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Up front, I'll be honest and say that I have no prior experience
with Hamtaro beyond seeing DVDs for the TV series in my favorite
anime store. So I have no clue as to what it's all about, beyond
absurdly cute hamsters doing things. Not what I grew up with, but I
suppose it's decent for kids. At least, that's the impression I get
from this game.
The game begins with Hamtaro, the main... Ham-Ham (as they call
themselves), dreaming of a hamster in a devil's costume ruining
people's relationships. When he awakes, he finds out that there
seems to be some trouble with other hamsters, that his girlfriend
Bijou is missing... and the klutz ruins his dictionary of Ham-Ham
words, meaning you'll have to relearn your native language.
As you do this, and repair the problems in various relationships,
you find the devil hamster, named Spat, and you also run across his
cherubic counterpart Harmony. Hamtaro's goal (and Bijou's, once they
are reunited) is to mend the problems Spat has caused and make their
fellow Ham-Hams happy.
It's interesting to note that this game is essentially a dating
simulator, where you try to set up a "perfect date." Since none have
really ever been released here before, it's an interesting first. Of
course, it is a bit of a relief to see that it's a children's game,
and thus more innocent, than many of the dating simulators made.
The problem is, though, in the gameplay. In order to repair the
relationships, you have to say the proper Ham-Ham word. However,
unless you've lucked out and already acquired it, you'll have to go
back and find where the word is learned, and then return to use it.
In other words, you are dealing with a linguistic fetch quest.
Moreover, you are often left to guess which word is correct to use,
and you seldom are given direction as to where to learn it.
Honestly, I became frustrated with this aimless search several times
during play.
Honestly, I'm a rather patient fellow, especially with video games.
When I start to lose my patience with a game, that's a very bad
sign. This game is directed towards a younger crowd than me, one
that hasn't quite developed the patience an adult has. I often don't
mind spending an hour or so pushing my way through a game for a
single goal that isn't even the main goal of the game, but I nearly
got fed up several times playing this. How do you think a child will
take this?
The amount of reading will discourage some as well. This game relies
on reading skills alot, perhaps even more so than Pokemon because it
requires that you flip back and forth between the Ham-Ham dictionary
to figure out what everyone is saying. Given how cute the hamsters
of the game are, though, I can easily see this attracting the
attention of what is often termed "the Sesame Street crowd," who
honestly won't be able to play it because they can't read that well
yet.
They will honestly just have to appreciate the graphics. Nintendo
has made them bold and bright, easy to see in most circumstances
even on the basic Game Boy Advance. The animations are sharp, and
you really can't tell the difference between the hand-drawn stills
that I've seen and the pictures in the game. Further, everything
moves smoothly, and you never feel like they just lazily stuck
Hamtaro in some generic game, which happens sadly to way too many
children's cartoons. Visually, fans of the series will not be
disappointed.
Aurally, however, is another question. While the various Game Boys
have never been known for even mediocre sound, Hamtaro has some
rather annoying tunes. Moreover, the effects, associated with
animations for the Ham-Ham words, are nearly ear-splitting. "Heyhoo,"
to shout to someone, and "Hamha," to greet someone, are particularly
shrill. Naturally, they are two of the most commonly used words.
I've never been certain whether or not products made for children
have such sounds to drive parents crazy or not, but I suspect they
do.
The control is mostly solid, though there are some issues. For the
most part, it's pretty easy to guide Hamtaro and Bijou around, but
there are some parts where you have to be standing in just the right
place to advance the game. Sometimes, it's obviously marked, but
this isn't always the case. In Boo Manor, in particular, there is
one important part that is rather well hidden, and could be very
frustrating, especially to those without sharp eyes. The "hot spots"
to trigger certain events should have been larger.
One of the game's most notable problems is that it is clearly aimed
for the younger crowd. Usually, Nintendo aims to make their games
accessible to everyone. Nobody misses out on Mario games, the
biggest Pokemon fans I've ever seen are my age, and the Zelda games
are still easy for kids to get into despite being a bit more mature.
However, Hamtaro is cute to the point of being saccharine, and the
game's basic and plodding pace will drive most older players batty.
Now, I'm sure that there are a few Hamtaro fans amongst the adults,
but they are the only ones above ten who'd enjoy this.
There are two mini-games, though, that are kid of fun. First, and
more simple, is the Photo Gallery. You can purchase outfits and
accessories in the game, and then dress up Hamtaro and Bijou and
place them into whatever scene you'd like. You can even set one of
your pictures as the "Press Start" screen at the beginning. This is
a neat little touch and allows you to exercise some creativity
within the confines of the game.
Another neat move is the HamJams option. You basically collect tunes
from within the game, and then select animations from the Ham-Ham
language to dance to it. Granted, you'll want to turn the sound off,
as I noted above, but it is interesting to actually rearrange the
animations however you'd like.
Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak is really for a specific audience. It's
for younger children with a good store of patience, and who are
willing to keep the sound down. Moreover, it is a nice and
non-violent alternative to many video games, something which is more
needed for the younger crowd. At the same time, I really wish it had
been made more accessible - cute without being cloying, tricky
without being frustrating, and so forth. While a decent intro to the
dating sim in the United States, it will require a lot of work before
this can ever catch on.
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