Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak
Encyclopedia
is a Nintendo
video game for Game Boy Advance
and the sequel to Tottoko Hamutaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu (Japan only) and Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!
. Therefore, it was the second Hamtaro
-game released in America and Europe, but the third one in Japan. It was released in Japan on May 3, 2002, in the USA on April 8, 2003 and in Europe on June 27, 2003.
Like its predecessors, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak is an adventure game
. Set in the world of the Hamtaro
book
s and anime
, the player controls the hamster
("Ham-Ham", as the hamsters tend to call themselves) Hamtaro. Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak expands on the gameplay
of the earlier titles by adding Bijou, a friend of Hamtaro who has a crush on him, as partner. Together, they have to save the other ham-hams from Spat, an evil hamster with a hatred for any kind of relation.
After Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak, only one more Hamtaro adventure game was released: Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue
.
The game is mentioned in the Chronicle section of Super Smash Bros. Brawl
.
. A hamster
dressed in a black devil
costume
holding a trident
is destroying the relations of various hamsters. Then, the hamster notices Hamtaro and attempts to attack him. Hamtaro is awakened by Boss, to whom he tells his dream
. Hamtaro later finds Bijou, and the two of them must stop Spat and fix the problems he has made. Will the two lovebirds stop Spat or will he end love forever?
, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak features many characters (hamster anthropomorphs
) also seen in the book
s and anime
. Many of them need help,like Pashmina and Penelope, but some, like Boss and Snoozer, offer help. Apart from the main cast, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak also features several new Ham-Hams, often only seen in this game. Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreaks antagonist
, Spat, and his opponent
, Harmony, both are exclusive to this game.Still, hamster
s aren't the only characters in Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak as the game features other animals.
s are quite small, the world appears to be bigger. Sunflower
s, grass, acorn
s and human toy
s all are larger than they would've been from a human perspective
.
s, but also much more than that. At the start of the game, Hamtaro accidentally causes almost all the Ham-Chats in his Ham-Ham Dictionary
to vanish, starting the hunt to fill the dictionary. Each Ham-Chat represents both a word (for communicating) and an action and/or motion. For instance, Lookie means to look. It is one of the most common Ham-Chats in the game, and solely has an action function. In that sense, action Ham-Chats often come with the necessary item (which is part of the Ham-Chat motion and doesn't show up in the inventory
) and therefore, go another way than other adventure game
s in which the player already has all the actions available, but still has to get the required items. The other kind of Ham-Chat can only be used in conversation
s. A Ham-Chat like Perskie (Listen) for instance, only has value for conversations. New Ham-Chats are necessary to gain access to new parts of a conversation and get another Ham-Ham to do or give something.
Apart from Ham-Chats, the player also is required to obtain items (like a more conventional adventure game), though most of them are merely needed to complete minigame
s/side-quest. They are divided in inventory items, song
s, currency
and gems
. Inventory items function like they do in any other adventure game and need to be combined with the Ham-Chats in order to proceed.
As in its prequel, Ham-Hams Unite, this game allows you to put together the actions for Ham-Chat words to create dances, with a room just for this purpose in the Clubhouse. In Ham-Ham Heartbreak, however, there is an additional feature relating to "Ham-Jams."
You can pick up a variety of items such as sunflower seeds on the ground by selecting hif-hif or digging for them with digdig. Rocks can also be found in this game, but they serve a different purpose in Heartbreak. You can take the rocks and polish them in the RubRub Room in order to uncover gems.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
video game for Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
and the sequel to Tottoko Hamutaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu (Japan only) and Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!
Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!
is a Hamtaro adventure video game developed by Shogakukan and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 2001, and was later released in North America on October 28, 2002, and in Europe on January 10, 2003...
. Therefore, it was the second Hamtaro
Hamtaro
is a Japanese anime series. The main character is a hamster named Hamtaro who has a variety of adventures with other hamsters, called "Ham-Hams" . The show is based on a manga series by Ritsuko Kawai, Hamtaro Gets Lost and Other Stories, and Jealous Hamtaro and Other Stories...
-game released in America and Europe, but the third one in Japan. It was released in Japan on May 3, 2002, in the USA on April 8, 2003 and in Europe on June 27, 2003.
