The Tamagotchi Music Star, known as the Tamagotchi Connection Version 6 or V6 in the Asia/Oceania region, is a Tamagotchi Connection virtual pet released by Bandai on November 28, 2008 in North America, in Europe in January 2009, and in Asia/Oceania in February 2009.
The model had a focus on raising a Tamagotchi to stardom by having them a form a band and training their music skills.
Design[]
Unlike previous Tamagotchi shells, the Music Star lacks any antenna on the left side, returning to the original egg shape first used on the Tamagotchi Connection Version 1.
However, it retains the wider screen introduced on the Tamagotchi Connection Version 5, although it is one pixel taller, making it 48 x 31 pixels.
The shell was also bundled with a guitar pick featuring a Tamagotchi character that could be attached to the o-ring or bead chain on the shell.
Features[]
On-Screen Items[]
At all times, two items will be present on the Tamagotchi's screen: an instrument on the right of the screen, and a toy on the left. Every 15 minutes, the character will use either of these. Every Tamagotchi has its own preferred toy; if the right one is chosen, it will decrease stress when used, while the wrong toy will increase it. Using a toy for too long may also cause skill points to decrease
Instruments will increase skill points but also stress. Praising it when it practices will negate the stress increase. The user can also freely give the Tamagotchi either item using the Training icon. A Tamagotchi with high levels of stress may refuse to use the instrument and become more inclined to play instead. There are 20 toys and 21 instruments. One toy and one instrument are gifted during the First Generation, and new ones can be earned later on throughout the Tamagotchi's life.
Check Meter[]
The Check meter includes several new features exclusive to the Music Star.
- Stress: Shown on the same screen as Hungry and Happy meters, Stress is a care factor that increases the more the Tamagotchi practices music without sufficient breaks or praise. Stress not only influences the adult evolution, but at higher levels, it may trigger the Tamagotchi to refuse to practice music or skip playing at concerts. Stress starts at 0 and caps at 99. It can be reduced by playing games, using toys, and by praising the Tamagotchi if it practices its instrument on its own.
- Music Skill Points: Shown on the third screen, Music Skill Points represent the Tamagotchi's overall musical talent. The three skills are Rhythm, Tone, and Original. These points are raised by playing the games and by practicing with the on-screen instrument. Raising them is necessary for the Tamagotchi to graduate and get record deals during adulthood. Each skill caps at 999 points, and the next generation will always inherit 1/3 of the parent's points, for a maximum of 333. If a Tamagotchi plays with toys for too long instead of practicing, the skill points may gradually decrease.
- Favorite Instrument and Genre: Shown on the fourth screen, this displays the Tamagotchi's current favorite instrument and musical genre. There are a total of eight genres (Latin, Rock 'n' Roll, Classical, R&B, Jazz, Hip Hop, Asian, and Pop), and which genre and instrument the Tamagotchi prefers are influenced by the instruments they and their bandmates are assigned.
Bands[]
During the teen stage, the Tamagotchi will meet two other characters and form a band, which the user will be prompted to name. Once the user's Tamagotchi becomes an adult, the other two bandmates will evolve upon their next meeting.
The bandmates will each have a name for them generated for them automatically. The instruments of the band members can be viewed and changed in the Check Meter; doing so will influence the genre they perform.
Food[]
There is a total of 60 food items: 2 which the user always has, and 58 more (29 meals and 29 snacks) that can be purchased at the Shop. In addition, there are also the "Baby Food" (meal) and "Baby Milk" (snack) options that are always available. However, they stop filling the Hungry and Happy meters once the Tamagotchi becomes a teen.
Every Tamagotchi has different food and object preferences; when given its favorite item, the Tamagotchi will perform its happy animation, and "GREAT!" will appear after it eats its favorite food. Conversely, the Tamagotchi will be sullen and performs an unhappy animation when given disliked items or food. Upon use, favorite items and foods will help the Tamagotchi regain hearts and reduce stress, while disliked items and food have the opposite effect.
Music Icon[]
Taking the place of the game icon from previous versions, the Music icon allows the user to play one of three games to raise skill points, or change the toy and instrument on the main screen. The games are as follows:
- Sing A Song - This game will raise the Tone skill. A line of a song is played as a demonstration, and the player must repeat it back using the corresponding buttons for each note. A song will have 10 lines, which will get progressively longer and more difficult, starting with 3 notes and finishing with 6.
