Tamagotchi P2

The Tamagotchi was a small, key-chain-sized virtual pet first released in 1996, with the P2 being the second wave of the original Tamagotchi released in the United States.

The P2 Tamagotchi contained the same basic features as the original wave- the P1- but contained different characters and a different game.

Both have features that would be carried over to future Tamagotchi products:

• A screen for feeding it meals and snacks
• A light on/off function for when your pet falls asleep at night
• A game for raising happiness and lowering weight
• An icon to give it medicine if it gets sick
• A button to clean the screen when it makes a mess
•  A screen for checking the current character's weight, age, hunger, and happiness
• And an icon when it calls for unneeded attention

I was lucky enough to find my P2 in a second-hand shop, still in relatively good condition- albeit missing its stripes and the 'Tamagotchi' label on top.

Playing around with it for a while, raising it to the end of its life-cycle a few different times.

I found it to be a relatively quiet, low maintenance virtual pet. It wasn't hard to keep it alive despite having a busy college-schedule. I found I was able to care for it between classes without any trouble and sleep in on my less busy days and weekends and still have it be fine afterwards.

This Tamagotchi features many cute, classic characters; some that would go on to be featured in future versions of the virtual pet, and some that would only be featured here. Many of them are very cute, as well.

It only contains one game, a high-low game played with the first two buttons. If you think the number being displayed is higher than the next number your Tamagotchi will choose, press the left button. If you think it is lower, press the button in the middle. Guess right on at least three of the five rounds to win. Exit out by pressing the right button.

Despite its age, this is still a fun virtual pet. It doesn't have as many features as the later incarnations, but that is one of the toy's unique points. It doesn't take a lot of work to keep it happy and healthy, making it one of the better vintage Tamagotchis to play with if you don't have a lot of free time.

Pros:

• A nice beep volume, not too quiet and not too loud
• A fun and easy high-low game
• Many classic characters, some only featured here
• Basic and not very high-maintenance
• Sound on/off function

Cons:

• A little delay in hitting the buttons and it reacting
• Not as much space for the characters to move around as in later versions
• No true pause function, you have to 'pause' by sticking it in the time-set screen