Table of Contents
Morino Tamagotchi (Forestgotchi)
The Morino Tamagotchi, also known as Mori de Hakken! Tamagotchi (森で発見！たまごっち) or Forestgotchi, is a unique entry in the Tamagotchi lineup. Released by Bandai in February 1998, this bug-themed Tamagotchi brought a fresh perspective to the franchise. The name “Mori de Hakken!” translates to “Forest Discovery!” in English. It features Mushitchi, forest-dwelling Tamagotchi based on various insect lifeforms that had previously appeared in Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi 2.
Interestingly, an American release titled the Tamagotchi Garden was planned for summer 1998, but it was ultimately canceled, making the Morino a sought-after item for international Tamagotchi enthusiasts and collectors.
Story
There’s a special forest on Tamagotchi Planet called Mushitchi Forest. It’s full of little bug-like creatures called Mushitchi. These critters are really good at hiding. They can blend in with leaves, grass, and even go underground.
But there’s a problem. Other Tamagotchi creatures come into the forest and sometimes step on the Mushitchi by accident because they can’t see them. That’s where you come in. You have a special toy called a Morino Tamagotchi. Your job is to take care of a young Mushitchi. You need to help it grow up healthy and strong, and keep it safe from getting hurt.
As you play, you’ll learn about life in Mushitchi Forest. The choices you make will affect how well your little Mushitchi does. Can you help it grow up to be tough enough to survive in the forest? It’s all up to you and your Tamagotchi!
Watch a video introduction to Morino Tamagotchi:
Design
The Morino Tamagotchi looks like the regular Tamagotchi releases most people know. It’s the same size and shape. In Japan, Bandai made 4 different designs for the Morino. Each one had pictures of the forest on it. They planned to make 4 designs for English-speaking countries, too, but they never actually made them.
The Morino is special, like some other Tamagotchi toys such as the Angel, Ocean, and TamaOtch. It has something called a sound sensor. This means the toy can hear noises around it, like tapping or yelling. This fits with the forest theme of the Morino. You can use these noises to scare away animals that might hurt your Tamagotchi in the game.
Icons
From Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
- Health Meter: Looks like a scale. Press “B” to see how hungry your pet is. Press “A” to see how happy it is. Instead of hearts, it uses leaves. Press “A” again to see your pet’s age and weight.
- Feed: Looks like a partly-eaten apple. Press “B” to see food choices. Use “A” to pick food, then “B” to feed your pet. Your pet might refuse to eat if it’s not hungry.
- Play: Looks like a little hat. It’s a guessing game. Try to guess which cup is hiding a leaf. Pick from 4 choices. You need to guess right 2 out of 4 times to win.
- Bathroom: Looks like a toilet. Sometimes your pet will use the bathroom. Press “B” to clean up.
- Predator: Looks like a box with a “?” on it. When something tries to hurt your pet, this lights up. Tap the screen or make noise to scare the attacker away.
- Medicine: Looks like a dark leaf with a white cross. Use this when your pet is sick. Give medicine until the skull on the screen goes away.
- Light: Shows a sun and moon. When your pet is tired and you see a “Z”, use this to turn off the lights so it can sleep.
- Attention: Looks like a pac-man with antennae. This lights up when your pet needs something like food, play, sleep, or if a predator is near.
Timeline
Bandai started working on Morino Tamagotchi near the end of 1997. They wanted to make new kinds of Tamagotchi with different themes. For this one, they chose a forest theme because people like nature and bugs. The Bandai workers first thought up new characters based on insects and plants. This was very different from the animal-like pets in older Tamagotchis.
Then they planned how these new characters would grow up and made new ways to play with them that fit the forest idea. It was hard for them to make the usual Tamagotchi care work for forest pets, but they wanted to keep it fun like the first Tamagotchi.
The Bandai team worked on how the toy would look, too. They tried using green colors and leaf designs to make it look like the forest. They made and tested many versions to get it just right.
By July 1998, they finished making Morino Tamagotchi and started selling it in Japan. After that, they worked on making it fit for other countries, like changing the words to different languages. They started selling it in other countries later in 1998.
Gameplay
The Mori de Hakken! Tamagotchi game lets you pick between 2 eggs at the start: white or black with spots. Each egg takes 3 minutes to hatch, and then the pet inside grows up in different ways. How long your pet lives depends on what kind of adult it becomes. The older ones need more care and can die easier if attacked by predators.
White eggs hatch into Babymotchi, which turns into Imotchi after 12 hours of being awake. Imotchi then makes a cocoon (called Mayutchi) based on how much it weighs. After 24 hours, an adult comes out of the cocoon.
It’s really important to keep the cocoon at the right temperature. If it gets too hot or cold, your pet could die. What kind of adult you get depends on how fast your pet gained weight and how warm or cool the cocoon was. If you keep the temperature in the middle, sometimes Mayutchi turns back into Imotchi. If this happens, you might get a special pet called Helmetchi when it makes a cocoon again.
The spotted eggs start as Imotchi right away. After 1-4 days, it turns into Mayutchi. If you keep the temperature just right, it becomes Kabutotchi a day later. This different way of growing up makes the game more interesting.
When your pet is in its cocoon, you can’t play with it like usual. You have to use the Meter picture to change how hot or cold the cocoon is. You need to be careful about this, because along with how much your pet weighs, it decides what kind of adult you get if you started with a white egg.
