Hamtaro Card-e

Hamtaro Card-e
Developer:	Nintendo
Publisher:	Nintendo
Platform:	Nintendo e-Reader
Release Dates:	JP: January 31, 2003

Hamtaro Card-e (ハム太郎カードｅ) is a series of trading cards, released in Japan in 2003. They were designed to be compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader, an accessory for the Game Boy Advance.

General Information

Harmony e-Reader card

Back of an e-reader card

Each Hamtaro Card-e card has a character's name and picture, as well as 2 dot codes (on the left and right sides of the card) that can be scanned into the e-Reader. The cards' designs mainly feature solo pictures of Ham-Hams, with a few specialty ones featuring group pictures or non-hamster characters (such as Laura). The e-Reader content varies from card to card.

Types of Cards

In terms of function, there are three different types of cards in the Hamtaro Card-e series.

The first kind of cards are "minigame cards"; this card type will unlock a short game that can be played on the Game Boy Advance. These types of cards are grouped together (meaning multiple cards are required to play them); when all of the required dot codes are scanned, the minigame will begin. Each minigame from this card type is described in the "List of Cards" section below.

The second type of cards are "information cards". Each of these cards are independent, and do not require any other cards to operate. After scanning the dot codes on the card, a screen will display a picture of that character as well as a text window at the bottom of the screen. Each card contains questions for you to answer. Sometimes, answering all of the questions correctly is required to view the information page; other times, the information page will be available from the beginning. The questions may not always be about that particular character, however, and may quiz you on Ham-Chat as well as other things.

Finally, there is a singular "Rare Card", labeled "At Home - Laura and Hamtaro". This card seems to function as some sort of fortune-teller, but it is currently unknown how to actually operate it.

"Theater Limited Version" cards

There is a rather rare, separate set of cards known as the "Theater Limited Version" set. These cards may have been distributed at select screenings of Hamtaro: The Captive Princess in Japan, though that is unconfirmed. While the standard Hamtaro Card-e set was sold in blind packages, the "Theater Limited" set included all 20 of its cards in one box alongside a collectible pin of the Mo Hams and Mini Hams.

The set contains cards of various characters from the film, most prominently the Mini Hams and the Mo Hams. These cards are all part of a visual novel game, with a couple variations of the same mini-game boss fight. The game starts with Go Ham's card. The goal is to help Go Ham to find all the members of the Mini Hams and the Mo Hams, who have been kidnapped by a group of Moles, to perform a concert at the end. Many cards have different dialogue choices, which lead to meeting a different member in another card. At times, completing a minigame of "whack-a-mole" will be required to rescue members and continue the story. The game can be restarted with Go Ham's card. It is possible to beat the game with fewer than 100% of the Mo Hams. Doing so will result in fewer members of the group appearing in the audience in the final cutscene: the Mini Hams concert.

Technical Information

Although the Game Boy Advance is region free, the e-Reader and its cards are not. While the e-Reader itself can be used in any region's Game Boy Advance, the cards that are scanned into it must be of the same region as the e-Reader. Furthermore, in cases where cards can be linked to Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance games (Such as Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube and Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire for the Game Boy Advance) the games must also be the same region as the cards and the e-Reader.

It does not appear that any of the Hamtaro cards can be linked to the other Game Boy Hamtaro titles.

List of Cards

Minigame cards

Controls for each game will vary. When controls are described, "the button" refers to either the A or B buttons, as both perform the same action. The D-Pad isn't used in all games, but in those that it is used, it is used to move around the screen.

