Top Row: Translucent Glitter, Blue
Middle Row: Yellow, Pink
Bottom Row: Licensed MIB, IDO
Top Row: Translucent Glitter, Blue
Middle Row: Yellow, Pink
Bottom Row: Licensed MIB, IDO
Wave UFO (1997) also known as Wave U4 or ウエーブユーホー. This virtual pet gets fed and transforms between characters by gathering electromagnetic frequencies (EMF or 電波 meaning denpa in Japanese). It was originally meant to signal incoming mobile phone calls. There are 2 games and 26 characters (called EMF Aliens or Denpa Aliens). It is low maintenance and you can easily keep your alien alive for days with just a few interactions each day. It does beep a lot if you keep it near electronics, especially your mobile phone. There are 4 buttons which I will refer to as A B C D in order left to right.
There are 26 characters. When the character eats enough EMF it will transform into another character and a message will appear. It is possible to see many characters in one day. The characters are awake from 9:00am to 1:00am. When the character sleeps the screen shows static. You cannot care for them when they sleep, but they can still transform.
Press the A button and the points screen will appear. Press the A button once more and the slot game will start. The A button stops the left reel, the B button stops the middle reel and the C button stops the right reel. Winning combinations such as SSS, UFO, 777, 123 will earn points, and combinations such as SOS, USO and mismatches will lose points. The maximum number of points is 100, and 1 point is deducted per round. The instructions mention that game points have an influence on transformations. This game is not chance. Win or loss is predetermined. You just need to go through the motions of the game till you get high points.
10 slot game points get spent to play one game of rock, paper, scissors. Press the B button to start the game. Press any button to begin the countdown. During the countdown hold the button that corresponds with the hand signal you want to throw: A for rock, B for paper, C for scissors. The instructions imply that you should play a game of rock, paper scissors after a !! care call for an extra health boost compared to regular gameplay (currently undetermined what exact benefit this gives).
Pressing the C button will bring up the care options. Use the A button to cycle through which type of care you want to give (drugs, liquid, air, vacuum) and then use the B button to select it. Use the D button to cancel. If it is a type of care that the alien doesn't need, it won't have any effect (currently it is unclear when the aliens need drugs or liquid, only air and clean seem to have an effect on the dust in the room).
When your alien is low on health or wants to play, it will send an attention call by beeping and showing !! on the screen for 30 seconds. Press any button to stop the attention call beeping. If you answer to your alien's call within 5 minutes health will be increased (unclear if this means to play a game, to give drugs/liquid/air/clean care or both). There is no visible health status bar. If your alien's health gets to 0, it will be placed in a suspended animation device and you will not be able to play with it. You can revive it by feeding it EMF.
Press the D button to show the time. The device uses a 24h clock. Press the A button to display the age of your alien.
Press the A and D buttons together gives you an option to turn the sound on/off. However, be aware that it is pointless. You can never fully mute this virtual pet. The attention call and transformation alert sounds will still beep even if you have the sound off. You can cover the sound holes with tape to help quiet the sound or put it in a pouch, and keep it in a away from electronics when not actively playing it. If the beeping becomes a problem you can try a faraday pouch, but the 30 second care alert beeps will still sound. Do not take this virtual pet anywhere that unwanted beeping sounds will cause a problem. It is low maintenance so I just leave mine at home in a room away from electronics. When I want to play it I put it near my mobile phone. It can survive off care given only once per day. The best way to "mute" the sound is to keep it several feet away from your mobile phone and other electronics. You could cut the sound cable, but the main appeal of this virtual pet—the transformations and messages—would be missed.
I have played this virtual pet many weeks, and I still don't know what drugs and liquid is used for. I offer it but nothing appears to change. Air and clean are the only things that clear the dust from the screen. The instructions imply you want to keep a good score for unique characters and that if you play the game (or maybe drugs and liquid?) within 5 minutes of a care call you will get bonus stat scores, but so far gameplay has not made a difference. Days I played and kept my score near 100 and days I played lots of rock paper scissors I seemed to get the same few characters. Then days I barely cared for it I would get new characters. So I feel that games and care may be irrelevant.
I still enjoy the tin hat vibe, and it made me very aware how much I would have my phone around. It is fun to see many unique characters all in one day. It is low maintenance and easy to run along with other vpets. The appeal with this one is trying to find all 26 characters and reading the message they send.
Here are the English instructions translated poorly by Google Translate, or have a look at the original Japanese instructions.