Table of Contents
Tamagotchi Ocean (Oceangotchi)
The Tamagotchi Ocean, released by Bandai in March 1998 in Japan and later in August in the USA, brought an aquatic twist to the popular Tamagotchi franchise. Known by various names including “Umi de Hakken! Tamagotchi” (meaning “Ocean Discovery! Tamagotchi”), “Oceangotchi,” and “Umino Tamagotchi,” this device immersed users in an underwater world of digital creatures.
It featured a motion sensor, reminiscent of the Tamagotchi Angel, which players could use to ward off lurking predators. The Ocean introduced Sakanatchi, water-dwelling Tamagotchi based on various aquatic lifeforms that had previously appeared in Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi 2.
Notably, this iteration presented a significant spike in difficulty compared to its predecessors. Bandai intentionally designed the Ocean to be so challenging that players would typically struggle to raise their Tamagotchi beyond childhood.
This release marked a significant moment in Tamagotchi history, as it became the final English Tamagotchi toy before Bandai halted production in America, canceling the planned Tamagotchi Garden. The brand would not see a revival until the launch of the Tamagotchi Connection in 2004, making the Ocean a unique capstone to the original era of Tamagotchi.
Story
The Tamagotchi Ocean is approximately 3,720,00 kilometers deep. It is on the world of Tamagotchi. It seems that the Tamagotchi Ocean does not contain salt water but juice and Tamagotchi soda water. The Tamagotchi Ocean floor is like the planet and has beautiful scenery. They have great surfing in the Tamagotchi Ocean. The main staple is Pickles. I have no idea why! In the Tamagotchi Ocean, there are Bugs Island, Summer Winter Island, and Lazy Island. – Bandai
While I don’t have definitive information about the exact in-game backstory for the Tamagotchi Ocean, I can offer a probable scenario based on typical Tamagotchi narratives and the ocean theme. Here’s what the backstory might have been:
The game likely takes place in a fictional underwater world where Tamagotchi creatures known as Sakanatchi live. The backstory might involve:
- A mysterious egg (the Tamagotchi) discovered in the depths of the ocean.
- You’re tasked with hatching and raising this unique sea creature.
- The ocean environment is filled with both friendly sea life and potential predators.
- Your Sakanatchi must grow and evolve, learning to survive in this challenging aquatic ecosystem.
- The ultimate goal might be to help your Sakanatchi reach adulthood and perhaps become a guardian of the ocean.
The game’s high difficulty could be explained in the story as the harsh realities of ocean life, where only the most well-cared-for creatures survive to adulthood.
Keep in mind that this is a speculative backstory based on common themes in Tamagotchi and the ocean setting. The actual in-game story might have varied.
Watch a video unboxing of Tamagotchi Ocean:
Timeline
Bandai started working on Tamagotchi Ocean near the end of 1997. They wanted to make new kinds of Tamagotchi with different themes. For this one, they chose an underwater theme because people like sea animals and oceans. The Bandai workers first thought up new sea animal characters and planned how they would grow up. Then they made new ways to play with the Tamagotchi that fit the ocean idea.
For example, you could feed your pet sea food and play games with water. It was hard for them to make the usual Tamagotchi care work for underwater pets, but they wanted to keep it fun like the first Tamagotchi. They also had to make new pictures for the small screen to show it was underwater, like bubbles and waves.
The Bandai team worked on how the toy would look, too. They tried using blue colors and wave designs to make it look like the ocean. They made and tested many versions to get it just right.
By June 1998, they finished making Tamagotchi Ocean 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.
Trivia
1. When the Tamagotchi Ocean came out in English, the ads and instructions said it would have different characters and 3 secret ones compared to the Japanese version. But this wasn’t true: the English one was the same as the Japanese one with only 1 secret character called Ningyotchi.
2. In the Japanese version, a special character called Koinoboritchi would show up at 5:05 am if the lights were on. This didn’t happen in the American version. But in both versions, the toy stops working for one minute at 5:05 am no matter if the lights are on or off.
3. The Tamagotchi Ocean was only the second Tamagotchi where the baby pet doesn’t take naps. The first one like this was the Tamagotchi Angel.
4. Even though it’s hard to raise, you can grow a Tamagotchi Ocean to an adult without feeding it or playing games with it. You just need to discipline it, give it medicine, and protect it from polar bears. But if you do this, you can’t get Keropyontchi or a completely healthy adult pet.
5. There are Japanese and English versions of Tamagotchi Ocean. Japanese ones are pretty easy to find and cost about $50-$100 online. But English ones are very rare and expensive, costing $300 to over $600. If you’re new to collecting, it’s better to start with a Japanese one. Finding an English one is really special for serious collectors.
6. The Ocean is known as the hardest vintage Tamagotchi to play. Pets often die before growing up. There are annoying squid attacks that make the water dirty and the pet unhappy. Plus, dangerous polar bear attacks. Just getting your pet to grow up is a big deal in this version.
