Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak

"A Fun Hamtaro Adventure!"

In Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak, you take control of Hamtaro and Bijou, who are on a quest to fix their Ham-Ham friends' broken hearts. Don't be misled by the game's childish look! This one can be a real challenge!

GAMEPLAY (8/10)
To reunite all the broken-hearted Ham-Hams requires solving some VERY tricky puzzles. The gameplay is a lot like games in the Monkey Island series or the previous Hamtaro game: talk to Ham-Hams, travel to different areas, collect items and HamChats, solve puzzles, etc. There are 86 HamChat words to learn. These help you to solve puzzles and manipulate items.

For the most part, you can figure out what to do with a little thought and by trying all of the available options. However, there are other times when I would get frustratingly stuck in the game. Then, is a great sense of accomplishment when you finally figure out what you are supposed to do! Overall, a very fun game with several tricky spots that are likely drive you nuts.

In addition to the main quest, there are also four fun side activities, collecting music and creating HamJams (dance numbers), polishing rocks into gems, crafting jewelry, and playing dress up with Hamtaro and Bijou.

GRAPHICS (9/10)
The Ham-Hams are nicely done. The game effectively captures their look from the TV show. Every HamChat has a corresponding animation, most of which are really nice. My only complaint in that the backgrounds seemed a bit dull at times. Still, the Ham-Hams themselves are relatively large and you'll be looking at them more than the backgrounds.

CONTROL (10/10)
The controls are very simple and work well for the game.

SOUND (8/10)
The background music wasn't anything special, but the music you can collect for the HamJam mini-game is great.

STORYLINE (9/10)
The storyline may be a bit too sweet for some. I think it's good, there are plenty of things that will make you smile, and the occasional bit of downright weirdness. All typical Hamtaro stuff.

REPLAY VALUE (3/10)
Once you reunite the broken-hearted Ham-Hams, collect all the gems, play a bit of dress up, and create a couple HamJams, you're done with the game. The game itself is pretty long, but after you have finished there isn't any real reason, other than for fun, to do it again.

FINAL SCORE (8/10)
Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak is, overall, a very fun game. I recommend it to anyone who likes Hamtaro or a good puzzle/adventure game. Unfortunately, I think the difficult puzzles in the game probably make it a bit too hard for younger Hamtaro fans.

RENT OR BUY?
Buy it if you are a Hamtaro fan or like this kind of game. Though there isn't much replay value, if you want to complete everything in the game you probably won't have time in a single rental.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/03, Updated 04/24/03