From the moment I started Tamagotchi Plaza and the classic Corner Shop music blared, I was transported 20 years into the past, into a more comfortable, wholesome time with fewer responsibilities. Growing up with the Nintendo DS, the Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop games were among my very favorites. There was something in the simple, brain-tickling setup of each Tamagotchi shop, and how little the quirky mini-games demanded of you.
As a humble Tamagotchi friend, you simply enter a bright little world and set about helping Tamagotchis by completing an array of tasks for them, in shops designed to meet their needs. Tamagotchi Plaza is so nostalgic for how it replicates that formula, only making small tweaks to expand gameplay. In essence, this is a bright, lovely sequel to the Corner Shop series that does everything these games did, with all the modern bells and whistles. There’s a whole new array of shops in Plaza, each remixing familiar ideas.
A Modern Sequel with Classic Charm
In the Galette Shop, which is rather like the Takoyaki Shop of old, you listen to the requests of Tamagotchis and then create the savory treat of their dreams, placing salmon or onions on a batter, and then sizzling away. The Eyewear Shop became one of my favorites in my time with Tamagotchi Plaza, for the simple joy of picking out just the right pair of glasses to suit your next model, and then spending careful seconds carving away their frames.
There’s also some really fun new ideas in original shops, like the Rap Battle Shop – which is exactly what it sounds like. Here, you’re pitting rival Tamagotchis against each other in rap battles, timing beats to rap your opponents into submission. There’s an element of Tomodachi Life humor in these little asides, with raps being very cute, and very nonsensical.
Gameplay and Narrative: A Lighthearted Experience
What elevates Tamagotchi Plaza as a worthy sequel is there’s impetus for spending time in each of these shops and expanding their capabilities. Where previously, the Corner Shop series left you to motivate yourself onwards, Plaza is couched in a light narrative about a big celebration coming to the plaza. To ensure you can best serve guests and have this space represent the best of the Tamagotchi world, each shop must be significantly upgraded until you achieve Royal status.
You wouldn’t want to disappoint the tiny, cutesy Tamagotchi, now would you? So, you set about jumping into each shop and improving the town square, to ensure you’re realizing your wildest Tamagotchi dreams, to inhabit a town where every shop thrives, and every Tamagotchi is well-served.
Challenges and Puzzles
The narrative around the game is very loose and light-touch, and the explorable overworld is a little bit empty, but this doesn’t detract from the delights found elsewhere. Tamagotchi Plaza is all about quiet and calm, and having the space to relax in a cozy world. You can pick any shop at random and settle down for rounds of short, sweet mini-games with just the right amount of challenge.
In the Eyewear Shop, it’s all about listening to the desires of your Tamagotchi friends and choosing the glasses that will best serve them. If they say ‘black glasses’ you must interpret whether they mean frames or lenses, or both. In the Tailor Shop, it’s all about analyzing the image they give you, to create a garment that best reflects their vision.
Endearing Simplicity with a Nostalgic Touch
There are also more obtuse puzzles in Tamagotchi Plaza, with the Manga Shop and the Afternoon Tea Shop requiring you to undertake a process of trial and error as you determine exactly what your Tamagotchi friends want, and how you might best serve their needs. In the Afternoon Tea Shop, for example, drinks aren’t labeled – so when you get a request for a ‘bittersweet afternoon tea’ you must logically work out which tray table to place, which drinks to select, and which dessert to follow it all up with.
I much preferred the more visually-oriented puzzles like that of the Night Pool, where you simply shake up the drinks Tamagotchis want, and give them hats and flowers to make them happy. But with a level of difficulty in some of these shops, it does spice up the action and give room for more clever interpretation.
“Plaza is a game of tight little systems all working together, to create a joyous mini-game collection that brims with good vibes.”
For those who played the Corner Shop games, it’s a nostalgic return to a simpler time. For anyone who hasn’t, it’s an ultra-cozy experience with enough cuteness and novelty to be entirely endearing. Tamagotchi Plaza is just wonderful.
Four stars: ★★★★
Tamagotchi Plaza
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Developer: Hyde, Inc.
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release Date: 27 June 2025