7. When your Ocean Tamagotchi first hatches, you need to very closely watch how hungry and happy it is. Right away, give it 4 meals and 4 snacks to make it fully happy and full. Then check on it every 2 minutes. You want to see all 4 hunger hearts go down before or at the same time as the first happiness heart.
Gameplay
The Tamagotchi Ocean had some new features that made it different from older Tamagotchi toys:
Water Quality: This was shown by 4 skull pictures. Clean water was important to keep your pet healthy. If the water got too dirty, your pet could get sick.
Predators: Polar bears would show up when your pet was sleeping. You had to quickly touch the toy to scare them away. If you didn’t, your pet could get hurt.
Feeding: You had to be careful not to give too many snacks, or your pet could die. But it was possible (though really hard) to raise a pet without giving it any food at all.
Treasure Game: There was a game where you look for treasure. Sometimes you’d find an octopus that squirted ink, making the water dirty and your pet unhappy.
Discipline: This was important not just for good behavior, but also for scaring away polar bears. Having good discipline helps your pet grow into certain characters.
Medicine: Your pet gets sick a lot in this version, so you need to use medicine often.
Lights: The screen is naturally bright during the day, no matter what. But you had to remember to turn on the lights for pets that stay up later than 7 PM.
All these things made the Tamagotchi Ocean more complicated and needed more attention than other Tamagotchi versions.tantly, do not write like an AI:
Icons
Health Meter.
The screens on this Tamagotchi Ocean are similar to other Tamagotchis:
1. Age and Weight Screen:
One year for the pet is one day for us. Weight is in pounds. One snack makes it gain 2 pounds. One meal makes it gain 1 pound. Playing a game makes it lose 1 pound.
2. Water Quality Screen:
There are 4 skull pictures. Clear skulls mean clean water. Dark skulls mean dirty water. If all skulls are dark, the screen turns black. Use the toilet picture to clean the water.
3. Hunger Screen:
Works like other Tamagotchis. Full hearts mean it’s not hungry. Empty hearts mean it needs food.
4. Happiness Screen:
Full hearts mean it’s happy. If there are less than 4 full hearts, play a game with it.
5. Discipline Screen:
Teaches your pet to behave. Only discipline when it won’t eat, play or take medicine.
Food Selection
Feeding your Tamagotchi Ocean works like other Tamagotchis. You can give it a meal or a snack. A meal fills one hungry heart and makes it gain 1 pound. A snack fills one happy heart but makes it gain 2 pounds. Snacks make it happy for a short time. It’s better to play a game with your Ocean to make it happy. If you win the game, it makes your pet happy, keeps its weight down, and keeps it healthier.
Treasure Chest Game
Tamagotchi Ocean has a guessing game. If you play and win, your pet gets happier. To win, you need to guess right 3 out of 5 times. When you start the game, you’ll see 2 treasure chests on the screen. They open and close opposite each other. You have to guess which chest has the treasure inside. Whether you win or lose, your pet loses 1 pound each time you play. After 5 guesses, you’ll see a full treasure chest in the middle of the screen. In the bottom right corner, you’ll see how many times you guessed right. Your pet will look happy if you won, or sad if you lost. Then the game starts over. When you want to stop playing, just press the “C” button.
Bathroom
The toilet icon on your Tamagotchi Ocean has 2 jobs. First, it cleans up after your pet goes to the bathroom. Second, it cleans the water. When the skull pictures get dark, it means the water is dirty. You use this toilet picture to flush the screen and clean the water. You might need to flush a few times to make all the skulls clear again.
Calling Box
Here’s a simpler version in paragraph form:
This icon does 2 important things. First, it’s for discipline. If your pet won’t eat when it’s hungry, won’t play games, or won’t take medicine when it’s sick, you use this icon to teach it to behave better. When you do this, your pet gets 2 marks on its discipline meter. The second job of this picture is to scare away predators. Sometimes your pet will beep, and you’ll see a predator on the left side of the screen. When this happens, tap the screen until the predator goes away. If you don’t scare the predator off, it could hurt your pet or even kill it. If your pet does get attacked, check its health right after and take care of it if needed.
Medicine
This icon works like it does in other Tamagotchi versions. If you see a skull in the top right corner of the screen and your pet looks sad, it means it’s sick. To help your pet, find this medicine picture and press the “B” button when it’s lit up. This gives your pet medicine to try and make it feel better. Sometimes your Ocean pet might need more than one dose of medicine to get well. When your pet is all better, it will make a beeping sound and look happy again.
Light
The light switch on your Tamagotchi Ocean works like in other Tamagotchi releases, but with slight differences. Turn off the lights when your pet sleeps at night for a good rest. Your Ocean pet also takes short naps during the day, and you should turn off the lights, too. Be careful, though, your pet might get attacked while napping during the day. If this happens, you need to wake it up using the calling picture we talked about before. Always keep an eye on your pet, even when it’s sleeping!
