This Kingdom Hearts Tamagotchi Has A Dark Twist

It's hard to forget the grip that Tamagotchis had on kids in the '90s. The cute, egg-shaped toys held a character for users to take care of, which included cleaning poop, feeding, and playing games. Their influence was so widespread that they actually helped inspire Disney's "Turning Red," and there have been quite a number of crossovers between popular brands and the toys, like "Hello Kitty," "Pokemon," and BTS. Even Baby Yoda is coming to Tamagotchis in 2023, along with other crossovers like "Spy x Family" and "One Piece." "Kingdom Hearts" also got its own Tamagotchi earlier this year to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary.

The "Kingdom Hearts" Tamagotchis feature over 20 characters, and there are two color models to choose from. They were released in October 2022, and now that fans have gotten their hands on them, they've found some differences between a regular Tamagotchi and the "Kingdom Hearts" versions. Twitter user @aitaikimochi shared how the toy lets players feed their characters Sea-Salt Ice Cream or Paopu fruit instead of regular foods and take down enemies instead of pooping.

While these changes make sense with the theme of "Kingdom Hearts," there's another darker side to the toys that set them apart from the originals.

Regular Tamagotchis do die, whether it's from being neglected or just from old age. The "Kingodm Hearts" characters aren't quite able to do that. Instead, as @aitaikimochi posted, they turn into the Heartless and fade away. Then, the "Kingdom Hearts" logo flashes, and presumably players can restart.

Turning into a Heartless means subjecting the characters to living a life filled with no emotion. According to the fan wiki, the Heartless are created from the darkness that exists within hearts. Essentially, Sora and the others in the "Kingdom Hearts" Tamagotchis turn into shells of their former selves as the darkness in their hearts wins out. This dark twist may not be that deep and instead just a nod to the series' main enemies, but it's still a pretty grim thought. Other players have noticed that they could still care for Sora after he transformed into a Heartless, which feels slightly worse than one that fades away.

Twitter user @jonnymrtn joked that this could be a canon ending for Sora, referencing the series' penchant for a deeply interconnected mythos.

The "Kingdom Hearts" Tamagotchis are one way that players can enjoy the games while waiting for more information about "Kingdom Hearts 4" to be released.