This article is about the Tamagotchi toy. For more articles with the same name, please see Tamagotchi Friends (disambiguation).
The Tamagotchi Friends: Digital Friend, better known by the simplified name Tamagotchi Friends, is a virtual pet toy of the Tamagotchi Connection franchise released by Bandai in Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom on December 26, 2013.
It was later released in Belgium, Germany, and France in early 2014 and in Russia later on in May 2014, along with a second wave of shells released for the UK. It then released in Canada on August 1, 2014 before finally releasing in the United States on August 27, 2014 as a Toys 'R' Us exclusive. [1]
An updated version, the Tamagotchi Friends: Dream Town Digital Friend, was released in May 2015. The upgrade contains six new shell designs and features 11 minigames, 5 new locations and 5 new characters.
Along with the virtual pet, the series included additional merchandise, such as toy sets and character figurines. The new website, replacing what was originally Music City, was released on November 23, 2013, featuring character biographies, news and games.
The toy line has been nominated by Time to Play in the People’s Play Awards for Toy Tech on October 9, 2014. [2]
Design[]
The design of the Tamagotchi Friends strongly resembles the Tamagotchi iD L.
There is a plastic frame surrounding the front of the shell, and a faceplate that may either have a printed patter, or be translucent, revealing diamond-like effects around the top left and bottom right. It has a 4-part greyscale screen, similar to that of the TamaTown Tama-Go.
The initial release has no background printing; later production models and all USA models have printing on the top and bottom edges, forming the rows for the icons.
The Tamagotchi Friends has no infrared port; all connecting features are done through NFC technology. The unit takes 2 AAA batteries, which are loaded into a battery compartment at the bottom of the unit, which is held in by a single screw.
Character sprites are also significantly revised from previous models. The sprites are now larger, with the biggest size up to 20x20 pixels, and sprites now include shades of gray for certain character features.
Features[]
NFC[]
Tamagotchi Friends features a new method of communication replacing infrared called "near field communication" (abbreviated as NFC) that allows two toys to interact when touched back to back. This method is called "bumping." By doing this, players can visit their friend's Tamagotchi, exchange presents, send messages, and earn Gotchi Points. The number of times Tamagotchi Friends can bump with a friend is limited to 5 per day. The number of connections remaining for a day is indicated at the clock screen by the number of hearts appearing underneath the time display.
Three eggs[]
During the initial setup of the Tamagotchi Friends, after setting the clock, the user must choose between three eggs; one of them with spots, one with stripes and one with a heart shape. Each time the Tamagotchi marries afterward, the egg will always appear as the same one chosen. For the First Generation, the baby born is random. In subsequent generations, the egg will have a small influence over the gender for the babies born; the spotted egg is random, stripped egg is more likely to produce boys, and the heart egg is more likely to produce girls.
Traits[]
The Tamagotchi can get different traits based on how it's cared for, which will affect their evolution. There are three traits: Gourmet, Social and Active. To get Gourmet trait, eat 15 times during the Teen Stage; to get the Social trait, connect 10 times during the Teen Stage; to get the Active trait, play 10 games during the Teen Stage. Interestingly, there are only female Tamagotchi adults associated with the "No trait" group, and male teens instead evolve randomly if they don't have a trait.
BFF Meter[]
A special new meter, called the BFF meter, is located under the Check meter. Connecting to another Tamagotchi Friends unit will gradually cause the meter to fill. Filling the meter at least halfway is required to unlock the Flower Count game.
Travel[]
The fourth icon is the "Door" icon. Selecting this allows the Tamagotchi to leave their home and explore various locations.
Games[]
Each version of the Tamagotchi Friends features five games, with three available at the start, and two unlocked later. The European and North American version have different games for the initial three, but the two unlocked games remain the same for both.
The three standard games on the European version are:
- Drop Catch: Buttons A and C are used to switch between bags in order to catch falling musical notes while avoiding Poo. Single notes are worth one point, and double-cleft notes worth two. For a perfect game, gain one hundred points total. The game is identical to the "Get" games on the Keitai Kaitsuu Tamagotchi Plus and Tamagotchi Connection Version 3, except there are now four bags instead of three.
- Select Get: A symbol (a pencil, a sparkle, or a flower) will appear at the top-right corner, along with a count. Six symbols will appear on the board below. The user must select the amount of the shown symbol within the given time. Pressing A moves the selection target, B selects, and C switches to a new board. Selecting the wrong symbol will reset the count number, but not the timer. Winning a round will award an extra 12 seconds to the next round. The player must complete eight rounds for a perfect game.
- Mimic: Another Tamagotchi character will pose, and players must press any button to stop their character at the matching pose. The player's Tamagotchi must match successfully at least twice to win the round, and win six rounds total for a perfect game.
The three standard games on the North American version are:
- Driving: The Tamagotchi gets into a car and drives down a road. An arrow appears (pointing left or right) when coming to curves. Press A to steer left, and C to steer right.
- Dancing: Three open circles appear at the top of the screen. The user must press the corresponding buttons when they light up.
- Find Ice Cream: An ice cream will be put under a card, and it will be shuffled among three other cards. After they're shuffled, the player must select which card has the ice cream underneath, using A to move through the cards, and B to pick one.
The two unlocked games are:
- Flower Count: This game is unlocked after filling the BFF point halfway. A car will collect and drop flowers, and players must keep track of how many remain on the bus. Use A and C to change the number, and press B to confirm.