Attention
The attention icon on your Tamagotchi Ocean lights up for several important reasons. It might mean your pet is being attacked, is very hungry or unhappy, needs discipline, or that the water is very dirty. Whenever you see this picture light up, it’s a signal that your pet needs your help right away. You should check on it and figure out what kind of care it needs.
Characters
| Character | Artwork | Sprite | Growth Stage | Sleep | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raisable Characters | ||||||
| Planktontchi |  |  | Baby | N/A | The baby Tamagotchi comes out of its egg. It changes into its next form after 55 minutes. | |
| Kuragetchi |  |  | Child | 7pm – 9am | Tamagotchi grows from Planktontchi. It changes again after being awake for 22 hours. | |
| Otototchi |  |  | Teen | 9pm – 9am | Grows from Kuragetchi. You need to discipline it most of the time when it misbehaves. It changes again after being awake for 23 hours. | |
| Kingyotchi |  |  | Teen | 8pm – 10am | Grows from Kuragetchi. You should not discipline it much when it misbehaves. It changes again after being awake for 16 hours. | |
| Keropyontchi |  |  | Adult | 9pm – 8am | Grows from Otototchi. You need to take perfect care of it the whole time. | |
| Taiyakitchi |  |  | Adult | 8pm – 9am | Grows from either Otototchi or Kingyotchi. If it starts as Otototchi:
If it starts as Kingyotchi:
| |
| Kaitchi |  |  | Adult | 6pm – 10am | Grows from either Otototchi or Kingyotchi. Don’t discipline it much, or at all, when it misbehaves. It changes again after being awake for 19 hours. | |
| Kujiratchi |  |  | Adult | 8 pm – 9 am | Grows from either Otototchi or Kingyotchi. When it’s ready to evolve, it needs to weigh 99 grams. | |
| Ashigyotchi |  |  | Adult | 10 pm – 11 am | Grows from Kingyotchi. At evolution, the water is completely dirty. | |
| Ningyotchi |  |  | Special | 8 pm | ||
| Non-Raisable Characters | ||||||
| Koinoboritchi |  |  | Secret screen | N/A | On the Japanese version, a special character shows up at 5:05 in the morning, but only if the light is on. While this special character is on the screen, you can’t do anything. | |
| Polar Bear |  |  | Predator | N/A | Every 50 minutes, when your pet is sleeping, something dangerous shows up. This doesn’t happen when your pet is a baby. If you don’t stop these attacks, your pet could get hurt or even die. | |
| Octopus |  |  | Predator | N/A | Sometimes when you play the treasure game, you might find a mean octopus in one of the chests. When this happens, the game stops right away. It makes your pet very unhappy and makes the water really dirty. | |
Instruction Manual
Growth Chart
GROWTH STAGES
Baby Stage (Planktontchi):- Heart rate loss ratio should be 3:1 or greater (4:1 is better), otherwise reset.
- When you set the time for hatching, set it at X:51 (X – actual hour). This reduces the amount of time before teen evolution.
- When sick, no more than 2 shots to heal, otherwise reset.
Toddler Stage (Kuragetchi):- 49 hours (starting from the top of the coming hour) to evolve into a teen.
- Ignore 2 discipline calls to get the bad care teen, Kingyotchi.
Teen Stage:
Otototchi (good care teen) takes 47 hours to evolve into an adult.
Kingyotchi (bad care teen) takes 30 hours or 16 awake hours to evolve into an adult .
Note: Before evolution, 4 illnesses at any stage with more than 6 hours left equals death.
Adults:
Keropyontchi: Perfect care all the way.
Taiyakitchi: Slightly imperfect care of good teen, or perfect care of bad teen.
Ashigyotchi: Bad teen plus completely dirty water 10 minutes before evolution.
Kujiratchi: Bad teen plus feed snacks until weight is 99, 10 minutes before evolution
Kaitchi: Bad teen plus ignore as many discipline calls as possible. Figure out when evolution will occur and make it so that 1 or less hearts are full at evolution.
NINGYOTCHI (Special Character)- It takes 49 hours plus 12 minutes for Kaitchi (clam) to evolve into Ningyotchi (mermaid).
- Once you have Kaitchi, take perfect care. Keep weight between 10-12, no successful attacks, all discipline calls answered, hearts full, etc.
- Path to Ningyotchi: Planktontchi – Kuragetchi – Kingyotchi – Kaitchi – Ningyotchi.
SLEEP TIMES
- Planktontchi: N/A
- Ningyotchi: 8 pm – 9 am
- Kuragetchi: 7 pm – 9 am
- Kaitchi: 6 pm – 10 am
- Ototochi: 9 pm – 9 am
- Taiyakitchi: 8 pm – 9 am
- Keropyontchi: 9 pm – 8 am
- Ashigyotchi: 10 pm – 11 am
- Kujiratchi: 8 pm – 9 am
- Kingyotchi: 8 pm – 10 am
