Hoshi de Hakken!! Tamagotchi (星で発見!!たまごっち Hoshi de Hakken!! Tamagotchi) is the only Tamagotchi video game for the Sony PlayStation. It was released by Bandai Games in 1998 exclusively for Japan. The main objective of the game is to collect all of the Tamagotchi that roam around the area. There are 94 Tamagotchi in total to collect and find.
Story[]
The player plays as Mikachu, assistant to Professor Banzo, after the two decide to travel to the Tamagotchi Planet to further study the species but end up marooning themselves after their spacecraft crashlands. Distraught at first, the duo are quickly excited by a new research prospect when they encounter a Jugtchi and Pumptchi breeding to produce an egg.
Gameplay[]
- Main article: Hoshi de Hakken!! Tamagotchi/Character list
As Mikachu, the player must collect all 94 Tamagotchi by exploring the island, befriending them, and breeding them to unlock new groups of Tamagotchis. There are also groups of Tamagotchis that are collected exclusively by taking a photo of them. Upon registering all 94 species, the game will end the next time the UFO is accessed - the only way to continue to play is to register 93 at most.
Overworld Exploration[]
Exploring the Overworld with a Tamagotchi
The island is separated into two areas: a small Eastern area containing all the facilities and a larger Western area containing a variety of wild lands to explore. There are also three times of day: morning, sundown, and night. Most Tamagotchis can be found in the Western area and different Tamagotchis come out at different points of the day.
The player directly controls Mikachu as she travels in the overworld. A bicycle is also available to use to go faster, though Mikachu can't interact with any wild Tamagotchis while riding it. If a Tamagotchi has been befriended and is currently staying at the UFO, they can accompany Mikachu when she goes out and they can visit certain facilities.
When Mikachu encounters a Tamagotchi in the wild, the screen will change to show four commands corresponding with a button: Dance (△), Sing (◻), Kiss (〇), and Magic Trick (X). Each different command allows Mikachu to attempt to befriend the Tamagotchi, with two of them working to attract them and the other two failing. Once a Tamagotchi is befriended, Mikachu can take it back to her UFO and register its information in a record book. Up to four Tamagotchi can be kept at the UFO, but the player can say goodbye to current ones to make space for new Tamagotchi.
Angel Tamagotchi and Sakanatchi are present within the game, and while they cannot be raised it is possible to obtain a camera through the lottery in order to register them in the record book by taking photos of them. The Angel Tamagotchi are located near bodies of water like fountains at night, but the Sakanatchi are only found underwater. Once 20 Tamagotchi are registered in the records book and the player obtains a camera, Mikachu will gain access to a submarine which can be used to explore the sea and encounter the Sakanatchi to photograph them.
Overworld Controls[]
Pressing the triangle button while outside will open up the overworld menu. Pressing the square button will show the overworld map which shows Mikachu's current location.
- Bicycle: Mikachu can get on and off her bicycle. When riding the bike, pushing any of the L or R buttons will ring the bell, and any Tamagotchi accompanying her will sit in the front basket.
- Warp Machine: When used in the eastern sector, Mikachu and any Tamagotchi with her will be warped back to the base, and when used in the western sector she will be warped back to the gate between the two parts of the overworld.
- Say Goodbye: The Tamagotchi accompanying Mikachu will be released
- Close: Closes the menu
Facilities[]
There are a number of facilities Mikachu can visit or take a Tamagotchi to in the eastern sector. Most of these facilities are closed during the day or can only be accessed if Mikachu has a named Tamagotchi with her. Most of the facilities are labelled with their names written in Tamagotchimoji.
Carnival[]
Shuffle game
The Carnival allows a Tamagotchi to play three difficult games to raise their intelligence and strength - Shuffle Game, Timing Game and Balloon Catching Game. The Carnival cannot be accessed at night.
- Shuffle Game: This game consists of five rounds and at least three must be won to increase intelligence. Losing the game decreases intelligence. A ball is deposited into one of four boxes, which are then swapped with each other or spun around very quickly, and the goal is to guess which box the ball is in. Pressing left or right changes which box is highlighted and the circle button selects the current bin. This game increases intelligence.
