Aquapalz/Pocket Aquarium Overview

Aquapalz/Pocket Aquarium Overview.

Note! This post goes with the manual & package documentation!

Introduction

I got this cute-looking vpet for simple reasons:

• I haven't run this one yet,
• it's in colour,
• it reminded me of Anipalz (which I ran a few years ago).

The comparison to Anipalz is spot-on because both took inspiration from the then-popular iPod and... this Aquarium is basically Aquapalz. The "palz" part in the name is very similar however I *suspect* it's only a marketing-driven coincidence.

Now, more about that Aquapalz. Upon launching the toy, you notice a big APALZ name when you are prompted to type your pet's name. That's strange considering the packaging is in Japanese and I immediately thought the programming must have been taken from a Western vpet, with SEGA TOYS acting as the publisher in the Japanese market.

So I looked it up on Google and it turns out the original Aquapalz came in both a black-white dot screen and coloured screen version. The B/W version offered 3 pets: tropical fish, dolphin, and jellyfish. The animations were as superb as in the coloured version, just some of the menus and graphics were simplified, obviously. And from what I have gathered and understood, the major difference is that Aquapalz Color didn't get the jellyfish [or it's so incredibly rare that I can't find any info about it], and it is very unforgiving once the pet goes to sleep. But more about that later. 

Quick view of the device's packaging and size

Btw, I will include full documentation (the packaging and translated manual) next time but for now, let's focus on the more review-y side of things...

The device's buttons are a bit hard to press due to being these odd, flat buttons, hidden beneath the surface. The left button is especially difficult to press so the Pearl Attack minigame is tough to play... The coloured screen is very vibrant and you can set its brightness a bit as well. It has a lot of ghosting though. The whole toy comes with a protective foil in front which you ought to remove before using (and which I promptly ignored). The device takes 2 AAA batteries and the tiny reset button is located on its back. There are some odd "metal holes" on its bottom which functions I haven't figured out yet... Maybe it's some scrapped feature or reused legacy hardware parts...?

I got the angelfish since there was no dolphin available. But honestly? The big, bulgy eyes are so much more expressive than the dolphin's little dots, and watching the pectoral and pelvic fins move is fun. The fish's colours may also subconsciously speak to me - ngl the little guy looks like the dinosaurs from my games. Oh, and the shell is not pink, a personal preference heh.

Look at that goofy face

The pet's growth and some basics

Initially, as you start with your little yellow fishie, the menus and options you have access to are a bit limited. It remains this way until it grows up.

At this stage you can only:

• look at the pet's stats,
• change the water's temperature,
• feed the fish,
• adjust your device's settings.

The aquarium starts out small, as well, and gets bigger as the fish ages. The aquarium is free to be explored, and later on, can be decorated with plants (seaweed) and prizes: shiny plants, starfish, and pearls.

I think it takes about 1h for the Baby to reach the Child stage, and this is when the game asks you to move your fish to a bigger tank.

When the fish grows up the device prompts
you to move your pet to a bigger tank

From now on, you are able to:

• change the water once it's unclean,
• add plants to the tank,
• give your fish a bubble bath to earn ❤️,
• play the pearl attack game (which is hard to master due to the hardware's quirks...) to win the shiny plants.

Around 1 day later, the fish will reach adulthood, which grants an even bigger aquarium and access to additional pet interactions which raise ❤️:

• make the fish exercise in a... fish-wheel?
• watch the fish jump out of the water as it attempts to catch a fly
• poke the tank

As well as more minigames:

• escape getting caught in a net - this one earns you decorative starfish,
• hide-and-seek, which adds pearls to the big clamshell.

Taking care of the pet

There are several stats to keep an eye on while playing.

Hunger is the obvious one and "food pellets" are always accessible. Feeding and overfeeding will cause the water to become dirtier, so keep that in mind.

Hearts seem to act more like a mood indicator here and you raise them by interacting with your pet.

Next up is the tank's status which is made of: temperature (which you adjust manually), oxygen level, and water quality (both fixed by changing the water). The temperature rises and falls so you gotta check it once in a while... otherwise you may end up with fish soup lol.

Lastly, apparently putting plants in your aquarium has a positive effect on the water. But according to the manual - you shouldn't overplant it, otherwise the fish will be unhappy. As mentioned earlier, you can earn special shiny plants, starfish, and pearls - max 3 of each - from winning minigames. You aren't notified when you win one, but they are placed automatically in their designated space. To encourage you to keep playing though, the game takes away one of each after a day passes.

Other than that there's nothing much to do besides swimming around the tank. Unless... your fish goes to sleep which happens at 8pm...

Somehow, when your fish is asleep its stats still go down but you cannot use most of the menus. What's worse, waking up the fish by pressing the directional buttons lowers its stats as well. Really terrifying. Either I missed something or this is an oversight... But anyway, be prepared to use medicine each morning as soon as the pet wakes up. Otherwise, it will leave you. I lost a few fish that way so I set an alarm on the device at 8am to not miss that moment.

The fish in the morning
(aka my mood every day)

More about the tank

The aquarium gets quite big once your pet grows up to adult age, reaching 7x3 squares. Within that, you have 12 squares that can be decorated with plants, 6 of which always prioritize the minigames' prizes though (shiny plants & starfish). Some areas cannot be decorated (the middle vertical line, and some squares at the sides), and pearl prizes appear in the big clamshell. Your pet always resets its position to the tank's centre. Below, I provide a quick 'map' showing the 'landmarks'. The unique feature of exploring the aquarium is a tad slow and gets boring quickly, as there are no interactions with the placed objects besides a unique sound effect playing automatically. Still, I think it's pretty dope.

Full aquarium map. The navy-blue objects are animated and give unique sound effects.

Some squares will replace your plants with prizes (shiny plants, starfish, pearls) once you earn them.
The white areas cannot be decorated (with exception of bonus pearls in the big clamshell).

Opinion

This is a rather charming, but also basic, vpet with cute and varied animations and unique aquarium exploration. Checking the fish (and the tank) a few times a day is enough to keep it alive, meaning that it isn't very demanding. There are enough interactions with the pet to keep you entertained for a while and the minigames usually don't overstay their welcome (and aren't mandatory). However, its unforgiving and punishing sleep mechanics can be terrifying, and the hardware's buttons are hard to press.

Edit 09/04: added the info about the pearl prizes.

(Special thanks to Moco13 for helping out with English stuff)