IOS and Android game that also uses a health tracking bracelet to power up your mobile game character.
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I'm gonna use this as a way to talk about the Vital Hero bracelet in general as I'm currently anticipating the release of the new and improved Vital Bracelet BE. I'll talk about the app here as well but this is just a general impression to give for one of my first VPet-ish devices I've had in a little while.
To give a brief rundown of my history with these things, I played with some Tamagotchi Connection devices back in the mid 2000s, some Cube World devices I got from a thrift store in the late 2000s, and much later when the original Tamagotchi was brought back for the anniversary release in the late 2010s I picked one up and played with that a ton as well. Following that I also played with the original Digimon device when it got rereleased, and from there I've gotten more into Digimon in general as I never had the opportunity to when I was much younger. Instead, it was just sorta something that existed in the background of my life that I couldn't find a way to actually get into for lack of money or awareness of options.
A few years after playing with the DM20, I was pleased to find out about the Vital Bracelet, which seemed like exactly the kind of device I'd wanted! Having graduated from college and now leading an inconsistently busy and relaxed lifestyle while getting to a point of self-sustenance through new jobs, I thought it would be great to have a much lower-maintenance friend to cherish and bring around with me in day-to-day life. This is exactly that, and minus the slight discomfort of the heart rate monitor jutting out the bottom, it's plenty fun to carry around on your wrist in daily life. No, the bracelets don't really have the full features of something like the old DM20 - Digimon don't poop or need to be fed in this device, presumably doing each of those things themselves offscreen - but I find that that's a plus for this particular niche it's filling.
Speaking of that niche, I think one of the most valuable parts of the VB/VH is how it encourages consistent exercise even if it's for a silly or gimmicky kind of reason. You see, Digimon will evolve into different forms often based on how many "awards" they receive, and you get the most awards per day by doing particular exercises and using bonus ones from the VB Lab app carefully. I found that during the time when I used this device the most, I was actually consistently doing mini-workouts every day on top of just trying to walk around as much as I could for my buddy to get their Vital stat up.
Seeing the Digimon friend I've got evolve into forms I'd hope they can be proud of is something that genuinely brings me joy and makes me happy, and using self-care as a form of care for them too is honestly really sweet in a way. It means you and the Digimon you've got with you really are tied together by your very life forces, and the way you move around and the time you take to get some exercise or do stuff outside doesn't just benefit you, but it benefits them as well. It feels less like taking care of a pet and more like having a friend who will cheer you on while you do your best for them too, and I think that's pretty much exactly what I prefer. I don't really care for the common idea of 'pets' in general, so this option is great.
Speaking of evolution, I do rather enjoy the idea of DIM cards. They're frankly a bit cumbersome to use and their price tag really should be a couple dollars lower for MSRP, but in general they provide a nice amount of 'content' that is optional to the point of only needing to purchase the cards you actually want based on the promo Digimon or based on the lines included if you do extra research. Since a DIM card is only slightly cheaper than buying something like a DM20 or X it's not the easiest thing to justify, but I find that if you can get DIM cards for cheaper than MSRP they tend to feel worth it. It's great having such a modular device, though I feel there are some missed opportunities baked into how it's handled.
I could imagine it would be truly awesome if digital DIM cards were added to the VB Lab app in order to download the Digimon in question onto the bracelet without needing to plug anything in, or hell, even having some way for the bracelet itself to download purchased digital DIMs. It'd even give opportunities for in-store sale prices on DIMs every once in a while to entice people to pick up more, all while using less plastic. But alas, that's not how this all works.
Still, I think the variety in DIMs is nice and it seems with the upcoming BE memories we'll be getting even more robust options. One of the other missed opportunities with DIMs is that the Digimon have no variance in stats compared to others of their species, but it seems the BE will correct this. It would be cool if there were differences as-is so using the app would feel all the more like tapping into a community, but it's fine enough as it is.
The app itself is quite sleek and functions well, though the music can get pretty annoying at times... like, the track they picked for the bracelet-app transfer screen is particularly irritating and I have no idea why they kept it. But the visuals are nice with large-size Digimon pixel artwork for any Digimon you transfer in, and cute little expressions for when they're happy or sad or sleeping. The arena and raid battle section are actually quite nice and are some of the cooler parts of the bracelet to be sure, as I do very much appreciate the fact that you can have actual input on your Digimon's battle ability through a simple timing/reflex minigame. The app has plenty of daily and lifetime missions as well as bracelet missions for you to complete at a given time, once again giving lots of reasons to go outside or run around and exercise for a bit when you have time. It's cool, really. I do wish the app had infinite slots for Digimon rather than giving a set amount per DIM card, but at least the BE app will apparently fix that too.
I haven't used the bracelet or app for the better part of a month now for some personal reasons but I'm looking to get back into it for the next few weeks again before the BE drops. Once that's here, I'm gonna do what I can to transfer my Digimon pals to the new app and hopefully have a great time with the new bracelet!
The biggest takeaway from the bracelets in general is that they fill a niche that I think shouldn't be understated. Being a busy or working adult or a child who's not got a ton of free time or wants to focus on tasks other than a VPet device is uh, pretty common. As fun as playing with a Tamagotchi or Digimon device can be, even when you pause them you still feel a constant sense of urgency that might pull you away from tasks you're doing or planning and I think it's great that this provides a less intrusive alternative that you can pace yourself with and fit around your life like a glove. Frankly I think it's one of the most effective forms of exercise-inducing gaming I've ever seen or experienced.
I do still hope we start getting more regular VPet devices again since the anniversary ones are overstaying their welcomes a wee bit while the X isn't a large-scale improvement, and the upcoming Color devices honestly seem like wastes of money for how little they bring to the table. Ideally we'll soon have both BEs and new VPets around at the same time, hopefully with the former getting support with new DIMs and a more robust app and the latter being much improved from the monochrome dot-matrix screens and fairly low-depth gameplay we still somehow have today. Regardless, I'm really happy I got back into these things lately and picked up the Vital Hero when I did. I'm suuuuper excited for what the BE has in store for us!
To give a brief rundown of my history with these things, I played with some Tamagotchi Connection devices back in the mid 2000s, some Cube World devices I got from a thrift store in the late 2000s, and much later when the original Tamagotchi was brought back for the anniversary release in the late 2010s I picked one up and played with that a ton as well. Following that I also played with the original Digimon device when it got rereleased, and from there I've gotten more into Digimon in general as I never had the opportunity to when I was much younger. Instead, it was just sorta something that existed in the background of my life that I couldn't find a way to actually get into for lack of money or awareness of options.
A few years after playing with the DM20, I was pleased to find out about the Vital Bracelet, which seemed like exactly the kind of device I'd wanted! Having graduated from college and now leading an inconsistently busy and relaxed lifestyle while getting to a point of self-sustenance through new jobs, I thought it would be great to have a much lower-maintenance friend to cherish and bring around with me in day-to-day life. This is exactly that, and minus the slight discomfort of the heart rate monitor jutting out the bottom, it's plenty fun to carry around on your wrist in daily life. No, the bracelets don't really have the full features of something like the old DM20 - Digimon don't poop or need to be fed in this device, presumably doing each of those things themselves offscreen - but I find that that's a plus for this particular niche it's filling.
Speaking of that niche, I think one of the most valuable parts of the VB/VH is how it encourages consistent exercise even if it's for a silly or gimmicky kind of reason. You see, Digimon will evolve into different forms often based on how many "awards" they receive, and you get the most awards per day by doing particular exercises and using bonus ones from the VB Lab app carefully. I found that during the time when I used this device the most, I was actually consistently doing mini-workouts every day on top of just trying to walk around as much as I could for my buddy to get their Vital stat up.
Seeing the Digimon friend I've got evolve into forms I'd hope they can be proud of is something that genuinely brings me joy and makes me happy, and using self-care as a form of care for them too is honestly really sweet in a way. It means you and the Digimon you've got with you really are tied together by your very life forces, and the way you move around and the time you take to get some exercise or do stuff outside doesn't just benefit you, but it benefits them as well. It feels less like taking care of a pet and more like having a friend who will cheer you on while you do your best for them too, and I think that's pretty much exactly what I prefer. I don't really care for the common idea of 'pets' in general, so this option is great.
Speaking of evolution, I do rather enjoy the idea of DIM cards. They're frankly a bit cumbersome to use and their price tag really should be a couple dollars lower for MSRP, but in general they provide a nice amount of 'content' that is optional to the point of only needing to purchase the cards you actually want based on the promo Digimon or based on the lines included if you do extra research. Since a DIM card is only slightly cheaper than buying something like a DM20 or X it's not the easiest thing to justify, but I find that if you can get DIM cards for cheaper than MSRP they tend to feel worth it. It's great having such a modular device, though I feel there are some missed opportunities baked into how it's handled.
I could imagine it would be truly awesome if digital DIM cards were added to the VB Lab app in order to download the Digimon in question onto the bracelet without needing to plug anything in, or hell, even having some way for the bracelet itself to download purchased digital DIMs. It'd even give opportunities for in-store sale prices on DIMs every once in a while to entice people to pick up more, all while using less plastic. But alas, that's not how this all works.
Still, I think the variety in DIMs is nice and it seems with the upcoming BE memories we'll be getting even more robust options. One of the other missed opportunities with DIMs is that the Digimon have no variance in stats compared to others of their species, but it seems the BE will correct this. It would be cool if there were differences as-is so using the app would feel all the more like tapping into a community, but it's fine enough as it is.
The app itself is quite sleek and functions well, though the music can get pretty annoying at times... like, the track they picked for the bracelet-app transfer screen is particularly irritating and I have no idea why they kept it. But the visuals are nice with large-size Digimon pixel artwork for any Digimon you transfer in, and cute little expressions for when they're happy or sad or sleeping. The arena and raid battle section are actually quite nice and are some of the cooler parts of the bracelet to be sure, as I do very much appreciate the fact that you can have actual input on your Digimon's battle ability through a simple timing/reflex minigame. The app has plenty of daily and lifetime missions as well as bracelet missions for you to complete at a given time, once again giving lots of reasons to go outside or run around and exercise for a bit when you have time. It's cool, really. I do wish the app had infinite slots for Digimon rather than giving a set amount per DIM card, but at least the BE app will apparently fix that too.
I haven't used the bracelet or app for the better part of a month now for some personal reasons but I'm looking to get back into it for the next few weeks again before the BE drops. Once that's here, I'm gonna do what I can to transfer my Digimon pals to the new app and hopefully have a great time with the new bracelet!
The biggest takeaway from the bracelets in general is that they fill a niche that I think shouldn't be understated. Being a busy or working adult or a child who's not got a ton of free time or wants to focus on tasks other than a VPet device is uh, pretty common. As fun as playing with a Tamagotchi or Digimon device can be, even when you pause them you still feel a constant sense of urgency that might pull you away from tasks you're doing or planning and I think it's great that this provides a less intrusive alternative that you can pace yourself with and fit around your life like a glove. Frankly I think it's one of the most effective forms of exercise-inducing gaming I've ever seen or experienced.
I do still hope we start getting more regular VPet devices again since the anniversary ones are overstaying their welcomes a wee bit while the X isn't a large-scale improvement, and the upcoming Color devices honestly seem like wastes of money for how little they bring to the table. Ideally we'll soon have both BEs and new VPets around at the same time, hopefully with the former getting support with new DIMs and a more robust app and the latter being much improved from the monochrome dot-matrix screens and fairly low-depth gameplay we still somehow have today. Regardless, I'm really happy I got back into these things lately and picked up the Vital Hero when I did. I'm suuuuper excited for what the BE has in store for us!