Revisiting My Childhood: Tamagotchi Friends

Tamagotchi; a handheld, digital pet. I know that these key-chain sized pet simulation games bring a wave of nostalgia to many. And that's the same feeling I experienced when I happened upon the new generation of Tamagotchi's in a toy-shop; Tamagotchi Friends. So, of course, I grabbed one for myself; it's a piece of my childhood, after all! And at 60% off in The Entertainer toy-store, it was a steal. There's no way I would have paid the RRP of £25 for something which, in all likelihood, is a novelty. And I'm sure the original Tamagotchi was cheaper, but then I wasn't the one buying it back then ;)

To be honest, I was shocked at how big and chunky the plastic, egg-shaped computer is now. I remember the original being thin and compact, but they did only take a watch battery. Tamagotchi Friends take two AAA batteries. I was shocked, again, by how dark the pixelated screen was. I found it quite hard to see, at first, but I soon got used to it. Turns out my eyes are just conditioned to back-lit, electronic screens ;) The screens though, I believe, are exactly the same as the original. It seems the new Tamagotchi's have retained many of it's predecessor's original features, and it's a nice touch for those 90's kids who've bought one for nostalgic purposes (me!)

The game is still controlled with three buttons. There's still a happy and hunger meter. There's still an age and weight check function, with a new generation check function. The Tamagotchi still requires regular meals, or snacks, clean-up after toileting, and medicine when sick. You can still play mini-games with your Tamagotchi, which help it lose weight and keep it happy; though the games are very different to the originals. Mimic, for example, where you pause your character when it is mimicking the other characters pose. And you can still visit the park for a play-date, or the shop for different meals and snacks (bread and milk come as standard!)

The biggest difference is in connectivity. Using NFC, you can now 'bump' your Tamagotchi with a friends to have them go on play-dates, form relationships, even get married. There's also the function to send text messages using this 'bump' feature! Another noticeable difference is in sleeping. In original versions, you could put your character to sleep yourself, using the light on/off feature. In the new versions, Tamagotchi's come with predetermined sleep times. If I'm right, children and teens sleep from 7pm till 7am, whilst adults sleep from 9pm till 7am! 

The one thing that definitely has not changed, though? 

It's still really, really easy to kill your Tamagotchi by accident!

Have a great week, beauties <3