The Morino Tamagotchi has a special way to set the clock that also lets you pause the game. When you change the time, your pet’s needs stop, so you can take a break.
One cool thing about the Morino is that it can zoom in and out. The screen switches between a close-up view of your Mushitchi and a view where it looks like a tiny dot among trees.
The Meter feature shows you how your pet is doing. It tells you how hungry and happy it is, how old it is, and how much it weighs in milligrams. If you have a Kabutotchi, you also get to see how long it is in millimeters. It’s important to check this often to take good care of your pet and help it grow up the way you want.
How much your pet weighs is really important in the Morino. It changes when your pet grows up and what kind of adult it becomes. There’s no regular “Snack” option, so you have to be careful about how much you feed your pet and how much you play games with it to keep its weight right.
There are 4 different foods you can give your pet. Each one affects how hungry, happy, and heavy your pet is in different ways. Some foods are special for certain types of pets. Kabutotchi even has a food that shows up randomly and makes it grow longer.
The game on the Morino is about finding a leaf under one of 4 hats. It’s fun and makes your pet happier while helping it lose weight. There’s also a special feature where you have to protect your pet from predators when you see the “? Box” icon.
Unlike other Tamagotchis, Morino pets don’t get sick on their own, but they can get hurt by predators. You can use the medicine icon to heal them. If you don’t, they might die. The light icon helps your pet sleep, and using it right keeps you from making mistakes in caring for your pet.
The attention icon lets you know when your pet needs something, but you can’t do anything with it directly. When your pet dies, you see a special bug-like Obaketchi. The Morino also lets you turn the sound on and off and tells you when the battery is low, which makes it easy to use.
Characters
| Name | Artwork | Sprite | Stage | Mayutchi Tier | Evolution Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babymotchi |  |  | Baby | Your pet comes out of a white egg. It takes 3 minutes for the egg to crack open and your pet to appear. | |
| Imotchi |  |  | Child | Your pet grows from Babymotchi into its next form after 24 hours. This happens if it came from a white egg. If your pet came from an egg with spots (polka dots), it just hatches from that egg and doesn’t change from Babymotchi first. | |
| Mayutchi |  |  | Cocoon | Your pet grows from Imotchi to its next form when it weighs 40 mg or more. This form is in between being a kid and an adult. It’s like a teenager. After 24 hours in this form, your pet becomes an adult. | |
| Kabutotchi |  |  | Adult | If your pet came from an egg with spots (polka dots), it grows from Imotchi to its next form no matter how much it weighs or how hot or cold it is. | |
| Koganetchi |  |  | Adult | Mayutchi A | To raise your pet well, help it weigh 40mg by the time it’s 4 days old. Also, keep its cocoon warm. The temperature should be high. |
| Tentotchi |  |  | Adult | To take good care of your pet, help it weigh 40mg by the time it’s 4 days old. But keep its cocoon cool. The temperature should be low. | |
| Chobitamatchi |  |  | Adult | Mayutchi B | If you don’t take good care of your pet, it will weigh 40mg when it’s 4 days old. If you take good care of it, it will weigh 40mg when it’s only 3 days old. Either way, keep its cocoon warm. The temperature should be high. |
| Minotchi |  |  | Adult | If you don’t take good care of your pet, it will weigh 40mg when it’s 4 days old. If you take good care of it, it will weigh 40mg when it’s only 3 days old. Either way, keep its cocoon cool. The temperature should be low. | |
| Mushibatchi |  |  | Adult | Mayutchi C | If you don’t take good care of your pet, it will weigh 40mg when it’s 3 days old. If you take good care of it, it will weigh 40mg when it’s only 2 days old. Either way, keep its cocoon warm. The temperature should be high. |
| Gejitchi |  |  | Adult | If you don’t take good care of your pet, it will weigh 40mg when it’s 3 days old. If you take good care of it, it will weigh 40mg when it’s only 2 days old. Either way, keep its cocoon cool. The temperature should be low. | |
| Funkorogatchi |  |  | Adult | Mayutchi D | If your pet doesn’t weigh 40mg by the time it’s 5 days old, it will turn into this type. Keep its cocoon warm. The temperature should be high. |
| Minotchi |  |  | Adult | If your pet doesn’t weigh 40mg by the time it’s 5 days old, it will turn into this type. Keep its cocoon cool. The temperature should be low. | |
| Twinaritchi |  |  | Special | ||
| Helmetchi |  |  | Special | To get this special pet, you need to do some tricky things. Only feed it candy. Help it weigh 40 mg by the time it’s 3 days old, then keep its weight between 40 and 49 mg. Keep its cocoon at a medium temperature – not too hot, not too cold. Your pet will then change back to Imotchi. After that, make its weight go below 40 mg. Then, you’ll need to repeat the first few steps to get Mayutchi again. It’s a bit complicated, but if you follow these steps, you can get this unique pet. |
Growth Chart
Trivia
1. The Tamagotchi Garden holds a unique place in Tamagotchi history as one of only 2 known cancelled releases, sharing this distinction with the Tamagotchi Music Star: World Tour Edition. This intriguing device made an appearance at the 1998 Toy Fair. Despite its public showcase, no photographs of the units have surfaced, leaving fans and collectors to wonder about its design and features.
2. The Morino Tamagotchi stands out with its unique weight management system, where higher weight is beneficial. One egg option leads to an adult character that requires increasing length rather than just weight. For the first egg choice, cocoon temperature management is crucial in determining the final character.
