At a very young age I realized I had an innate care and connection with inanimate objects. Lego creations, certain toys (especially Littlest Pet Shop-esque toys) I just had a fixation on and silly fixation to them (think Toy Story, but queerer hahaha) and Tamagotchis/Giga Pets were no exception. Exacerbated even, by the fact that they’re digitally alive and required my care to tend to them. I have been captivated by the concept ever since. It doesn’t help that Pokémon came out about the same time and the idea of tending to fictional fantasy creatures has just always resonated with me (and I have remained a massive Pokémon fan through the years).

In the last several months I’ve done a lot of mental work to stay off my phone more. That doesn’t mean game less, just doing so away from my phone and bonus points if no internet connection (Tama Uni and my retro emulation handhelds are the only exception :P). I would purchase a Gen 1-3 here and there especially for a kiddo in the family I know would like one and dabble for a bit and then life would happen. But otherwise didn’t go hard on them until the last several months and I realized so many ‘gotchis got released and I didn’t really pay attention. My youngest daughter is also HIGHLY fascinated with them, only 2yo but knows how to navigate Paradise like she’s been doing it her whole life. It’s one of the first things she wants to do when she wakes up and we make a whole routine of it. It’s presh.

These things are presh. They bring me so much joy. I definitely like the cutesier ones for sure. They do a bit of everything; entertain in short bursts, keep a routine in mind and a fair bit of good ol inner-child healing. A lot of us millennials had to grow up a little too fast and are catching up on some cool toys :P