We recently got our first hands-on look at Tamagotchi Party On! for Wii, a party game (hence the name), where up to four players fight in a popularity contest to become the president of Tamagotchi Planet. The competition is set up board game style, with players rolling dice by flicking the Wii Remote, then moving their Tamagotchis on the playing board.
At the start of each game, players can choose how many "days," or rounds, they want the campaign to last, depending on how long they want to play. Whoever has the most Popularity points at the end of the campaign will be declared the president of Tamagotchi Planet. Then the reign of tyranny and oppression can finally begin! Or maybe you can just shake hands and start the whole thing over again.
The board has three main types of squares to land on: minigames, Gotchi games, and Event squares. Minigames make up the bulk of the game, allowing you to earn popularity points depending on how well you perform.
There are 15 minigames in all, which range from watering plants to racing cars, all of which loosely tie-in to the overall theme of boosting your image in the eyes of the Tamagotchi citizens.
Gotchi games, which are shorter and less involved, let you accumulate funds for your campaign. Similar to the Corner Shop games for DS, earning Gotchi in Party On! allows you to buy cute accessories for your Tamagotchi, like clothes and decorations.
Unlike Corner Shop, however, the accessories you spoil your Tamagotchi with will actually affect the gameplay. The Gotchi you pour into your campaign headquarters, and the cool swag you buy for you buddy will translate later into Popularity point bonuses.
Event squares are similar to landing on Community Chest in Monopoly. A random, non-interactive event will occur, and you'll either gain or lose Popularity or Gotchi depending on what happens (example: You helped the children cross the street! Earned 50 Popularity points).
