Tamagotchi Paradise – a virtual pet with a zoom dial for a whole planet
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Everybody who owned a Tamagotchi in the ’90s has the same story. You forgot it in a jacket pocket for a weekend and came back to a tiny pixel grave. Some of us are still not over it.
Bandai apparently decided one pet wasn’t enough responsibility. The Tamagotchi Paradise is a virtual pet where you look after a whole planet of creatures, and you move between them with a zoom dial on the side of the egg. It’s the weirdest Tamagotchi idea in years, in a good way.
What is the Tamagotchi Paradise?
It’s a color-screen Tamagotchi from Bandai that launched in Japan on July 12, 2025, and in the US later that year. The shell is a big blue, pink or purple egg, and each color starts you in a different “Tama Field”: Water, Land or Sky. The other two open up as you play.
Bandai says you can raise more than 50 characters across 12 species. Because pets pass their genes to the next generation in “Breed” play, the maker puts the total number of possible characters at over 50,000. That’s a lot of names to come up with.
How does the zoom dial work?
This is the clever part. Turn the dial and you zoom between four levels, from the whole planet down to a field, then a single Tamagotchi, then a cell inside that Tamagotchi, as The Toy Insider describes it. Bandai’s own pitch is “from cell to space”.
The classic chores are still there: clean up poop, feed, and heal. You just do some of them at the cell level now. There’s also a new Lab Mode with mini-games and a shop. If a friend has one too, you dock the two eggs together and see whether your pets get along or start a family.
It runs on two AAA batteries (not included), and the Amazon listing says it speaks nine languages, English included.
The good and the not-so-good
What I like:
- The zoom dial gives your hands something to do besides three buttons. It feels like a toy, not a phone app.
- Swappable AAA batteries. No built-in battery that dies in three years.
- Lots to discover. The Toy Insider calls it world-building more than pet care, and one early buyer on Amazon likes that the minigames still work while their Tama sleeps.
- Amazon buyers give the US version 4.7 out of 5 stars.
What could be better:
- The screen scratches easily. Several Amazon reviewers say so and tell you to put a screen protector on it from day one.
- ScreenHub’s review liked the idea but felt the dial isn’t used to its full potential yet, and a lot of the extras stay locked until you level up.
- It’s chunky. One buyer who also owns a Tamagotchi Uni says the Paradise is a lot bigger. This isn’t a keychain pet.
Who is the Tamagotchi Paradise for?
Kids from about 6 (Bandai’s age rating) who are ready for their first “responsibility”, and grown-ups who still feel guilty about that jacket pocket. It’s also a good pick for collectors who found the Tamagotchi Uni too busy with its Wi-Fi and smartwatch strap. The Paradise strips that back to caring, breeding and playing.
If you want a pocket pet you can forget about for days, skip this one. And if you’re after something calming for a stressed-out teen, our stress relief toys are lower maintenance.
Where can I buy the Tamagotchi Paradise?
Bandai lists it at $44.99. On Amazon, pick the US version sold by the Tamagotchi store (model 43422 for Blue Water). Watch out for the Japanese import listings: one reviewer points out the import costs more than double the US version for the same egg. Newer shells like Orange Tropics and White Glacier are on Amazon too.
Buy the batteries in the same order. Your pet won’t wait.