Info	Image	Game Description
Hamtaro (B001) (Also requires Bijou and Barrette.)		In this game, Hamtaro runs in a wheel. Help Hamtaro speed up by pressing the button in time with the blue text.
Bijou (B002) (Also requires Hamtaro and Barrette.)
Barrette (B003) (Also requires Hamtaro and Bijou.)
Pashmina (B004) (Also requires Penelope.)		Pashmina throws Penelope into the air to collect stars; the goal is to collect at least 35 stars in one minute. Press the button to throw Penelope into the air. Pressing and holding the button will launch Penelope higher; the longer it is held down, the higher she will go. This game is seemingly based on "Diamonds of Sugar", the fifth episode of the anime.
Penelope (B005) (Also requires Pashmina.)
Howdy (B006) (Also requires Spat.)		In this game, the goal is to clear all of the beads on the abacus off the screen; this can only be accomplished in a set number of moves. Move Howdy around the screen and use the button to push the beads in the direction he's facing. If the beads being pushed match beads of the same color, that row will be moved automatically, and all beads will be cleared. The game ends if any beads are left that cannot be matched.
Spat (B007) (Also requires Howdy.)
Boss (B008) (Also requires Harmony.)		Help Boss dig up treasure by following the directions on screen. The player is told how many spaces (in cardinal directions) Boss needs to move in order to find the right spot. Press the button to dig; the game will continue if the treasure is found, but ends if nothing is found in the hole.
Harmony (B009) (Also requires Boss.)
Cappy (B010) (Also requires Postie.)		The player must help Cappy collect objects of various colors (buckets, top hats, etc.) on his head. Move underneath the falling "hats" to catch them; matching three of the same color will make the hats disappear, awarding the player a point. However, missing 10 hats as they fall causes the screen to move up. If, at any time, the tower of hats on Cappy's head touches the top of the screen, the game ends.
Postie (B011) (Also requires Cappy.)
Snoozer (B012) (Also requires Haibi.)		The player guides Hamtaro to push Snoozer, in order to stop the falling spike balls from hitting him. Pressing the button causes Hamtaro to jump. Push Snoozer in the direction Hamtaro is facing; if he's up against a wall, jump to push him to the other side.
Haibi (B013) (Also requires Snoozer.)
Oxnard (B014) (Also requires Captain Choo.)		Repeatedly press the button to eat sunflower seeds. Alternating between the A and B buttons makes it slightly easier. A counter on screen will show how many bites are left until Oxnard has completely eaten the seed. After eating 8 seeds, the time limit will be extended.
Captain Choo (B015) (Also requires Oxnard.)

Information and Rare cards

B016 Sandy		B017 Stan		B018 Dexter
B019 Panda		B020 Maxwell		B021 Jingle
B022 Elder Ham		B023 Auntie Viv		B024 Omar
B025 Stucky		B026 Sparkle		B027 Chef-Ham
B028 Pepper		B029 Hannah		B030 Nin-Ham
B031 Sabu		B032 Seamore		B033 Flora
B034 Laura Haruna

"Theater Limited Version" cards

A001 Mo Hams		A002 Minihamuzu		A003 Hamtaro
A004 Hamtaro the Movie (Hamtaro: The Captive Princess) Poster Art		A005 Hamja Kingdom (King Hamja, Princess Cye-Ra, and Prince Hamja)		A006 Sabaku-Nya
A007 Go Ham		A008 Meshi Ham		A009 Ishi Ham
A010 Yasu Ham		A011 Yoshi Ham		A012 A Ham
A013 Nii Ham		A014 Kon Ham		A015 Taka Ham
A016 O Ham		A017 Merica-chan		A018 Ai~n-chan
A019 Nonno-chan		A020 Good-chan

Trivia

• Seamore's card depicts him as having orange fur, like Hamtaro. However, in all of his other appearances, his fur is brown.
• Hamtaro's minigame is the only one that requires 3 cards (6 dot codes) to be scanned; all of the other minigames require 2 cards.
• Behind the Japanese character name on the top of each card, an English name can be seen faded beneath. With the one exception of Flora being named "Nurse", these are all the proper English names, as opposed to romanizations of the Japanese ones; notably, this also reveals that the English name of Japan-only hamster "Shuppatsu" is Captain Choo.
• In the Special Theater Version game, certain card descriptions will help you with choosing the correct dialogue options.