Tamagotchi Meets Sanrio DX – Review & Translations

I am among many adults who grew up loving Tamagotchi. There was something so gratifying about taking care of a tiny pixelated creature, and I’ve been wanting to relive that nostalgia. It turns out that not only does Bandai still produce Tamagotchis (now with fancy color displays), they also have done crossovers with many different brands, including one of my all-time favorite brands, Sanrio! I recently preordered the Tamagotchi Meets Sanrio DX, which just released on October 24. In this post I will give an overview of the product, plus offer some advice to anybody who is thinking of purchasing one.

Appearance

Like most Tamagotchi devices, the Meets is shaped like an egg. The shell is a pleasant candy-apple red, reminiscent of Hello Kitty’s red bow. The screen is set in a super-cute pink gingham faceplate with both Sanrio characters and Tamagotchi characters on it, surrounded by strawberries. The faceplate has lots of glitter in it, creating a very pretty shimmery effect whenever it catches the light.

The “DX” version also comes with an exclusive lanyard. Similar to the faceplate, the lanyard has Tamagotchi and Sanrio characters, surrounded by strawberries and hearts. It comes with a cell phone strap, making it easy to attach to your Tamagotchi device. Originally I thought I wouldn’t ever use the lanyard, but I’ve actually been using it a lot! It’s convenient to wear while doing chores around the house, so you can keep your pet with you without worrying about misplacing it.

Gameplay

If you ever played Tamagotchi in the 90s or early 2000s, you will find that the core gameplay of the Tamagotchi Meets isn’t all that different. Your tamagotchi character hatches from an egg and grows from baby, to toddler, to teenager, to adult. You must keep it happy by feeding it, playing with it, cleaning its poop, and giving medicine when it’s sick. It takes 48 hours for your tamagotchi to turn into an adult, and after that you can take care of it until it dies, or hatch a new tamagotchi egg by marrying another character. One thing that is great about this version is that you can leave your tamagotchi at daycare until 7PM. This is very useful if you need to go to school or work during the day.

The one thing about the Tamagotchi Meets that really sets it apart from its predecessors is the “Mix” function. If you marry another tamagotchi, their child will inherit genes from its parents. So for example, if your tama marries Hello Kitty, then their child may inherit Hello Kitty’s bow. They might also inherit their parent’s preferences for certain foods or toys.

This is an amazing feature because there are practically endless combinations of different genetic traits, significantly increasing the replayability factor of the Tamagotchi. It also really makes your tama feel like your own, because chances are nobody else has the exact same character as you! And best of all, you don’t need multiple Tamagotchis to enjoy the Mix feature. You can marry one of the NPCs, or you can connect to the Tamagotchi mobile app to meet and marry Tamagotchis from players all over the world!

Exclusive Features

The Tamagotchi Meets Sanrio version has several Sanrio-themed features and items that can’t be found in any other version. There is a lot of content, and I don’t think I can quite manage to list all of it here, but I’ll do my best to describe the bulk of it! I also translated the various items and foods you can buy at each location. (If you have a better translation for anything I listed, please feel free to leave it in the comments.)

Characters

There are several Sanrio characters that your tama can play with, and even get married to! The version-exclusive characters are Cinnamoroll, Badtz-Maru, Pompompurin, Hello Kitty, Gudetama, Kuromi, My Melody, Kiki, Lala, Keroppi, and Tuxedo Sam.

Backgrounds

You can remodel your tamagotchi’s home to change to different backgrounds. The Sanrio-exclusive backgrounds are: Sanrio Characters, My Melody Living, Kiki and Lala Living, Kitty Living and Strawberry Living.

Game Corner

The Game Corner at the Tama Department Store has 2 exclusive Sanrio minigames. The first is a Character Quiz, where you can earn money for correctly answering Sanrio-themed trivia questions. The other is a memory matching game with Keroppi.

Café Cinnamon

Once your Tamagotchi pet reaches the toddler stage, it can visit Café Cinnamon, a Cinnamoroll-themed café.

Meals: Cinnamon Curry, Cappuccino Stew, Milk Pasta, Chiffon Burger, Cinnamon Morning

Snacks: Cinnamon Roll, Cinnamon Latte, Poron Parfait, Chiffon Cake, Cinnamon Pudding

Puroland

This location is based on the real-life Sanrio Puroland theme park in Japan. Buy character themed-goods at the Goods Shop, or enjoy the Sanrio Parade.

Meals: Pochacco Curry, Cinnamon Bento, Gudetama Ramen

Snacks: Hello Kitty Bun, Badtz-Maru Poripari Ramen, Purin-kun Pudding

Toys: XO Guitar, Gudetama Bacon

Accessories: Gudetama Hat, Pochacco Headband

Maryland

Not to be confused with the U.S. state, Maryland is a magical forest in London where My Melody lives. You can buy My Melody items at the Mary Shop, or play a mushroom-collecting minigame with My Melody herself.

Meals: Mary Mushroom Salad, Kuromi Omurice, Melody Pot-pie

Snacks: Pound Cake, Kuromi Smoothie, Melody Choux

Toys: Anteater Plush, My Melody Car

Accessories: My Melody Bow, Kuromi Headband

Star World

This adorably pastel Little Twin Stars location can only be accessed by rocket ship. You can play with Kiki, Lala, and Nijifuwatchi at the Cloud Amusement Park.

Meals: Star Quiche, Kiki and Lala Stew, Kiki and Lala Sandwich

Snacks: Lala Pancake, Star Macaron, Kiki and Lala Cotton Candy

Toys: Cloud Slide, Cloud Machine

Accessories: Star Barrette, Kiki and Lala Balloons

Strawberry Kingdom

The peaceful Strawberry Kingdom is ruled by the benevolent Strawberry King and 7 strawberry Angels.

Meals: King Set, Strawberry Pizza, Strawberry Pasta

Snacks: Strawberry Frappe, Strawberry Pancake, King Sundae

Toys: Strawberry Balloons, Strawberry Tea-set

Accessories: King Hat, Strawberry Staff

Do you need to know Japanese?

The Tamagotchi Meets Sanrio has not been released outside of Japan, and thus the device is in Japanese. However, you don’t need to know Japanese to play it! The menus are simple to navigate using a translation guide online (I like the ones here). Once you play with it for a while, you’ll find that you will memorize the menu options without needing to look at a translation.

Is it worth the price?

I preordered my Tamagotchi Meets Sanrio from Amazon Japan for about $80 USD (not including shipping). Obviously, this is pretty pricy for a children’s toy. As a lifetime fan of both Tamagotchi and Sanrio, I personally think the price is worth it, but I can definitely understand if others find it too expensive.

If you are interested in Tamagotchi but aren’t ready to spend that much money, you could buy the $20 rerelease of the original 90s Tamagotchi. Bandai is also coming out with a Hello Kitty Tamagotchi nano for $20! (I’m probably going to order that one too, hehe.)

Conclusion

Overall, I absolutely love this Tamagotchi. You can tell that a lot of love was put into it. Bandai could have just made a Tamagotchi with some Sanrio aesthetics and called it a day, but there are actually a lot of references to Sanrio lore. I also like how some more obscure characters, like the Strawberry King, make an appearance. This is easily one of the cutest things I have ever had in my possession, and I can see myself playing with it for a long time. I highly recommend the Sanrio Meets to all Sanrio fans, especially those who enjoy virtual pets.