- Hammer Timing Game: This game, resembling a test-your-strength machine, consists of five rounds and at least three of one kind of result must be gained in a single game to increase or decrease intelligence or strength. There are eight possible results - four nothing slots (colored red), two decreasing slots (colored purple) and two increasing slots (colored yellow). A meter on the left side of the screen quickly rises and falls - when the circle button is pressed and the Tamagotchi slams the hammer down onto the button, the player must take into account that there is a delay from the start of the animation to the actual hit of the button and therefore the meter's position will change in that time period. Too much power will result in the indicator bouncing off the top of the machine and landing on the second-highest result. This game increases intelligence or power.
- Balloon Catching Game: 30 points must be obtained when the game ends to increase strength, and losing the game decreases strength. The Tamagotchi can be moved left or right on a platform to catch balloons, but cannot move all the way across the screen. Red balloons take away two points, yellow balloons add one point and green balloons add two points. The balloons rise at varying speeds, but the player must be on high alert for sudden appearances as they all move faster than the Tamagotchi. This game increases power.
Stadium[]
Track game at the Stadium
The Stadium allows for a Tamagotchi to participate in several contests - racing, relay racing, math tests or beauty contests, which rely on strength, intelligence and discipline respectively. Contests are divided into categories for age - teenager or adult, and consist of two rounds; the first round must be won to advance to the second. Each contest is played automatically with no player input except for the Race/Relay contest which allows the player to encourage their Tamagotchi by pressing the circle button. The Stadium cannot be accessed at night.
- Tamagotchi Race: The Tamagotchi will be on a track racing other Tamagotchis.
- Tamagotchi Relay: Similar to Tamagotchi Relay, but the Tamagotchi tags another Tamagotchi halfway through the track
- Red and White Flag Battle: Four Tamagotchi plus the user's Tamagotchi must match their flag's position to the given instruction. The contest continues until there is one Tamagotchi left.
- Beauty Contest: The Tamagotchi will enter a contest with other Tamagotchi and be given points based on their discipline. The one with the highest points win.
Lottery[]
The Lottery allows the player to spend the blue gems they collect on the overworld for various prizes. The first option is the actual lottery, where pressing the circle button allows for the player to spend two gems to spin the drum and see which ball comes out, while the second option details the available prizes:
- Yellow Ball: Red camera. Has unlimited film and the chance to win it is only unlocked once the player wins a blue camera
- Blue Ball: Blue camera. Used to take pictures of Angelgotchi and Sakanatchi to record them in the record book. Requires film to use and unlocks the submarine to explore the ocean if the player has recorded 20 Tamagotchi.
- Green Ball: Camera Film for the blue camera
- White Ball: One blue gem
- Red Ball: Nothing
Memorial Center[]
If a Tamagotchi had their records saved after their death, the player may view them here.
Care Menu[]
Care Screen
At the UFO, Mikachu is able keep up to four Tamagotchi to take care of. Caring for the Tamagotchi is similar to the functions available on most vintage Tamagotchi Pets.
Check Meter[]
This allows the checking of a Tamagotchi's current stats - its name, breed, age, gender, discipline, intelligence, strength, hunger, happiness and TMP percentage. A Tamagotchi's TMP depends on how high its other stats currently are. Pressing the left, right, L or R buttons cycles between Tamagotchi, and the one that is currently highlighted will be the one shown when exiting the menu. Intelligence and strength can decrease upon evolution, and in varying amounts even when they are equal.
Food[]
This allows a Tamagotchi to be fed meals or snacks to fill its hunger and happiness hearts. While the food that appears when a type is chosen is random, the possible options depend on the Tamagotchi's growth stage - for example, babies and children have milk as their only meal. Too many snacks in a short period of time - about three snacks in the span of six or seven hours, will make a Tamagotchi sick.
Games[]
This allows a Tamagotchi to play one of the games from the original release. As usual, winning three or four rounds in a single game increases a single happiness heart, and winning all five rounds rewards two hearts.
- Left or Right: The user must guess whether their Tamagotchi turns left or right.
- Higher or Lower: The Tamagotchi presents a number, and the player must guess whether the next number it thinks of will be higher or lower than the displayed number. It cannot pick a number higher than 9, or lower than 1.
Toilet[]
This allows the active room to be flushed and remove any poop lying around.
