Ham Ham Circus

Ham Ham Circus
Developer:	Jupiter
Publisher:	Epoch
Platform:	Plug & Play
Release Dates:	JP: December 2002

Ham Ham Circus (ハムハム大サーカス) is a plug & play game system released in 2002 by Epoch. It is a collection of seven games where the Ham-Hams compete in circus acts. It comes with two gloves that act as wireless controllers, and is the sequel to Have a Big Dance with Ham-Chans!.

Gameplay

There are two game modes - one where the games are played back-to-back, and another where the player just chooses the games individually. Four of the seven games also have a two-player mode.

While the main unit resembles a traditional game controller, all events must be controlled using the pair of gloves. The gloves are wireless, and communicate with the small black sensor on the console. The controls can be somewhat confusing without instructions, so they have been provided in the game list below.

The list of events, alongside their controls, are:

• Pyon-Pyon Trampoline - Penelope is bounced in the air via a trampoline (controlled by the player), held on both sides by Oxnard and Pashmina. The player must guide Penelope to pop as many bubbles in the air as possible, without letting her fall, before the timer runs out. 1-player only.
  • Controls: moving hand left/right controls the trampoline, pushing both hands upward propels Penelope higher into the air.

• Pon-Pon Juggling - Guide Hamtaro to juggle the ball(s) without dropping them. Juggling multiple balls at once earns more points. If the player gets far enough, Hamtaro will begin juggling things on his nose such as strawberries. 1-player only.
  • Controls: moving hands freely guides Hamtaro's hands in the same way, pushing the respective hand upward will release the ball from Hamtaro's grasp.

• Hara-Hara Hat Catch - Dexter must run underneath the falling hats so they land on his head. In the process, he must avoid rocks and banana peels; the latter stay on the stage, and are easy to slip on. For 1 or 2 players (player 2 controls Howdy).
  • Controls: moving hands left/right controls Dexter, pushing both hands upward makes him jump.

• Koro-Koro Tamanori - Sandy is balancing on top of a ball, and must be guided down the tall, thin structure. The player helps to keep her balance as she descends. 1 player only.
  • Controls: when the up and down arrows appear, the player must slightly rotate their hands (going clockwise or counter-clockwise depending on the side the ball is balancing on), somewhat like rolling an actual ball.

• Doki-Doki Seesaw - The player controls both Boss and Stan on a seesaw. They must be guided to jump in the air and attempt to reach the top stage, while collecting stars along the way. For 1 or 2 players (each player controls 1 hamster).
  • Controls: when one of the hamsters has landed back on the seesaw after his jump, the player must perform a swimming-like hand motion on the end of the opposite hamster to propel them into the air. Timing the jump incorrectly will cause them to have less jump height.

• Round and Round Air Swing - Hamtaro must jump between the three hanging ropes. After a certain amount of jumps, he is awarded a score from the judges (Panda, Jingle, and Snoozer); while Panda always provides high ratings, the others are hard to impress. The player can do tricks in the air to raise their score, but this can lead to Hamtaro falling to the ground, resulting in the game ending. For 1 or 2 players (player 2 controls Bijou).
  • Controls: pushing both hands upward makes Hamtaro jump, doing the same motion mid-jump will make him do a trick in the air.

• Wai-Wai Finale - A music themed game, with Tottoko no Uta playing in the background; if selected as a single event, Te wo Tsunago can also be chosen. The player must hit the bells surrounding the dancing Ham-Hams when they turn big and yellow. After the song ends, the Ham-Hams wave goodbye, and fireworks appear in the sky (in the likeness of Boss, Bijou, or Hamtaro). For 1 or 2 players (player 2 controls Bijou).
  • Controls: simply move your hands in the positions where the bells appear.

External links

• Official website (archive.org)
• Page on Jupiter's website