It’s a real shame that games designed for kids often aren’t considered ‘prestigious’, because many of them are gems that have great lessons to teach all ages. The Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop series is the perfect example of why games designed for kids should be treated with more respect.
Now, it’s been over a decade since these games were released for the
Games of the
You play the game, and you can take it for what it is: a cute little mini-game collection with no strings attached. It’s just good, clean fun that anyone can dive into and enjoy.
Games sure have changed over the last decade, and games for kids may have changed the most. While console gaming is still popular and the Switch is holding the fort for handheld gaming, the kids of today are more likely to be familiar with apps and free to play games with in-game purchases, rather than neat mini-game collections like this one.
Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop represents a happier time in games, where everything was a bit simpler. Sure, that’s probably the rose-coloured glasses speaking, but it’s hard not to feel like we’re missing pure and wonderful little gems like Corner Shop in modern console offerings.
The basic premise of the Corner Shop series is simple: you play as an unseen helper enabling a young Tamagotchi to live out their dreams of opening a retail store.
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There are several stores to choose from, and plenty of fun activities to play through in your quest for retail supremacy. You can open a flower shop, a doctor’s office, a burger joint, a bowling bar, a jewellery store, a takoyaki bar, and even a hot spring.
Each shop comes with its own little mini-game where players can cook, arrange, design or create things for each Tamagotchi who comes to visit. The whole thing plays out in tiny little conversations where Tamagotchis make bleeps and blurbles that really warm the soul.
As you fulfil Tamagotchi requests, your shops will expand and you’ll get new visitors and new shop options in the overworld. You’ll also be able to decorate your personal Tamagotchi space and dress up your characters as you play, making it a fun little dollhouse to play around in.
While the target audience for the game is absolutely children, it’s the kind of game that adults would enjoy, too. With its cutesy drawn style, great soundbites and relaxing gameplay, it’s the kind of game that really tickles your brain while letting you completely relax.
It’s hard to switch off in today’s all-digital world, but Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop is so wholesome, simple, and engaging that it’s easy to sit down with the game and forget about everything that’s happened in the world lately.
There’s plenty to do, fun characters to meet, and a heap of activities to unlock along the way.
It’s not a particularly difficult game, but that’s what makes it so fun. No matter how you perform in mini-games, the Tamagotchis are happy that you tried. And as you progress through quests, you unlock more and more of the game’s wholesome little world.
While some are quick to dismiss ‘kids games’, there’s plenty like Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop which remain fun and exciting, even as an adult. If you’re looking to kick back and really relax, pick up a game from this iconic Nintendo DS franchise and let your troubles melt away.
Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop 1, 2 and 3 are available for
You can check out some gameplay footage from our pals over at IGN below:
This article has been retimed to celebrate the news of a new Tamagotchi game on Apple Arcade.
