Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak

"...I have a weakness for cute animals, okay?"

REVIEW REWRITE

I understand how taboo the idea of a teenage boy playing a Hamtaro game may seem. Believe me, to this day I ask myself why I bought this game. But, all things considered, the game is actually pretty enjoyable. I don't feel any less MANLY for buying it... well, okay, maybe a little. But, hey, I had fun playing it so that makes it okay!

Gameplay 8/10

For the most part the game lacks enemies. There are a few bosses here and there, like the hamster ghost you have to poke with a stick... yeah... But the majority of the gameplay is reuniting hamster couples so they can LEARN TO LOVE again! You'll also be needing to learn "hamchat" words so you can understand what the hell the hamsters (or "ham-hams" I suppose I should say) are saying and you learn more as the game progresses.

Story 7/10

The story goes as follows: Spat, a ham-ham that I assume had a very angsty past, is out to destroy any and all forms of love so no ham-ham will love any other ham-ham. Now we certainly couldn't live in a world where hamsters can't love, would we? That would result in chaos! But have no fear! Hamtaro and Bijou are here! These two love birds--er, hamsters--team up to reunite hamsters couples that have broken up due to Spat's schemes. Yeah, it's kind of stupid but at the same time it's kind of cute.

Audio 8/10

Okay, they don't talk. They make stupid cute little noises when the show their hamchat skills. You hear a ''rrr-ing'' when the shout ''hamha'' and such. The music, however, is pretty catchy. Some of the tunes at least. You can even enter the Ham Jam studio (yes, Ham Jam) and make Hamtaro and Bijou dance to various music tracks from the game including the Hamtaro theme song and the classical music ''Moonlight Sonata'', which is just called "Moonlight" here. Some of the most catchy music tracks would be the ''Ham Swap'' and ''Spat's Theme.''

Graphics 7/10

They aren't the greatest graphics in the world, but this is Hamtaro we're talking about here. It doesn't need the greatest graphics in the world. It had very cute graphics, and the backgrounds are nicely done.

Replayability 5/10

After you play through the game once you're not going to want to play through it again. But while it lasts, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak is a pretty enjoyable game for what it's worth. However, the game didn't hold my interest long enough to reunite every couple in the game.

Buy or Rent?

I don't regret buying it. But, in all honesty, you won't be missing out on anything OUT OF THIS WORLD if you never play this game. If you ever do get the chance, however, give it a shot.

BYE-Q!

Overall: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/27/03, Updated 03/03/08

Game Release: Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak (US, 04/08/03)