Mori no Tamagotchi

The Mori no Tamagotchi was released in 1998. An English version referred to as the Tamagotchi Garden was in the works, but was never released.

The Mori no is a nice change in pace from higher-maintenance pets like the Umi no. Even in its newly-hatched state, it's not very needy.

After setting the time, you're given a choice of two eggs, a spotted one and a white one.

The white egg functions like a normal Tamagotchi, with its growth based on the way you raise it. The spotted egg only grows into a single adult character. The goal with this one is to raise it to be as large as possible, with a new length meter being added to the status screen.

The slight button delay from the P1 and P2 can be found in this version as well, but it doesn't bother me as much in this version.

The Hungry and Happy hearts have been replaced with leaves, a nice attention to detail.

The food menu differs a little in this version from other vintage Tamagotchis. After it grows into the child-stage or higher, you gain the ability to feed it different types of food which change throughout the day. Different foods will have different effects on its happiness, weight, and overall growth. It's actually good to raise your character's weight as much as possible, as it can help result in better characters.

The teen-stage has been replaced by a cocoon-stage, which the Tamagotchi will stay in for 24 hours. During this time, checking the status screen allows you to adjust the temperature- keeping it mostly cold will result in different characters than if it is kept mostly hot and humid. Don't let it stay in extreme temperatures for too long though, or it may result in an early death.

This Tamagotchi has an 'overhead' view of your little creature, showing it flying around between two trees during the day, and staying still when its asleep. If you leave your pet alone for a few seconds, it will flip over to this screen automatically, and there's no way to prevent this. Scrolling through the menu will bring up a full view of your pet again.

The game is pretty fun, you're given four different cups and you have to guess which cup a leaf is hidden under. There are only four rounds, and you only have to guess right twice to win.

The Mori no contains the same predator features as the Umi no. Sometimes it'll be a frog, and other times it'll be a foot coming down trying to crush your little bug. Like with the Umi no, you have to press the left button and tap on the side of the toy to scare it away.

If you fail to save it in time, you'll see your pet wrapped up in bandages and leaning on a cane. Cute, but also very sad. Heal it with the medicine icon.

This Tamagotchi is very relaxing. It's easy to care for, and sort of reminds me of collecting and playing with bugs when I was young. It's easy to care for even when you don't have a lot of time on your hands, and is one I think I can see myself using for a long time.

Further Reading:
Thoughts on the Mori no Tamagotchi
Mori no Tamagotchi Growth Chart