Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak

"Hmm...not bad, not bad at all..."

Most gamers who happen to pass by game, won't give the slightest care about it. I was not one of those gamers and thus picked up this oh so wonderful game.
At first glance, Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak will appear to be a game not worth your money. It seems childish, simplistic and just plain boring. I admit I had my doubts at first but after playing this game for about an hour, I was wrong, thankfully.

Story: 9/10

The game starts off with a cut scene in which you see a hamster dressed in a devil costume walking around ''destroying love''. Quickly, Hamtaro awakens and you discover it was only but a dream. You then walk downstairs to start your day, but trip and drop your ''Ham-Chat dictionary'' only for it to get wet and all the words begin to wash off. Boss(another hamster) asks you to do him a favor, and to look for one of the hamsters, Bijou. Eventually, you find Bijou, but your adventure is far from over. You meet a hamster by the name of Harmony, Harmony tells you that a bad hamster named Spat, is trying to destroy love. Hamtaro and Bijou then set out to try and stop Spat from completing his mission, and thus your adventure begins.

Gamplay: 9/10

In Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak you play as well, Hamtaro. You venture the land(7 areas) with your trusty partner, Bijou. Your mission: to try and save all the heartbroken couples and friends. You do this through ''Ham-Chat''. Basically a simplistic language made up of code words you use to communicate with other Ham-hams(hamsters), do actions, and etc. etc. You will complete puzzles that range from simplistic to difficult. I must say that some of them did have me stumped for a bit. You can also ''Ham-Jam'' or dance to some of the game's music. Each Ham-Chat word has a animation, and you can string together different words to make dances. Or maybe you'd like to play dress up? Scattered across the game are stores in which you can purchase costumes and accessories for Hamtaro and Bijou to play dress up with. You can then take pictures and use the pictures as your title screen.

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics are all in all, pretty bright and colorful. Besides, this a Hamtaro game so they're supposed to be, right? There's nothing here that made my eyes sore, nor anything that made me gasp from being amazed. Some of the animations are pretty funny and will make you laugh. All in all, they're pretty nice.

Sound: 8/10

Like the graphics, the music is pretty upbeat and cheery. Some of the music was repetitive and got kind of annoying but nothing that pushed me off the edge. Some tracks were nice and catchy and I found myself humming it a lot. Nothing too wrong here.

Replay Value: 6/10

Except to see some of the game's rather comical scenes, there's really no reason to replay it.

Buy Or Rent?
If you would like to try something nice and new from the usual GBA library, Hamtaro's not a bad idea, to rent that is. If you enjoy the television show or Hamtaro: Ham Hams Unite, then this is the game for you, to buy that is. If you just despise anything that's cute and fuzzy, than this game is DEFINITELY NOT FOR YOU. But then again, if you did, why would you be reading this review?

Overall: 9/10

I enjoyed this game overall, and I found it to have been worth my money. Give it a try, who knows, you might just like it...I know I did.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/04