Top Secret ToysGiga Pet Virtual Pet for Kids Ages 5 and Up, 90s Throwback, Cryptids | 25th Anniversary Edition Upgraded Collector’s Edition | Kids Learn to Take Care of a Pet

While the inspiration is clear, this is not just another Tamagotchi rip off. In a lot of ways I prefer this giga pet over the comparable Tamagotchi originals. The two major things in my opinion are the games and the care mechanism.Let's be honest the Tama P1 & P2 only have one each, and P1 is entirely based on chance. The giga pet has 2 games for every life stage that are unique to each cryptid, and a special game for when you have a high care level as an adult cryptid. They are very entertaining and even require some skill. Some are easier than others, but they're all fun in their own way. This variety helps keep the care from becoming too repetitive.As far as the care mechanics there are several needs you need to meet: hunger, discipline, health, and happiness. Taking care of these needs can have a positive or negative affect on other needs. For example feeding the healthy food option improves hunger and health, while feeding a treat improves hunger and happiness, but decreases discipline. Bathing might increase health but decrease happiness. Playing games will increase happiness but decrease discipline. Some actions restore a more points than others, ie. Healthy food will increase more hunger than a treat, scolding your cryptid will increase more discipline than training, and games will increase more happiness than training, but the negative effects are greater too. I love this mechanic and it feels very dynamic and "realistic" in a way. BUT that doesn't mean the Tama Classic doesn't have it's own charm! You don't get to see any of your points or Care Mistakes with your Tama, and these invisible mistakes have a real effect on how your Tama evolves. Good care unlocks certain "prettier" tamas while poor care unlocks some very quirky characters. I like them both, but many people have preferences that they like to aim for. I like that sense of consequence, that feeling after a busy week not knowing what you're gonna get but feeling attached anyway. A visible consequence or reward for your diligence.Which brings me to my one major con with Giga Pets Cryptids: they don't die. If you fail to care for them they run away to the wilderness where you can catch them again at a later date with no consequences. They're still at the same life stage they they left in, and their stats are always at 50%. I don't have any other giga pets, so I don't know if it's the same across the line. It's something I didn't expect to miss, but I do.I'm clearly an adult, but as a 90s kid I have a long history with Tamagotchis. I remember the real life drama that was checking in on your Tama and finding out they had passed. It wasn't traumatic, but it did instill a real sense of responsibility. I cannot stress how cute these VPets are, and that cycle of care and growth until they're grown up and either die of old age or move out is very rewarding. You've evolved your Tama as a result of your care, and no matter how they turned out you've successfully done your "job" as a caretaker. And then you get to start again. The Cryptids don't die and so you never get to start from the baby stage (unless you reset the device, which is very easy to do). Essentially, you can keep your Cryptid forever. A pro and a con. We've all had beloved tamas leave before we were ready, and I love that the lifespan is essentially tied to the care mechanic. Better care = healthier tamas you can keep longer.The last major difference is in the pets themselves. With Tamagotchi you collect the different pets by completing their life cycle and starting over with a new egg. You only ever care for one pet at a time. But with the giga pets Cryptids you raise Bigfoot to adulthood and then you have the opportunity to catch Loch Ness or Mothman and once they grow up you can catch the final one. Once you have all three, you are essentially caring for 3 v pets at the same time. Comparing one pet each, the giga pets are generally easier to care for and much more forgiving. But when you have three it can be a lot, much harder than Tamagotchi in that case. I don't always run three at the same time, you can just neglect the others and they'll run away until you want to catch them again. I do wish there was more randomness to how you start. You always start with Bigfoot, and then get the opportunity to catch the others. I wish in addition with the death feature, it would be random which cryptid you start with. It would be a pleasant surprise. I also wish there was a positive and negative variation of each cryptid depending on your care. If these features were added, I feel like it would be the perfect v pet. That being said, there's no such thing as a perfect v pet and I understand that there are many people who would appreciate the lack of a death mechanic. However in my opinion I do feel it does a disservice to kids.All my life I've had a variety of real world pets, and in a way I do credit Tamagotchi for being my first pet at such a young age. It allowed me to experience the positives and the negatives of caring for a life, even if it was virtual. However as a game and a toy, both Tamagotchi and giga pets are excellent. And I've had a blast with these Cryptids over the last year. I will definitely be getting more gigapets, I'm currently eyeing the pixie because it's so cute.As a parent you can't go wrong with this giga pet, and as a collector I definitely think this is a must have!

Haven't gotten past the Big Foot yet but she's getting older and hasn't run away yet so there is hope to get a new pet added.Kids will love this. This 55 year old is loving it. lol But I must wear my glasses so don't give it to someone who can't see very well. It is very small.

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I love digital pets and cryptids so this thing is a dream come true. I even made a little protective mothman sweater for it. It’s a little glitchy when the sound is on, and the first battery doesn’t last too long, but the lil’ dude survives battery replacement which I’ve never seen before. I love all the cryptids in it, but Mothman is my favorite. The animations and games are super witty and cute. I’ve been caring for it since Christmas and it’s still delightful to me. I hope they do more shells with alternate designs or cases someday.

Works as expected. Only issue I've had was that the preinstalled battery only lasted two days but with a new battery have had no issues. Highly recommend.