- Music Notes - This game will raise the Rhythm skill. Music notes fall from the top of the screen, and the player must play the correct notes to make them vanish before they pass a line near the bottom of the screen. The player must scroll through notes using the A button, and select the specific note using B. The game is over after either reaching 100 points or allowing a line of notes reach the line at the bottom.
- Sound Block - This game will raise the Original skill. Blocks appear on screen, and the Tamagotchi must jump on them as they appear and vanish in order to reach the goal block and progress to the next round. Blocks have numbers on them, counting down from 3 to 1, and vanish after 1. The game goes on for 6 rounds or until the Tamagotchi falls off the stage.
Door Icon[]
The door icon allows the Tamagotchi to travel to several different destinations. This feature is locked while the Tamagotchi is still in the baby stage. As the Tamagotchi enters each part of their life cycle, the door icon will flash to indicate a new segment of their career will begin. In addition, the door icon will flash when receiving mail and paychecks during adulthood.
- Away: The Tamagotchi leaves the house to visit a destination that's tied to their current growth stage.
- Preschool (Child stage): The Tamagotchi visits a preschool and plays jump rope with Ms. Frill and another child character. Pressing the A or B button will make the user's Tamagotchi jump. The goal is to continuously play until the other child loses. Winning increases a random skill by 10 points. When a Tamagotchi visits the preschool for the first time, Ms. Frill will gift a new toy.
- Gotchi Performing Arts School (Teen stage): The Tamagotchi will practice with its band. The three band members will appear with their instruments, and when a music note appears over them, the user must press the corresponding button. Winning increases a random skill by 20 point. The first time this option is used, the Tamagotchi will form a band with two other teens, and Classictchi will gift a random instrument.
- Music Studio (Adult and Senior stages): 3 lines of dots will move across the screen. These are notes, beats, or lyrics depending on the instrument, and the player needs to press the corresponding button(s) (A for top row, B for middle, C for bottom) as they line up with the arrow, and missing 2 or more will end the game. The game goes on for 2 rounds, the second round more difficult than the first. In the background, the appropriate music genre will play.
- Cake Shop (Adult and Senior stages): A cake appears on the right side of the screen, and the player must grab the cake with a grabber when it appears. A line of different cakes appear on the bottom of the screen, scrolling from right to left. Press A to speed up the line, and press B to activate the claw. Collecting 16 cakes counts as a perfect game.
- Fruit Harvest (Adult and Senior stages): Different types of fruit will fall from the top of the screen. Based on the types of fruit that are falling, the player needs to line up the fruits with those expressed on the boxes at the bottom of the screen. The A button will move the boxes left, and C will move them right. A score of 100 points counts as a perfect game.
- Shop: The user can purchase food and items at a shop. There is a selection of four items at a time, and the shop cycles between stocks throughout the day.
- PC: This option generated a login code to access the online site and visit Music City.
Training[]
The Training icon gives four options: Practice, Play, Time Out, and Praise. Practice makes the Tamagotchi practice with its instrument, while Play makes it play with its toy. Time Out is used if the Tamagotchi plays with its toy too much or if it misbehaves when connecting. Praise cheers the Tamagotchi up if it practices its instrument on its own.
Professional Debut[]
Once the Tamagotchi has become an adult, the band will be able to perform in front of a panel of three judges (Bill, Big Boss Gotchi, and Glasuntchi) to get the chance to become a professional band. The band will perform a song, and the three judges will each hold up a sign reading "O" (good) or "X" (bad).
If the result is three "O's", Guitaritchi will take over as the band manager. Each member receives 10,000 Gotchi Points. However, if a band is given an "X" they will begin their career as street musicians. If this happens, there will be another chance to pass every day at 2:15, 4:15 and 7:15 pm every day until the band passes.
Different aspects of the performance are assessed by different judges. Bill will judge the player's Tamagotchi's overall status; this includes hunger, happiness and stress levels, music skills and the amount of time spent practicing at home. Praising it when it practices will increase the chance of Bill awarding the band an "O". Big Boss Gotchi, will most likely award an "O" if Bill has given an "O".
The third judge, Glasuntchi, judges on a band's overall status; this includes how often they have practiced together (by playing the games "Music School" and "Music Studio" and having successful sessions), whether they have the right instruments for their genre, and whether or not they have performed in enough concerts as street musicians (if they were turned down first time).
Star Ranking and Tama Fans[]
After a band's first judged performance, going to the clock screen will show a "Star Ranking" and "Tama Fans" screen below the clock. "Tama Fans" shows the amount of fans the band has, and caps at 999,999,999. "Star Ranking" shows the band's ranking compared to other bands.
The band will begin at 999th place if they fail their professional debut, and it will stay that way until after they pass. Once the band does pass, the Star Ranking can be manipulated to increase gradually over time through band practice, concert performances, as well as taking good care. The Star Ranking also affects the band's Tama Fans.
Concerts and Trophies[]
Once the band has made their professional debut, they will be able to perform at professional concerts, which occur at 5 PM, 6 PM, and 7 PM each day. Completing each concert improves the Star Ranking and Tama Fans. Once the band's Star Ranking reaches 1st, they will recieve a 1st Ranking award at their next concert. Each musical genre has a seperate award which can be accessed in the trophy collection in the Notebook icon. Selecting the trophy will show a replay of the concert.
Marriage[]
After having been an adult for three days, Guitaritchi will take the role of a matchmaker and bring other characters to visit for the user's Tamagotchi to marry. After another three days should Guitartchi be unable to find a suitable partner, bandmates of the opposite gender may also visit and ask to marry. In both cases, the marriage partner will come live with the user's Tamagotchi and they will produce a baby. The parents will leave after two days, and while the baby will inherit all food, items, instruments, and toys, they will only inherit a portion of the parent's skill points and Gotchi Points.
Seasonal Events[]
- Player's Birthday: Once in the morning and once in the afternoon (5:30 PM), the Tamagotchi will play their instrument, but instead of the usual music practice it will be the March from The Nutcracker, followed by fanfare and fireworks. Throughout the day, the first item in the store will be Cake.
Music City[]
- Main article: Music City
The Music City website is the Music Star's iteration of TamaTown. It has many of the same functions as previous TamaTown versions, but differs in that it plays like a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) and has more of a focus on music. Users could control an avatar of their Tamagotchi and were able to explore different locations within the city. The user also had their own apartment room that they could decorate with items and furniture bought from the shop or earned from games. Competitions were held weekly where users could create their own song to be voted on by other players.
More locations would be added to the site until its closure in February 6, 2013. As a result of the site no longer being operational, items and unlockable raisable characters exclusive to the site (Dazzilitchi and Dreamitchi) are unobtainable.
Connectivity[]
The Music Star can connect to the Tamagotchi Connection Version 5, the V5 Celebrity, and the TamaTown Tama-Go. It can receive marriage partners from either V5 model, which will be rendered as Nazotchi. It can also marry the Tama-Go, making it the only version the Tama-Go can marry other than itself.
Glitches[]
The Tamagotchi Music Star has a few known glitches:
- If a user's Tamagotchi and its band do not receive a record deal, rather than move to the three buildings, sometimes the characters will go back to the music school.
- When the two band members evolve, if the user presses the reset button, the main screen will appear. If the user selects "Away," they may see parts of the original adults' sprites as well as the previous teen characters before they evolve again.
- During a judged performance the character may turn into an egg, and animations involve male and female Petitchi. Pressing B on the main screen effectively resets the Tamagotchi.
Tamagotchi Movie Bundle[]
In North America, some Music Star shells were bundled with a DVD of Tamagotchi: The Movie. The bundle also included figures of Mametchi, Memetchi, and Kuchipatchi playing instruments. Two types of packaging were released, with the first one being rectangular in shape and the second one being much longer, playing to the Music Star's packaging resembling a guitar.
Gallery[]
Sprites[]
Packaging[]
Commercials[]
Trivia[]
- The Tamagotchi Music Star is the first Connection model to not have a Japanese equivalent release. Instead, on November 22, 2008 Japan released their first color Tamagotchi model, the Tamagotchi Plus Color. International models would continue to be monochrome and divert from Japanese models until the Tamagotchi iD L which released in the UK and Asia/Oceania region.
- The bundled DVD for Tamagotchi: The Movie features Kikitchi and Hapihapitchi who both would not make an animated appearance until the sequel movie Tamagotchi: Happiest Story in the Universe!.
- The teen stage was reduced to 30 hours.
- It is the last monochromatic Tamagotchi to be released before the premiere of the anime.
External Links[]
Instruction Manuals[]