Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak (& Handkerchiefs)

As we all know to be true deep within our hearts, the Game Boy Advance is, and forever will be, the greatest. I still love to explore old GB/GBC/GBA titles on occasion, and so today I though we could stroll through the beautiful lane that is Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak, the game about hamsters and romantic angst.

The first thing we have to do is name our character, so Hamtaro will henceforth be ME. I'm getting into character now, squeaking gently as I type.

Of course, my partner Bijou has to become "my dude". I insist on this. For reasons of personal amusement.

Sounds good. Let's begin the game.

We start with this strange dream about a hamster with a pitchfork ruthlessly popping the hearts floating above loving couples' heads. Sinister stuff.

This screenshot is extremely relatable for anyone who has ever slept, but I want to focus on Hamtaro's sprite here because he just looks so squishy lying down and I want to tickle his tummy so much. Very cute.

Of course, I wake up and immediately explain the dream. Maybe I should start a dream blog? Do hamsters celebrate Halloween in this universe? Hamsters obviously have concepts of heaven and hell, and perhaps medieval paintings of satanic punishment, if that's the case. Where is the hamster museum? I need to go and see the hamster Hieronymus Bosch paintings. Please.

Anyway, this apparent hamster coal miner asks me to find my dude, and then teaches me how to find sunflower seeds and stuff.

I now have some delicious seeds to my name. Nice one.

The coal miner teaches me how to dig, and I receive a romantic and questionable item from the ground. Oh boy.

Then I'm pretty much set free to find my dude, without any explanation of the love meter. We just ignore that. Coal miner claims not to know what it's for. I feel like he's lying to me. It's probably for the best. One thing I love about this game is the squeaking sound that happens when you're moving. A very nice piece of sound design there. Truly delightful.

After the intro, it's all a lot of walking around talking to other hamsters, learning cool new hamster words that allow you to do things, and doing some light puzzles. This hamster is very upset when you step on her handkerchief. I haven't gotten much further than this, because I may or not be in an endless loop of stepping on and off the handkerchief.

Well you know, it's a hobby. For a hamster.