We all have a soft spot for something from our childhood. For thousands of 90s kids, that soft spot is for Tamagotchis. The virtual pets gave many of us a first taste of responsibility. After all, their lives depended on us. We had to think about everything for them: feeding them, considering what to give them to make them healthy and happy, playing with them, and cleaning up after them. How we cared for a Tamagotchi dictated what it would look like and how long it’d live. All Tamagotchis “died” eventually (of old age). But if you neglected your virtual pet, it could grow sick and die prematurely. You can only imagine the tears shed by children whose beloved Tamagotchis perished while stashed in a schoolbag.
The Tamagotchi resurgence
Image courtesy of Hans-Christian Psaar (Creative Commons)
Original 90s Tamagotchis sell for thousands of pounds if they’re of a certain design and condition. But, updates to the toy have also seen Tamagotchis experience something of a revival. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Tamagotchi, Bandai released a new version of the toy in 2017. This revival contained all of the original features and nothing more – the classic replica. You can buy a 20th anniversary Tamagotchi for around £10.
Bandai also released a couple of versions of the pet that live in a mobile app. This is a cheaper way of reliving your 90’s childhood, and also offers a discrete way for adults to indulge in a little nostalgia. While “Tamagotchi Classic” replicates the original Tamagotchi experience, it does cost – almost as much as buying an actual Tamagotchi! My Tamagotchi Forever, on the other hand, updates the experience and is completely free. Naturally, as soon as we found out about it, we had to see if it lived up to our nostalgic expectations.
What are 21st century Tamagotchis like?
There are plenty of similarities, and differences, between a classic Tamagotchi and the creatures you can play with in My Tamagotchi Forever. The premise is the same – you start with an egg, which hatches into one of two baby types, and will evolve further as you care for it. To keep your Tamagotchi happy you must feed it, clean up after it, play with it, and make sure it sleeps when it’s tired. But, that’s where the similarities end.
Image courtesy of mytamagotchiforever.com
First and foremost, the look and feel has been given a 21st century makeover. Gone are flat, pixelated characters, and in their place are cute 3D versions. You can still recognise the original characters in the updates, though, thanks to incorporation of the original graphics into the experience.
An enhanced Tamagotchi experience
The other key difference between the classic game and the app is the introduction of levels. As you level up, you earn coins, and unlock new food items and toys for your Tamagotchi to play with. You can also earn coins by cleaning up after and bathing your Tamagotchi, by taking “pictures” of them exploring Tamatown, and by playing games with them. There are a number of mini games you can play with your virtual pet, and different Tamagotchis will prefer different games.
The biggest difference of all
In the My Tamagotchi Forever, your pets do not die. That’s right: even if you don’t look after your Tamagotchi at all, it will not pass away. Players raise their Tamagotchi from egg to adult, at which point it will choose a “career”. Before your Tamagotchi can embark on their career, you must achieve certain milestones. These can include unlocking and buying an outfit, feeding them certain food items, and playing certain games. Once you complete all the tasks, your Tamagotchi will “graduate” from what we can only describe as Tamagotchi University, and go to live in Tamatown. You automatically receive another egg, and so the cycle starts again.
So, what’s the verdict?
There are plenty of advantages to My Tamagotchi Forever for those nostalgic for their childhoods. First of all, it’s a freebie. So, you have nothing to lose by playing. Second, you don’t have to worry about your Tamagotchi’s lifespan – there are no batteries required keep your Tamagotchi going – a hidden extra cost of the original toys if a few months of Tamagotchi joy wasn’t enough.
That your Tamagotchi cannot die also makes it easier to take care of when you also have grown up responsibilities to tend to. Can you imagine having to excuse yourself from a meeting to feed your Tamagotchi?! As an added bonus, it gets around the devastation caused by the “death” of beloved virtual pets, too. This makes them ideal for younger members of the family.
This free app will remind you of everything that made Tamagotchis capture our hearts all those years ago. It has enough of the original experience to be familiar, and enough new features to appeal to the next generation, too. Being stored in an app also makes them much more subtle to carry around, so you can live your nostalgic dreams without anyone questioning your choices. But, it did also remind us how annoying Tamagotchis could be. Their needs are communicated by push notification and they are constant. And being grown ups, we don’t have time for that now, thanks.
