One easy way to understand the kind of game that Go Go Morikawa-kun is, is to think about Tamagotchi. Like the famous growth sim, Morikawa places you as the caretaker of a growing creature. In Tamagotchi, we had a digital thing-a-ma-bob to contend with - here, we have an odd creation that looks like a blue egg with the eyes of a frog and limbs such as arms and legs. The game calls the creature a PIT. PIT deciphers to Pet In TV. Get it? Anyway, your goal is to raise this little creature into something that can eventually survive a scenario by itself - namely the eighth world which is named P-Zone.
If you so choose, you can access an information section on the title menu to learn more about PIT and watch some short 'videos'. The first segment features the MuuMuus of Jumping Flash fame as they eat in a restaurant and are brought up to speed on the PIT phenom by a television-headed sentient named Dr. Y. The videos are helpful for learning the basics of the game and the objectives on what to do so I would recommend watching all of them. There are four separate parts on teaching and understanding PIT that you may choose from a short menu. You may also watch all four segments in uninterupted fashion if you so desire.

When you first start the game, you will be given the choice of choosing from five different PIT creatures. They all look similar but differ in their temperaments and learning capabilities. They also differ in the designs that is pictured on their chests. One has a picture of a duck and another has a picture of a smiley face emblazoned across it's chest area. I wasn't quite sure what the designs meant but the one that has a duck design is supposed to be more responsive to your commands than the other PITs. I chose the regular PIT but vowed to test the other PITs to see what they were like in a later session.

After you choose a suitable PIT. You will then be asked to christen your new charge with a name. I named my first PIT Frog. As you guide your PIT through the game, you can get involved in different objectives such as clearing worlds and collecting chips to gauge the development of your PIT. You will also find yourself collecting a multitude of objects that seemingly have no purpose. Throughout the game, you will be aided by Dr.Y who is a teacher of sorts who dispenses advice and leads you on the right way to raise your PIT. Dr. Y is a drol looking fellow with a flat LCD screen for a head, complete with a pixellated digital mustache.

When you begin to play, you can let PIT walk around by itself and try things out. This is not recommended since a new PIT does not know much and will not get very far without your guidance. You cannot directly control PIT but you guide it with a direction button and with approve & disapprove buttons. For example, when Frog first started walking around, I used the direction button to make it go to an energy pak. Frog approached it and scratched it. Invariably, the first action that a newborn PIT does is scratch a new object. After every action, PIT will turn it's head around and seek your approval. I disapproved of this action, and it went on to the next action.

Frog lifted the energy pak and placed it on it's head. I disapproved of this also and so on and so forth until it stuck out it's nose, sniffed and then ate the energy pak. I approved and Frog uttered a sound of "Ahht" or something like that. A PIT makes this sound whenever it learns something correctly. The next time Frog encountered an energy pak, it scratched it again but the next thing it did was eat it, which I approved of. The very next time it encountered an energy pak, it immediately ate it, which I gave approval for. So, my PIT was a quick learner when it came time to eat something. The PIT is endearing because it looks to you for approval and is very much like an obedient dog that is dependent on its master for guidance and help.

The realistic thing about PIT is that it does not even know that food is food until you tell it that it is okay to eat. If you leave it alone, it would probably run out of power because it would not know which items to eat to replensih itself. There are many objects in the game that PIT will have to interact with properly. Of course, I did not read the instruction manual fully so I had to experiment with a couple of objects as well before I figured out what they were for. Diamonds, tools and other items should be placed in PIT's backpack for use later on. Although the backpack may look small, you can pretty much hold the world in there.

Ganbare Morikawa-kun is not for everybody. It takes time and patience to teach PIT the right way to do things and to tutor it in the ways of the world. I suppose those with maternal or paternal instincts will find PIT to be nice practice for raising something. It's actions and responses are realistic and are life-like. In later levels, when you have taught PIT enough about the world, you can put the simulation on "Self-Teach" and PIT will walk around and learn with it's retained knowledge as well as experiment by itself. I preferred getting into the game hands-on and teaching PIT personally.

There are times when you may find that PIT has done something exceptionally well or clever. In this case, you have the option of petting your PIT. Once you click on the pet icon, a disembodied hand will emerge from nowhere and pet PIT a couple of times for a good job done. Its another reflection of the realism found in the game because you pet a dog when it has done something good. Like when your dog rolls over or when it retrieves a bone. PIT's range of moves and actions are many and you should have a lot of fun teaching it and learning the world of Morikawa with it.
I enjoyed this pet sim immensely. Sony designed PIT with a lot of personality and embued it with a robotic charm that grows on you. There is a feeling of accomplishment when your PIT starts to become more advanced and navigates the later levels with a greater modicum of skill. And you, knowing that you brought it to that level with positive reinforcement and proper guidance can feel like a proud parent with a bright young pupil. Highly recommended for Tamagotchi fans who are looking for the next level in pet simulations.