- Cake Catch: This game is unlocked after collecting 30 Jewelry items. The player is shown an image of a cake, and must catch the cake on a conveyor belt with a claw. The player must collect 16 cakes before time runs out to win. Holding A speeds up the conveyor belt, and pressing B lowers the claw.
Shop[]
The second travel option is the shop, where the user can buy meals, snacks, and jewelry.
Park[]
In the third travel option, the user's Tamagotchi can visit and play with other characters. The five characters featured at the park (Butterflytchi, Doyatchi, Hanafuwatchi, Amakutchi, and Karakutchi) are unique and cannot be raised.
PC[]
The fourth travel option is to connect to the Dream Town online game. When selected, a code to enter on the site will appear. Pressing the B button will allow the user to type in the logout code from the site.
Date Place[]
Once the Tamagotchi has been adult for a long enough period of time, the Date Place will become accessible as the fifth travel option. The user's Tamagotchi will be presented with three possible partners, and may choose one of them to marry. The chosen partner will live with the user's Tamagotchi, and the baby for the next generation will hatch.
Mail[]
The mail icon serves as the sixth icon. Here, the user can type messages to send to other Tamagotchi units through bumping. The unit can store up to six letters; if a seventh letter is saved, the oldest letter in the inbox will be removed.
Jewelry[]
Jewelry are special items that can be collected at the jewelry shop and can be viewed in the chest icon. The are four different types of jewelry, with 15 of each kind available: crowns, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. 48 jewelry pieces can be purchased from the store, 6 are gifted at random when the Tamagotchi evolves to an adult not raised on the unit prior. The remaining 8 jewelry pieces are unknown. Collecting at least 30 jewelry pieces is necessary to unlock the Cake Catch game.
Departure[]
While the Tamagotchi does not die, severely neglecting the Tamagotchi will cause it to become frustrated and run away, leaving an image of a letter with the words "Bye Bye" beneath it. Pressing the A and C buttons together will make a new egg appear.
DekaTama[]
The Tamagotchi Friends DekaTama is a large device for use with the Tamagotchi Friends virtual pet devices. It is a Deka Tamagotchi device that can provide jewelry pieces for their Tamagotchi Friends device. The DekaTama was first revealed on the Polish Bandai website, and was made available in Poland and Russia. Users could bring their Tamagotchi Friends to participating stores and connect to the DekaTama by using the "special" option under the bump icon. The user can choose any accessory to send to their Tamagotchi device for free. Connecting to the DekaTama uses up bump hearts. Thus, users can obtain maximum five accessories per day.
Apps[]
An app and interactive clothing line called Tamagotchi Friends: Gotchi-fy! was created by Bandai America and Sync Beatz Entertainment. It was released in the United States and Canada in 2014.
Website[]
- Main article: Dream Town (game)
The Tamagotchi Friends website had character profiles, news, products, and webisodes based on the Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream anime. It also had mini-games and a new TamaTown based on Dream Town. The site was shut down in 2019 to make way for the Tamagotchi ON.
Webisode Series[]
- Main article: Tamagotchi Friends (anime)
A webisode series of Tamagotchi Friends is also available. The series is mostly based on the second Japanese Tamagotchi! anime, Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream. The majority of the webisodes featured portions of major scenes from the anime put together. The webisodes are available in three languages: English, French, German, Polish, and possibly Russian. They are also subtitled in Spanish.
List of Webisodes[]
- Episode 1 (November) - Welcome to Dream Town
- Episode 2 (December) - Kiraritchi and Yumemitchi
- Episode 3 (March) - The Arrival of Himespetchi
- Episode 4 (March) - Dream Town Tour
- Episode 5 (April) - Choosing a Dream Class
- Episode 6 (April) - Tea Robot
- Episode 7 (May) - YumeKira Transformation
- Episode 8 (May 30) - Where's the Tool?
- Episode 9 (July) - Study Group
- Episode 10 (August) - Cooking Class
- Episode 11 (September) - Introducing Kiramotchi
- Episode 12 (October) - Kiramotchi’s Creation
- Episode 13 (November) - Dance of Love
- Episode 14 (December) - Tropicatchi’s in Love
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The number of available female Adult Stage characters is slightly higher than the number of available male Adult characters, with the male to female ratio being 10:14.
- The five European starting games were retained from the Tamagotchi Connection series.
- The near field communication is a common wireless feature mostly seen on smartphones.
- Some characters' names have been changed on this version.
- While most countries have the English Tamagotchi Friends, the Russian release has been translated to the Russian language.
- The Tamagotchi Friends is abbreviated as the "TF" or "TMGC Friends". It has also been referred to as the Tamagotchi Connection Version 8 or V8 (although not on the packaging).
- The Tamagotchi Friends has the exact same sounds as the TamaTown Tama-Go, except that it's lower-pitched, the same as earlier releases in the Connection series.
External Links[]
- Tamagotchi Friends US Website
- Tamagotchi Friends online Instruction Manual (different to the instruction manual that comes with the Tamagotchi Friends and more informational)
- Tamagotchi Friends at the 2014 Toy Fair
- Details about the upcoming Tamagotchi Friends merchandise
- Gallery containing Tamagotchi Friends products at a 2014 toy fair
- Tamagotchi Friends US on Facebook
- Toy World November News
- Toy Shop UK
References[]
- ↑ Bandai, WiZ. (2014, August 27, 2014). Tamagotchi Friends™ Launches in the United States. Tamagotchi Friends. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ↑ Bandai, WiZ. (2014, October 9). Tamagotchi Friends Digital Friend nominated!. Tamagotchi Friends. Retrieved October 15, 2014.