Medicine[]
This allows remedies to be administered to an ill Tamagotchi, although it may require multiple doses to recover. Certain breeds need to be given needles, while others need to be given pills - a Tamagotchi will be angered if given the wrong medicine.
Discipline[]
This is used to punish a misbehaving Tamagotchi - when it refuses to eat food despite its hunger meter being partially empty, or calling out despite having no empty meters or not being ill. If the Tamagotchi is making a false call, it will be accompanied by a unique speech bubble. When done correctly, it fills one half of a discipline heart. Unlike on the main virtual pets, a Tamagotchi is not guaranteed to have an opportunity to discipline it during a single stage of growth.
Lights[]
This turns the lights on the current room on or off. When a Tamagotchi's sleeping time hits, the attention icon will light up and stay on for several seconds before it falls asleep - it is best to shut off the lights at this time. A Tamagotchi taken outside while asleep will need its lights turned off again after returning home.
Egg Room[]
This room can contain up to eight eggs laid when breeding Tamagotchi together, and only be selected when there is an unoccupied room. There are a number of different colors and patterns, but they are not exclusive to a single type of baby Tamagotchi. The E Group, F Group and secret character lines can only be obtained through hatched Tamagotchi eggs.
Encyclopedia[]
This option is used to look up information related to registered Tamagotchi
- Register Tamagotchi: Registers the highlighted Tamagotchi if it's not already registered in the book
- Records Book: Shows all the registered Tamagotchi. Selecting a Tamagotchi brings up three more options
- Biography: Character's information
- Breeding Combinations: Shows any unlocked breeding combination charts
- Growth Chart: Shows character location on growth chart
Breeding[]
- Main article: Hoshi de Hakken!! Tamagotchi/Breeding chart
This icon can only be selected if there is at least one male and one female adult Tamagotchi who are available for breeding. After selecting a pair, pressing start will begin the breeding attempt. If they breed successfully, the player will be given an egg - which egg they produce depends on which breeds they are, and while most combinations result in an egg containing the baby of one of the parents groups or the one for the next group, certain combinations may produce eggs from groups E or F - the ones for the P1 or P2 characters.
The rate of success depends on how high the Tamagotchi's TMPs are and the difference between them - if they are too different both Tamagotchi will reject each other or one will reject the other's advances, and certain pairings may produce different results than usual if both parties' TMPs exceed 80%. A Tamagotchi may only be bred once in its lifetime, and characters from groups E and F are genderless and cannot breed as a result.
Say Goodbye[]
When selected, a list of the player's Tamagotchi will be brought up in order to choose which one to release back into the wild. After selecting a Tamagotchi, there will be a prompt to confirm that its release.
Wallpaper[]
This allows the current room's wallpaper to be changed to one of eight styles.
Time Configuration[]
This allows the player to change the speed at which time passes. The topmost option is fast, the middle option is normal and the bottom option is slow. While faster options will mean that time will pass more quickly they also mean that a Tamagotchi's stats will deplete faster and there will be less time to react to alerts such as discipline and sleep calls, and vice versa.
Professor Banzo[]
Selecting this allows the player to read the in-game instructions provided by Banzo, or press the triangle button to save the game. A memory card can only hold two Hoshi de Hakken save files.
Head Outside[]
Selecting this sends the player back into the overworld. The top option sends Mikachu out on her own, while the bottom option brings up a list of Tamagotchi that she can take with her to do things like go to the Carnival or the Stadium. Babies and children cannot be taken outside. Time will still pass even when traveling outside and thus Tamagotchi will continue to live like they would in the UFO base, potentially causing problems if the player leaves awake Tamagotchi on their own for extended periods of time.
Attention[]
This icon cannot be selected and starts blinking when a Tamagotchi is in need of something, along with the icon of their room. It will either light up due to a Tamagotchi's hunger/happiness emptying completely, falling ill, making a false call and provide a disciplinary opportunity, preparing to fall asleep, or being on the verge of evolution.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the only video game in the Tamagotchi franchise that has ever released on a PlayStation platform. Excluding Sega Saturn de Hakken!! Tamagotchi Park and Super Note de Hakken!! Tamagotchi, all the others were released exclusively on Nintendo platforms.