Tamagotchi Plaza Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - Switch 2 Review

Tamagotchi Plaza is the sequel to the wildly successful Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop, which was so popular on the Nintendo DS that a sequel was created less than a year from its initial release. It’s the first Tamagotchi game released outside of Japan in 18 years, and this time, Hyde Inc. handled the development instead of Nanaon-sha. Plaza was released on June 26 with both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 versions, as well as the ability to purchase an upgrade later on the eShop.

The Good

The main goal of Tamagotchi Plaza is to help the citizens of Tamahiko Town run their shops and gain recognition. This is done by completing various minigames in the town, so it’s not an overstatement to say the game's success is dependent on them. The variety of minigames themselves is somewhat diverse, ranging from a rhythm-based rap battle to colour-matching dental work. Some of the minigames can be played with two players, either cooperatively or competitively. Once the player enters the store, the game asks if there are one or two players for this minigame, allowing people to play together with one switch.

Another thing I liked about Tamagotchi Plaza is that the minigames change as the shops reach their different statuses. Completing minigames gives the player Gotchi, a currency that is used to upgrade the shops. This, in turn, unlocks a harder version of the shop's minigame, whether it’s adding new things to juggle or introducing new ways to use mechanics.

One of the major positives for Tamagotchi Plaza is that it is incredibly forgiving with its minigames. This means that they tend to be accessible to everyone. It is hard to fail to the point of not collecting money. There are a few instances where players may not be paid, but usually the game will still reward them for their effort. This makes it perfect for children or people who learn by doing, as there’s no fear of completely ruining something. And if you did, who cares? Just try again!

TL;DR

• Minigame variety
• Upgrades increase difficulty
• Incredibly forgiving of mistakes

The Bad

Tamagotchi Plaza doesn’t bother giving players any instructions, choosing to throw them into the deep end and hoping they learn how to swim quickly. It’s great that the game is rather forgiving, but time limits still exist; they’re just mostly lax. It doesn’t help that the Tamagotchi characters talk amongst themselves, often asking what is taking so long. This may be cosmetic rather than an actual limit, but I made many a mistake due to rushing when it was said. The lack of tutorials means that players need to make mistakes to learn how each minigame works. Oh, and when a player makes a mistake, there is no way to undo it. Just accept your fate and give it to the unhappy Tamagotchi. It’s possible this is one of the reasons that several of the minigames use a “match the example image” mechanic, so players will automatically understand how the game works. 

Another displeasing part of Tamagotchi Plaza is that it feels like it takes forever to save up much money. Often, minigames give about 30 or 40 Gotchi as the base rate, and while the shop upgrades are a reasonable 150 and 450 for the first two, the third one is a whopping 2200! Even worse, the Plaza upgrades start at 500, and there are four sections to upgrade. It just feels so needlessly expensive, especially as there are minimal interactive elements in the plaza. Even when the final upgrade for the shop has been unlocked, you’re lucky if you get over 100 Gotchi for your work. This is made worse by the fact that the upgrades don’t guarantee that all orders will be for the expensive work. It just feels like unnecessary padding to make the game last longer, and I found myself growing tired of the grind with little reward.

I have saved my absolute pet peeve for last, but this is an incredibly personal gripe that may not affect other people the way it affects me. I hated the voices of the Tamagotchis. It probably would have been tolerable if they didn’t constantly drone on about the task they were performing in the minigame. I don’t need Memegotchi repeating “Parmesan! Parmesan! Parmesan! Parmesan!” the entire time I’m putting cheese on the Galette. I certainly didn’t need them saying “Brush! Brush! Brush! Brush!” as I’m brushing the customer's teeth. I tried turning the voices down, and yet I could still hear the voices with stronger clarity than the music. Heck, even my mother, who was in the same room as me, kept asking what the annoying noises were. I was playing across the room in handheld mode. I could have turned the voices off completely, but they’re required for the minigame cues. I just don’t know why they thought this would be a good idea.

TL;DR

• No tutorials
• Grindy
• Annoying voices

Final Score: 5/10

I honestly could have wrapped up this review in one word: “Okay”. When I thought about my time with Tamagotchi Plaza, I felt such a middling indifference that the Saitama “okay” meme came to mind. It’s all I can think of because it describes my experience so perfectly. Tamagotchi Plaza isn’t a terrible game, but it’s not a great one either. Had I not been reviewing it, I probably would have played once and lost interest completely. This could be because I feel no attachment to the Tamagotchi brand, as I never grew up with one. Maybe not. Maybe it just is “Okay”.

Thank you for checking out our Tamagotchi Plaza Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Switch review, thank you to Bandai Namco AU for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

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