As part of the Hello Kitty anniversary celebrations, Bandai Namco refreshed the Tamagotchi Nano model that debuted in 2020. The concept is still the same and it is still $19.99 as usual, though there’s a new apple minigame and different forms of characters to collect. But one thing remains: I am desperately seeking Hello Kitty’s approval.
As this is a Tamagotchi Nano, the general pet raising process remains streamlined. You go straight from the baby form to an adult, depending on the level of care. You can’t actually check stats to see how happy or unhappy, as well as how full or hungry, the character is. You need to listen for alerts to see if they are sulking or left some poop. However, as is common for these crossover models, it brings in a character from another series into the spotlight. While some involve directly raising those people or animals, this involves standard Tamagotchi characters and Hello Kitty making cameo appearances.
The baby form even looks like a little apple!
Basically, it ends up like Hello Kitty is perhaps helping you raise the Tamagotchi with this Tamagotchi Nano variant. You’re feeding it Hello Kitty’s favorite foods, which are apple pie and milk. How do you think you got that? Hm? When you play minigames like the one with the piano, she’s playing for or with you. If you take poor care of it, Hello Kitty mourns its passing.
She’s a very involved virtual friend, clearly.
At the same time, I also felt like I was trying to earn the approval of Hello Kitty as I raised characters in the Hello Kitty Tamagotchi Nano. She will work with her mouse friend Joey to help clean up poop on-screen. In the apple catching minigame, we’re basically collecting the fruit for her. If we do a good job, she’s happy. A bad job? She’s sad. The additional evolution for the adult forms involves Hello Kitty basically giving the character a bow. Even the “good” ending of a run with a character involves them going off with Hello Kitty. Like she thought we did such a good job raising the character, she deems them worthy of traveling together.
I honestly felt like as I was playing with the Hello Kitty Tamagotchi Nano, I was attempting to please Hello Kitty and make her proud. It isn’t like the Chopper one, where I’m playing with a friend, or the Anya one that left me left me wanting to play dress-up. I definitely felt like I needed to achieve and earn that Hello Kitty bow. Maybe it resulted in a little more pressure on my part, but it was still quite fun.
The Hello Kitty Tamagotchi Nano will release on July 9, 2024.
