🐾
7 species to raise
Fox, Cat, Bunny, Dragon, Slime, Robot and Axolotl — each with its own personality, palette, and look.
StreetPass-inspired virtual pet · Nintendo 3DS
Raise a pet that grows with every passing.
PetPal is a homebrew virtual‑pet game built around passing. Every player you meet — anywhere in the world, over the internet — becomes a friend who feeds your pet, drops gifts, and nudges it toward its next evolution.
Runs on every 3DS & 2DS model
🦊Mikapassed in Kyoto
🐉Brampassed online
🐱Solpassed at PAX
tap me — i'm a Fox
The idea
One pet. A whole world of friends.
You raise a single companion. It can't grow on its own — it grows by meeting people. Because PetPal can't use the console's built-in StreetPass, it runs its own passing over the internet — quietly trading pets with players anywhere, so a friend in another country can show up in your journal tomorrow morning.
// from your pet's journal
Day 14. Met Mika near the station.
She gave me a sunhat 🧢 and we
watched the trains. I think I'm
almost ready to evolve…
Day 14. Met Mika near the station.
She gave me a sunhat 🧢 and we
watched the trains. I think I'm
almost ready to evolve…
What's inside
A complete little game, not a tech demo
Everything below is already built — pets render procedurally, so it's fully playable before a single sprite is drawn.
✨
5-stage evolution
Hit encounter milestones at 50, 200, 500 and 1000 friends to push your pet through every stage.
🗺️
Real-time adventures
Send your pet on short, medium or long trips with per-location loot and a story that writes itself.
📡
Internet passing
CRC-checked encounters, friend dedupe, gifts and friendship levels — with players anywhere, over PetPal's own relay.
📖
An auto-written journal
Your pet keeps a charming diary of who it met and what happened, with achievements and currency to match.
💾
Saves you can trust
Versioned, CRC-validated, atomic writes with rotating backups and portable exports. No lost pets.
How it works
Three steps, then it runs itself
You pass someone
Keep your 3DS online and PetPal quietly swaps pets with other players over the internet in the background — no second console nearby required.
They become a friend
Each encounter lands in your journal as a friend, often with a gift and a bit of XP for your pet.
Your pet grows
Friends unlock new places, raise friendship, and tick you toward the next evolution. Open it up and watch.
Ready to meet the world?
Drop the build onto your SD card, launch from the Homebrew Launcher, and start passing.
Get PetPalJoin the PetPal community
Hang out with the team and other players, get help, show off your pets, and be first to hear about new codes and releases.
