Sega Saturn de Hakken!! Tamagotchi Park

(セガサターンで発見!! たまごっちパーク)

Page contents last updated on November 14, 2023

Sega Saturn
Virtual Pet
  • NA: N/A
  • JP: January 29, 1998
  • EU: N/A
Ancient / Bandai

Click on images to enlarge.

Sometime in 2022, I imported a Japanese saturn game lot and this game was pretty much the reason that I did. I mean, how could I pass up a game that looks like that? I've never seen a Sega Saturn game come in a bigger box like this one does. While I believe that I have everything that this game is supposed to include, I'm not 100% certain. The larger box was necessary in order to accomodate the pearlescent pink backup cartridge bundled with the game.

From what I've read online, this backup cartridge is pre-formatted with some kind of save data. If this data is deleted somehow, then you can no longer write your tamagotchi park save to the cartridge. So uh, I hope that's still there.

I haven't been able to test this, which is disappointing. I really wanted to try this game out (knowing full well I wouldn't be able to read any text). However, what I didn't consider after ordering the lot was that my Sega Saturn is a North American system. This means that I need to have the action replay cartridge inserted in order to play games from other regions. I need the action replay cartridge in order to play the game, but I need the backup cartridge to save my game. I mean, I guess I could technically start the game up, but what's the point of a tomagotchi game if I can't save it?

Wait... can you hot-swap Sega Saturn cartridges? Hold up I might actually need to look this up. If so I might be able to just boot the game using the action replay, but then insert the backup cartridge once I'm in.

So, from what I've found online, hot-swapping Sega Saturn cartridges does not seem like a good idea and might even damage the system. Roger that. Oh well, guess I'll have to get my hands on a Japanese saturn or mod my American unit if I want to properly play the game.

While I haven't yet attempted to play this game, I imagine that it involves caring for and playing with virtual critters. The word "park" in the title leads me to assume that it's on a larger scale, possibly something like the chao gardens in the Sonic Adventure games? One of these days I'll have to find out. For now it just looks nice on the shelf.