatown website. And TamaPalace, who happens to own the toy, aren't answering key questions and updates on the Tama-Go are few and far between. I'm sitting on the "wait-and-see" fence; once it's released and more personal information can be shared, I'll decide if I'd like to get my hands on it.

- OM21