Kids today have no idea how good they've got it. Long before Skylanders entered their Portal of Power, when the monsters in your pocket came from Matchbox, the only options for peculiar pets came in the form of an iguana or granite. This all changed with the arrival of the Tamagotchi, the first digital pet to catch on in the US. Like all fads among children, the Tamagotchi would experience a meteoric rise, create controversy amongst adults, and then eventually go the way of the pog. However, the Tamagotchi's legacy isn't forgotten, and in fact is celebrated with perfect emulation in Tamagotchi L.i.f.e.
The premise of raising a Tamagotchi is simple: you start off with an egg, and over time you feed, clean up after and play with your growing digital pet. Eventually it ages and in time it will pass away-- however, as long as you are a caring owner, another egg will be laid and the circle of life will continue onward. There was a bit of controversy with subjecting US children to the death of their digital pet, so at the end of their life cycle those Tamagotchis would fly away back to their home planet, abandoning their progeny to a life of human interference once more.
The interface should seem familiar to anyone who has raised a Tamagotchi before, or for all of those contrarians out there, a Giga Pet. It's appreciated that the low-tech digital watch aesthetic remains, but the bright and vibrant colors help reduce the fatigue without sacrificing the look. In the end, the entire experience of a forgotten 1990's fad is faithfully restored with the same love and care required to rear up a Tamagotchi.
Click here to download Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. from iTunes.
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