Since Tamagotchi Uni launched globally last summer, it’s felt like a product with a lot of unrealized potential.
Keep in mind, I say this as someone who loves this device and has run it every day since launch. But in addition to all the basic activities one currently expects from a digital pet toy, the Wi-Fi-enabled Tamagotchi Uni also promises users “Tamagotchi Uni” – a virtual playground that will broaden Tamagotchi like never before experience. So far, really not.
Sure, players can send their characters there to “meet” other people, go on mini-vacations, and buy costumes, but these little activities don’t really add much substance. The “Travel” experience includes watching animated shorts and occasionally earning special dishes, items or achievement badges. Even the means of communication are greatly restricted. Players can only send one heart per day (“like” to recognize another player’s electronic pet).
Although Tamaverse is Uni’s biggest selling point, it’s been slow to live up to the expectations set by Bandai. That seems to be changing a lot.
With the update (version 1.6.0) that rolled out on March 19, Bandai opened up the Tama Portal, a long-blocked area in the Tamaverse. A few days later, it released the first two DLC packs for Tamagotchi Uni in the form of “Tamaverse Tickets,” allowing users to travel to new locations through the portal. In an extra bonus that has nothing to do with the Tamaverse, the update also addresses players’ pressing requests for more item storage by adding “My Boxes” where excess items can be stowed away so you no longer have to delete old items for Make room for new items.
The first two Tamaverse tickets (as the DLC is called) are now on sale. One takes you to Very Berry Land and is free, while the other is for a LoveMelo concert and tickets are $6. Each new area comes with a host of additional characters that can be developed (including some entirely new to the franchise), themed mini-games, and a shop with new food, items, accessories, and furniture that can be purchased with Gotchi Points.
This is the depth that virtual spaces always seem to imply. Now it feels like we’re finally seeing what the Tamaverse is truly like. Hope this is just the beginning.
No doubt there will be some people who won’t pay for DLC beyond a freebie, and while I can’t say I’d blame them for that, I’m not bothered by what we got. Purchase your ticket and receive a download code that can be used 3 times. Once the code is registered to your device, you can access the location at will and switch freely between the different locations you have downloaded. This means I was able to use the same code to download Very Berry Land and LoveMelo Concert on both of my Tamagotchi Uni devices and still have each ticket available for use once in case I needed to reset.
As with the Tamagotchi Smart’s DLC (physical TamaSma card), only one Tamaverse ticket can be active at a time, so switching will clear any specific location of items or food in your inventory, but you won’t need to re-enter the code in order to switch back. When you visit the Tama Portal, you can find all of a person’s download locations in a new list called the DL Area.
There’s more than just one or two characters per location, either – you’ll get six. Some people buy entirely new equipment just for this kind of expansion (definitely not me…haha…). The free Very Berry Land is bringing back the fan-favorite cute strawberry Ichigotchi, which is a win for everyone.
The DLC also reintroduces the method of obtaining specific characters by feeding young Tamagotchis certain foods or playing with specific items three times before they reach adulthood. I was excited to try and get Tanghulutchi, the new character from Very Berry Land, and fed my teenage Tama lots of fruit candy snacks in the hope that it would make her appear. efficient! (I’m also fighting for it now real Its namesake candied fruit, candied haws. Thank you Bandai).
Once I’m strong enough to part with Memetchi on another device running LoveMelo Concert, I might try Drumcrubitchi, a new character that’s actually a drum kit with a face.
So far, everything you can buy at the Tama Portal location is much cheaper than the usual Tama Mall offerings, with furniture and accessories priced between 200 and 500 Gotchi points. It’s nice to have some new mini-games to freshen up day-to-day life, since there aren’t many games built into the device when it’s offline, and the ones they added to the first Tamaverse location are pretty cool.
In Very Berry Land you can play cake factory, when the cake slices come off the conveyor belt, you have to move your character to place the strawberries on the cake slices. It’s a playstyle we’ve seen before, but it’s slightly more exciting than other similar versions, as the tempo really picks up in the second half of the round.
LoveMelo concert brings back pop guitar heroA rhythm game format we’ve seen (twice) at Tama Arena niano dancebut new Happiness and harmony Provides a different song for you to try and follow along with. It’s actually quite challenging, and it’s the type of game I have to keep revisiting until I perfect it. niano dance It’s clearly a hit, and I’m sure many fans will be happy that a version of it has somehow found a permanent home at the university.
One of the best things about early versions of modern Tamagotchi, such as Tamagotchi, was the joy of discovery as you unlocked new locations. The new Tama Portal destination brings the same feeling, and I can only hope that Bandai can keep up its momentum even beyond the additional expansions it teased in the 1.6.0 update.
Announcement information shows that at least three other DL Areas are in preparation, including the Tamamori Fashion Show scheduled to be held at the end of May. This world introduces some crazier Tamagotchi character designs—like a pair of anthropomorphic work boots, I kid you not, Bootsbrothers—and I seriously can’t wait. Other areas have not yet been revealed.
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