1997 Gigapet – PHOTO SOURCE: Wikipedia
Have you ever heard the expression “everything old is new again.”
It’s always great when things from our past, aka “blast from the past,” are suddenly back in the mainstream. I’m not referring to bell bottom pants (eww… that was a trend I never want to see again), but rather other things. Music, movies, toys/games… it’s these things that I enjoy seeing again. I wish I could bring back many things from my youth.
Back in 1997 the world was first introduced to the game/toy Gigapets. Do you remember them?
Gigapets are interactive digital “pets” that were available in a variety of critters. The toy featured a small LCD screen and a keychain.
The idea of Gigapets are to play games and interact with your pet, and to take care of it. If you went a while without playing with the toy or taking care of your pet, your pet would virtually “die.” You could reset the toy so you can start over. Thankfully the toy didn’t stop working when your pet died off. That would have been horrible.
My kids both had Gigapets when they were little. They loved them, so much so I had to keep them at home when they went to school, otherwise they were tempted to play it or just press the buttons to check on their pet, while at school. There were plenty of times I was given the task to interact with their Gigapets while they were at school to care for it and keep it alive.
Gigapets is certainly a fun idea. It’s part game, part toy and involves children learning to be responsible for their “pet.”
Gigapets have “changed hands” over the years between different manufacturers. Believe it or not, they are still available. The brand Top Secret Toys is the current manufacturer of this classic toy.
Is is a toy, or a game? I’m not sure how to classify Gigapets. Let me just refer to them as toys for the sake of this post.
Gigapets have come a long way since my kids enjoyed playing with them. Thanks to Top Secret Toys you can now purchase Gigapet trolls, unicorns, dinosaur, frog, bunny and even cryptids. Of course they have a dog and cat too.
Top Secret Toys was kind enough to send me some Gigapets to check out for myself. I received to review the cat, frog and cryptid versions. Cryptids are creatures such as big foot and the Lochness monster. I’m into cryptids, so I was thrilled to see they had such a version of the toy.
My son, whose almost 25, knew exactly what it was the first time he saw one that I was sent to review. He thought it was one of the ones they had as kids. It’s funny how he took to it as if he had one yesterday. My daughter knows I have them, but I neglected to show them to her the last time she came for a visit (she lives out of state now).
Each Gigapet comes with a variety of games you can play, as well as your digital pet (or pets in the case of the cryptid version).
The current version of Gigapets offer consumers so much more than the original version of the toy. These versions have sounds, plenty of games, bonus pets and games, and so much more.
Take for example the Gigapets Starcat CompuKitty. This is one of the versions I received to review.
As you can see, you get two different cats – a black cat and a white cat. One is Starcat (easier play mode) and the other is Compukitty (a wee bit harder).
When it comes to caring for your cat, you can play with it, groom it, train it, take it to the vet and of course feed it. You can even check on how happy (or not) your pet is.
Aside from caring for your not-so-furry (ha ha) friend, you also can play games to unlock plenty of fun things. If you keep Starcat happy, he/she will answer your questions about your future using a variety of symbols. Below are the symbols and meanings (I’m sorry it’s not a clearer image).
I like that this is part the retro game from the past, as well as an updated modern version, all housed in one unit.
As much as I love cats, I was super excited to check out the cryptid version of Gigapets.
The cryptid version gives you not one, not two but THREE “pets” – Nessie the Lochness Monster, Big Foot and Mothman. LOVE IT!
With each cryptid you start off with a baby version, then work up to the adult version. Each cryptid has it’s own games too.
Unlike the traditional Gigapet that you get to “adopt,” with the cryptid version you need to capture them first. After all, you can’t just walk into the woods and adopt Big Foot. You need to find and capture him/her first.
The digital images might not be high tech and realistic like today’s games, but they are not meant to be. They are meant to be like the classic original version Gigapets. That is a huge part of their appeal… they are the same classic games, but with some updated twists.
I also received the Floppy Frog Gigapet. I haven’t opened that one up as of yet. I was thinking of holding on to it and giving it to my daughter as a gift. She LOVED her Gigapet and was even more excited to hear about them than my son was.
The Floppy Frog version even makes reak frog sounds.
Gigapets are available for purchase on Top Secret Toys website (TopSecretToys.us) and range in price from $17.99 to $19.99.
With the holiday season looming in the distance, Gigapets would make a fun gift, not only for kids, but also for us “big kids” who remember the original Gigapet toy. Not only would these make great gifts, but also ideal stocking stuffers and “Secret Santa” gifts.
For more information about Gigapets, visit the Top Secret Toys website. Check out the other cool toys the brand has to offer too.
Top Secret Toys can also be found on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