Like its predecessors, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak is an adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
. Set in the world of the Hamtaro
Hamtaro
is a Japanese anime series. The main character is a hamster named Hamtaro who has a variety of adventures with other hamsters, called "Ham-Hams" . The show is based on a manga series by Ritsuko Kawai, Hamtaro Gets Lost and Other Stories, and Jealous Hamtaro and Other Stories...
book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, the player controls the hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
("Ham-Ham", as the hamsters tend to call themselves) Hamtaro. Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak expands on the gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
of the earlier titles by adding Bijou, a friend of Hamtaro who has a crush on him, as partner. Together, they have to save the other ham-hams from Spat, an evil hamster with a hatred for any kind of relation.
After Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak, only one more Hamtaro adventure game was released: Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue
Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue
is a video game developed by AlphaDream for Game Boy Advance and the sequel to Tottoko Hamutaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu , Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! and Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak. It was released in Japan and PAL regions...
.
The game is mentioned in the Chronicle section of Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
.
Storyline
At the start of the game, Hamtaro is having a nightmareNightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
. A hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
dressed in a black devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
holding a trident
Trident
A trident , also called a trishul or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was also a military weapon. Tridents are featured widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The major Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer and the sea god Poseidon or Neptune are...
is destroying the relations of various hamsters. Then, the hamster notices Hamtaro and attempts to attack him. Hamtaro is awakened by Boss, to whom he tells his dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
. Hamtaro later finds Bijou, and the two of them must stop Spat and fix the problems he has made. Will the two lovebirds stop Spat or will he end love forever?
Characters
Being of the Hamtaro franchiseMedia franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak features many characters (hamster anthropomorphs
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
) also seen in the book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
. Many of them need help,like Pashmina and Penelope, but some, like Boss and Snoozer, offer help. Apart from the main cast, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak also features several new Ham-Hams, often only seen in this game. Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreaks antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
, Spat, and his opponent
Adversarial system
The adversarial system is a legal system where two advocates represent their parties' positions before an impartial person or group of people, usually a jury or judge, who attempt to determine the truth of the case...
, Harmony, both are exclusive to this game.Still, hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
s aren't the only characters in Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak as the game features other animals.
Setting
The game takes place in the "normal world". However, because hamsterHamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
s are quite small, the world appears to be bigger. Sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
s, grass, acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s and human toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s all are larger than they would've been from a human perspective
Perspective (visual)
Perspective, in context of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects...
.
Gameplay
The goals in Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak are to defeat Spat once and for all and to repair all the destroyed relations. A third quest, that supports those two, is to obtain all the "Ham-Chats". Ham-Chats are wordWord
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
s, but also much more than that. At the start of the game, Hamtaro accidentally causes almost all the Ham-Chats in his Ham-Ham Dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
to vanish, starting the hunt to fill the dictionary. Each Ham-Chat represents both a word (for communicating) and an action and/or motion. For instance, Lookie means to look. It is one of the most common Ham-Chats in the game, and solely has an action function. In that sense, action Ham-Chats often come with the necessary item (which is part of the Ham-Chat motion and doesn't show up in the inventory
Inventory
Inventory means a list compiled for some formal purpose, such as the details of an estate going to probate, or the contents of a house let furnished. This remains the prime meaning in British English...
) and therefore, go another way than other adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s in which the player already has all the actions available, but still has to get the required items. The other kind of Ham-Chat can only be used in conversation
Conversation
Conversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people who are following rules of etiquette.Conversation analysis is a branch of sociology which studies the structure and organization of human interaction, with a more specific focus on conversational...
s. A Ham-Chat like Perskie (Listen) for instance, only has value for conversations. New Ham-Chats are necessary to gain access to new parts of a conversation and get another Ham-Ham to do or give something.
Apart from Ham-Chats, the player also is required to obtain items (like a more conventional adventure game), though most of them are merely needed to complete minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s/side-quest. They are divided in inventory items, song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
and gems
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
. Inventory items function like they do in any other adventure game and need to be combined with the Ham-Chats in order to proceed.
As in its prequel, Ham-Hams Unite, this game allows you to put together the actions for Ham-Chat words to create dances, with a room just for this purpose in the Clubhouse. In Ham-Ham Heartbreak, however, there is an additional feature relating to "Ham-Jams."
You can pick up a variety of items such as sunflower seeds on the ground by selecting hif-hif or digging for them with digdig. Rocks can also be found in this game, but they serve a different purpose in Heartbreak. You can take the rocks and polish them in the RubRub Room in order to uncover gems.
Reception
Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak was generally well received by the public. It was praised for reflecting the personality and wit of the show, but was criticized for being a bit repetitive. It received a 72% on Metacritic based on seven overall reviews. (For more information, see table below)| Publication | Score | |
|---|---|---|
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| Compilations of multiple reviews | ||
Metacritic Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,... |
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