Nakayoshi Pet Advance Series 3 : Kawaii Koneko

Nakayoshi Pet Advance Series 3: Kawaii Koneko is a Game Boy Advance pet-raising simulation from MTO, released in Japan on August 9, 2002. The third GBA installment of the Nakayoshi Pet Advance series, it puts a kitten at the center of a compact handheld routine of care, play, and observation. MTO also published the Japanese release, whose title translates as "Cute Kitten," rather than presenting it as a sequel to the older PC Petz games.

The game begins with choosing a kitten and establishing its home life. Players give the animal a name, then attend to the everyday needs that shape a virtual-pet game: feeding it, grooming it, playing with it, and keeping it content. The focus is not on defeating enemies or clearing action stages, but on repeatedly checking in with the kitten and seeing its behavior change as it is cared for. Its animated reactions and cat sounds make those ordinary interactions the main reward.

Kawaii Koneko offers thirteen cat breeds to choose from, so selecting a pet is part of the experience rather than a fixed opening. Food, treats, toys, and other items can be obtained from the in-game pet shop, expanding the ways to spend time with a kitten. The game’s structure gives players reasons to return to its daily routine, with care and play serving as the core activities instead of a conventional score chase.

Although it was originally a Japanese Game Boy Advance release, the same GBA game later reached North America and Europe as Catz through Ubisoft. That overseas edition arrived in March 2006, years after Kawaii Koneko’s Japanese debut, so it should not be confused with the separate Nintendo DS and PC games that also used the Catz name. The Japanese cartridge was subsequently reissued in 2005 under MTO’s Minna no Soft Series line as simply Kawaii Koneko.

Nakayoshi Pet Advance Series 3: Kawaii Koneko supports one or two players and includes communication play, a notable social option for a portable pet simulation of its era. Its place in the series is easy to identify: the first two GBA entries centered on a hamster and a puppy, while this third game shifts the attention to a kitten. For players exploring MTO’s early handheld animal-care games, it is a gentle, cat-focused example of the virtual-pet format on Game Boy Advance.