My experience with Tamagotchi
Most of us remember Tamagotchi being a popular craze from our elementary school days. All your classmates had them, and they were a fun way to connect with friends. For those who don’t know about them, they are a virtual pet originating in Japan, that you must feed and care for. They are small and portable, so you can care for your Tamagotchi on the go. Unfortunately, the toys are no longer sold in stores outside of Japan due to decline in popularity.
However, Tamagotchi turned 20 years old this year, so the company is releasing a limited quantity of Chibi Tamagotchi, which are miniature versions of the original. There are a handful of designs available, and they were released in stores on Sunday, November 5th, I recently blew the dust off of one of mine that I’d kept, replaced the battery, and decided to boot it up once again. Not to my surprise, my previous Tamagotchi was dead, so I promptly hatched a new one. It took a bit of time to relearn the controls, such as how to raise and lower the contrast and sound, but it was smooth sailing after that. Or so I thought.
I attached my Tamagotchi to my lanyard with my Opus card so I’d be able to care for it on my way to and from school. I forgot about the pause function until I accidentally discovered it, so my first Tamagotchi died after a few days. I had forgotten about how high maintenance these tiny virtual creatures are. I proceeded to hatch another one and try again.
The version of Tamagotchi that I have is Music Stars, which is different from regular Tamagotchi because, in addition to keeping your Tamagotchi fed and happy, you have to train them to pursue a music career in a band, through playing musical games and band practices. Therefore, there is an extra layer of care that you must provide to its wellbeing.
I decided to try extra hard with my newly hatched one. I gave her a solid foundation through hearty meals and high stats from the musical games. Her development was going quite well, and she even made it to one-year-old and had begun playing with her band titled “Mochi”. It went downhill after this though. I had to dedicate more and more time to its care, which I don’t have to spare. Sadly, she died in the end.
I tried to raise a new Tamagotchi a couple more times after this, but with no success. Even with the pause function, I was never able to dedicate enough time to their care. I am left wondering how I was able to do it when I was younger which seemed so easy at the moment, but very time-consuming and long in retrospect.
Currently, I have yet to hatch a new Tamagotchi since the death of my last one. Perhaps I will, or perhaps I’ll let it go back into storage along with my Pet Shops and Silly Bands. I do know that it was a fun and interesting experience to spontaneously revive my Tamagotchi though, and relive the toy craze of the 2000’s. If you have a Tamagotchi laying around, put in a new battery and give it a go! Hopefully, you’ll be a better caregiver than I was!
Written By: India Upshaw-Ruffner
