Angelgotchi / Tamagotchi Angel Page

We have several items about Bandai's Angelgotchi virtual pet.

Product Review of the Japanese version
Product Review of the U.S. version
Link to Robert Worne's Angelgotchi Life Chart
Reuters News Angelgotchi article 8 August 1997
The photo at the top of this page is of the Japanese version.

Japanese Version Angelgotchi Product Review

This product review is not ours. It was posted in the alt.toys.virtual-pets newsgroup by Mr. Robert Worne. This review was rapidly completed after he received his Angelgotchi and probably the first review of the pet in English. He later wrote a more complete review including photos that was featured in the first issue of Virtual Pet Secrets Magazine. We would like to thank Robert for posting this great review in the newsgroup.
We encourage you to visit Robert's video game collecting site and check out his extensive collection of Japanese virtual pets.

Date: 31 Oct 1997 
From: Robert Worne
Newsgroups: alt.toys.virtual-pets
Subject: Wild Tenshitchi no Tamagotchi (Angelgotchi) happenings

I finally got one.  Pearl White.  An Angelgotchi.  It's been running
for a  day, and the differences between it and the Tamagotchi
are interesting to say the least...

Here's a rundown:
1. You start from a ghost, and raise an angel (that's a gimme)
2. When you start, the Angel on the screen is not as initially 
demanding as the Tamagotchi.  While the Tamagotchi was 
demanding my attention practically every 5 to 15 min while 
it was a babi-chi, this one was more calmed-down.  Also unlike
the Tamagotchi, and Tamagotchi-2, it does *not* follow the
same growth as it's predicessors:  It clamors for attention 
once it appears, but after that, it does not follow the same
cycle that the other two follow. As it gets older, it does 
require less attention though.

3.  Bandai seemed to do a bit of redesign of how it works:

-The clock<-->game screen fips back and forth  quickly, 
instead of dragging along slowly, the same for the game.

-The game is easy to play, and much less fustrating.  
You can win every time you play.

-There is no "weight", you just pump up it's Tenshi Power 
(TP) by feeding it chocolate... and tap on the  case if a bat 
shows up to steal it... I kid you not.  There's one or two other
screens that require rapping on the case... as a hint: what 
did Poe's raven do in the poem?

-praise it when it prays for you... it makes a noise when it starts 
praying, and I think you need to praise it *as* it's praying (this 
is implied, but not  verified).

-There's 3.. no 4 secret characters: including twins (for real), 
a cactus, a samurai, and a "lucky turd" (You have to be a fan
of the old Dr. Slump Japanese animated program to appreciate 
this one).  There's also devil characters, but no known way 
to get there yet.  Oh, and the twins poop in tandem... that's
right *two*piles.

Basically, a lot of the irritations built into the original Tamagotchi 
are gone... faster screen changes, and a less fustrating way to 
make it happy... pumping it full  of sweets is OK, since all it 
eats is pie and chocolate.

Now what I want to get is the *other* version of the Angelgotchi.
That's  right, there are two versions... ones made after Sept. 1997
have a different LCD, where the traditional Tamagotchi menu 
icons are replaced by Angelgotch icons.  The fork and spoon 
are now just a spoon, the omaru (duck) is now a butt with angel 
wings.  The hypodermic is now a cupid's bow and arrow, the 
attention! icon became a happy face with angel wings...

The rest I forget...  This last bit of info came from the Tenshichi 
no Tamagotchi Asobou-hon (Angelgotchi Playbook) which has 
been remarkably informative about all  Japanese Tamagotchi-- 
including the Mothra Tamagotchi (a movie tie-in) due out this 
December... :-)

American Version Angelgotchi Product Review

This guest product review was submitted by one of our readers, "Relic" on 31 March 1998. A big thanks to 'Relic' for sharing this review with us.

The Tamagotchi Angel is a new type of Tamagotchi and has many new features and secret characters. I will explain about one of the newest Virtual Pets to hit the market below...

Tamagotchi Angel is what I think is a very cool pet. It has many neat features that most virtual pets don't have. A great original idea for the Tam Angel or Angelgotchi is that it has a touch screen feature. During when it is eating it's snack ( which is a chocolate heart ) a bat will appear on the screen. You have to tap on the side of the Tam Angel to scare the bat away. If you don't scare the bat away you'r Angel will be sad. You don't want that to happen!. The Angel also plays a new game. It jumps over shooting stars, and a new feature is that if it jumps over all five it will get 2 hearts filled ( unlike the regular Tamagotchi ). Also you don't discipline this version. You praise it when it does a good deed.

The Angel power or Tenshi power is like the weight on the Tamagotchi except that you're supposed to keep it at maximum every stage of it's growth. You can pause it like the Tamagotchi unlike it's ancestor Digimon.

The characters on the Tamagotchi Angel are very different than the Tamagotchi characters. The only one that you can recognize is the second to best character Ginjiro-Shi. He reminds me of the Tamagotchi version of him except he has wings and a halo. The secret characters are totally original. There are several secret characters for your Tam Angel. The first one is twins ( I think this one is about the popular rumor about Tam twins which does NOT work ). The second one is a cactus, the third one is a Devil ,and the forth one is a living turd pile. Pretty awkward huh?

Well that about wraps it up for the Tamagotchi Angel review. I hoped you like it and I recommend that you buy one. They are alot of fun! See ya :-)

Bandai gives eternal life to new electronic pets

Reuters
8 August 1997

TOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuter) - For anyone who thought there might be money in virtual pet cemeteries for the sensationally popular virtual pet Tamagotchi, the toy's creator has just dashed all hopes.

Responding to criticism that the death of an electronic pet could be upsetting to some children, Japanese toy maker Bandai Co said on Friday it would sell a new version of the toy that returns to life as an angel.

With the new Tamagotchi, to be launched on August 10, an angel descends into the tiny liquid crystal display that was occupied by the electronic pet before its demise, taking over for the virtual pet in afterlife.

``We have heard about criticism in the Philippines that our digital toy treats the subject of death too lightly, but we want owners to love and care for it as if it were a real pet,'' said a Bandai spokeswoman.

In the original version, the bird-like virtual pet would die if it was not properly fed, bathed and played with by pressing buttons at appropriate times.

Because a new bird could easily be hatched with a reset button, however, the toy was also criticised for desensitising children toward death by encouraging them to kill off the pet and start over if they did not like the way it was developing.

The new angel version does not die when neglected, but simply returns to heaven.

Bandai is also planning to introduce before the end of this year another version that can breed new generations by coupling a male and female Tamagotchi.

Tamagotchi caught on quickly, especially among Japanese schoolgirls, after it was launched in November 1996, with total sales in Japan surpassing the 10 million mark by the end of July.

The company also sells the toys in major overseas markets, including the United States and Asia, where they also rapidly gained popularity.

The craze prompted criticism from some Asian politicians who complained that the toys have a bad influence on children. Schools in South Korea and other Asian countries have banned them.

Bandai nevertheless expects robust sales of the Tamagotchi to continue, forecasting cumulative global sales of 40 million units by the end of the current business year to March 1998.

Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited