Well I'd probably do the v5, but that's just me, because the v5 is, in my opinion, a lot easier to care for than the other two.
Let me remind you about the features of each so that you can make your decision.
(Okay, so I didn't really give you much of a choice there when I said "let me remind you." I'm like that sometimes. Sorry.)
The v3
When you start up a v3, you hatch one Tamagotchi, which can be either a boy or a girl and you raise it to become an adult. The adult that you get depends on how well you cared for it throughout its life and apparently what parents it had may have an influence too. This Tamagotchi, like most others, has a weight system. When you feed it, it gains weight. When you play games, it loses weight. Unfortunately, like the v2-v4.5, you need to complete the game totally just for it to lose the full 3g/3lbs of weight for that game. Which isn't good if you don't have a lot of time on your hands.
There are six games on this Tamagotchi, unlocked at different points throughout its lifetime. Get the Notes (unlocked at baby stage) is a tedious game, but it's the only one you can have at the beginning. Bump (unlocked at child stage) is a game that relies on a bit of luck and your Tamagotchi's weight. A heavier Tamagotchi is more likely to win than a lighter Tamagotchi, but heavier Tamagotchi get less Gotchi Points than a lighter one. Flag (unlocked at teenager stage) is a game that is sort of like Simon Says and at first may take a while to understand. There are nine rounds which makes it quite long. Heading (unlocked at teenager stage) is probably the shortest out of all of the games, involving trying to get your Tamagotchi to knock falling balls back up into the air. Memory and Sprint are unlocked at the adult stage and to be honest I didn't play these two games often. Memory is just that, a memory game and Sprint is a button-mashing game which is why I hated it. I never timed these games, but I think that the length of these games and the amount of time it sometimes takes to get this Tamagotchi at a good weight means that it might not be a good one to raise if you are busy.
This Tamagotchi can "connect" to Tamatown (
tamatown.com). However, connection on this Tamagotchi is pretty simple. Just enter your username on the site and play games and stuff to get a password, which can be entered on your v3 to get souvenirs (which just sit in your souvenir list and look pretty) or to buy items.
The v3 can connect and breed with all versions of Tamagotchi from v1-v4.5. However, it only has complete compatibility with another v3. With another v3, it can play four games- the outcome of these is randomly decided and you have no influence over them. You can also send presents. You can "wrap" an item to possibly have it sent to the next Tamagotchi v3 you connect with. Also, you can "visit" another Tamagotchi but it doesn't really do much. The two Tamagotchi just do a little animation like singing or playing ball and then go back home.
This Tamagotchi, out of all of your Tamagotchi, is probably the closest to the original Connexions in the sense that you are only raising one character and you can still do things like disciplining and turning out the lights. Unfortunately, I believe that this version, along with v4 and v4.5 are meant to be the glitchiest of them all. One word of advice regarding glitches- if you ever want to delete items, do not delete them all at once, or you may trigger the infamous ball glitch. (That's not the only glitch. That's not even the beginning if I remember correctly.)
The v4
Like the v3, you also raise just one character. This version is quite different to the v3, however. You raise your Tamagotchi to get a job when it gets older and become successful in life.
How do you do this? Well, in your Tamagotchi's check meter, you have three stats also known as "skill points"- Intelligence (pencil), Style (star) and Kindness (flower). Each of these stats can be raised by either sending your Tamagotchi to school, playing games or feeding certain foods.
The games on this version are Jumping Rope (unlocked at baby stage), Mimic (unlocked at child stage) and Shape, Dance and Flag (unlocked at teenager stage). The games are: Jumping Rope, a simple reflexes game (the push-one-button-when-you-have-to sort of game), Mimic (also a push-one-button-when-you-have-to sort of game, but different- instead of jumping over a rope, you have to wait until your Tamagotchi's pose matches your opponent's pose), Shape ("shape-shooting" game), Dance (sorta like DDR but ridiculously slow at the beginning) and Flag (like the v3's game but it runs quicker and only has eight rounds). Jumping Rope and Mimic raise random skill points, Shape raises intelligence, Dance raises style and Flag raises kindness. I actually bothered to time these games, so you can see how much time these games will take up.
Jumping Rope- 1min 50sec
Mimic- 3min (and I believe that's actually slightly quicker than usual)
Shape- 1min 30sec
Dance- 2min 30sec (which is why I hate raising style skill points)
Flag- 1min 40sec
Your Tamagotchi can also go to preschool (when it's a child) and school (when it's a teenager). When it is able to go, you will receive mail. Mail replaces the lights function on previous versions (it now turns out the lights on its own). You can get "fortune cookie" mails which affect certain things that day, like what kind of mail you will get. You can also get regular mail which can be something good, like money or happiness, or something unpleasant, like poop. Yes, you heard that right. And the most important of all is important mail, which alerts you when your Tamagotchi can enter preschool or school or go for a job interview. Some people get confused when their Tamagotchi enter school or get a job interview (they're usually alright with preschool though) so I'll explain them quickly.
When your Tamagotchi is able to enter school, it will go to the school and Mr. Turtlepedia will appear. Press A or C to switch between teachers and press B to select. The teachers are:
Mr. Turtlepedia- Intelligence
Furawa Sensei (Ms. Flower)- Style
Canvasu Sensei (Mr. Canvas)- Kindness
Once you've entered school, you can go to school using the work option and you'll play one of those games which is kinda like one of those games where an object is hidden under one of three hats and the hats are shuffled round and you've got to find the object.
When your Tamagotchi is able to enter work, it will go to a building. Press A to scroll through the buildings and B to select one and apply for a job there. Once you've got the job, you can go there and play a work game by using the work option. The shortest work game is probably the fireman job and is only 1min and 30sec long. Each job corresponds to a certain stat and going to the job will only raise that stat but it'll raise that stat by 8 points at the maximum.
Connection is sorta like the v3, it can communicate with v1-v4.5 Tamagotchi and, when connecting to a v4 or v4.5, it has the game/present/visit options. I won't explain them because I already have in the v3 section. However, on the v4, you have two extra options in this menu: Work and PC. Work is just that, take your Tamagotchi to preschool/school/work, and PC just gives you a password so you can enter the v4 Tamatown and enter a logout password afterwards.
This Tamagotchi is also glitchy in points too, like the matchmaker only staying on for 10 seconds for the earlier v4s.
The v5
On the v5, you hatch three Tamagotchi, which are either two boys and a girl, or two girls and a boy. You give the family a family name- you cannot name each character individually. The aim of this one is not to raise them to have a successful life, but to form and maintain a strong family bond. To do this, you play special bonding games (only available from the second generation onwards), play connection games, use special items, or give them training when they ask for it.
You still have to keep the family full and content, by playing happiness games and feeding. The four games on this version are TV Surfing, Tea Time, Golf Putt and Shoe Match. (Golf Putt and Shoe Match aren't available on the first generation though.) The first two games raise happiness while the last two games raise bonding. TV Surfing is shorter than Tea Time but is more difficult. The maximum payout of Gotchi Points from any game is 100G. Which isn't very much, I know, but items can be used as many times as you like.
This version doesn't really have a proper pause function like the Connexions from v2-v4.5. Instead, you have to go to the Gotchi TV icon (which replaces the mail and lights of v4 and v3) and select "Travel Channel." Your Tamagotchi will then be on holiday until you choose to call them back. On the Gotchi TV, you also have features such as TV Shopping and a dating channel. Unlike the v2-v4.5, the shop doesn't change its stock at certain times of day. It changes its stock every time you watch. And unlike any previous Connexion, when your Tamagotchi are old enough, you can watch the dating channel up to 3 times a day. Only one Tamagotchi gets married and has 1-3 children, the other Tamagotchi return to Tamagotchi Planet.
You can go onto TamaEXPO, sort of like Tamatown, and it can even be accessed from the same website too. Unfortunately, this has several major flaws- like the Japanese Tamatown, you log in, then when you've got your prize, you are immediately logged out and you need to log back in again to get another prize. Another flaw is that this website seems constantly busy.
This version isn't really great with connectability. It can only connect or breed with a v5 or a v5.5. Additionally, when you marry, only one unit will get the babies. The other unit will just be left with one less adult.
I hope all this information wasn't too hard to swallow and helped you!
