Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo review: Wake up, Link!

Before dedicating itself to video games, Nintendo primarily focused on playing cards and toys. It doesn't take a stroll through the new Nintendo Museum to guess that the company put out some oddball products during its history. This month, Nintendo embraced that spirit again with the release of the Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo, a classically designed alarm clock that's more than meets the eye. It's a fun idea, but after trying it out for a few days, it's one that may not be ready to get out of bed.

One issue is noticeable right out of the box. Alarmo comes with a single USB-C to USB-A cord to help power the device. A wall adapter is not included, which may present a problem to some users. I was able to get around it with a bedside table decked out with USB-A slots, but not everyone will have this at the ready.

After plugging Alarmo in, it's time to set the device up and that can be more cumbersome than one might hope. Clock owners must navigate the Alarmo menus through the dial at the top of the device and tapping the button to confirm any selections. Turning the dial to find a region or enter a time and date is easy enough, but entering a Wi-Fi password can take an aggravating amount of time. Yes, Nintendo requires a manual password entry, which is a pain in the clock when trying to input a complex password through the Alarmo's dial. What's more aggravating is that when it comes time to connect a user's Nintendo Account, the clock provides a simple QR code so that users can enter that information on a mobile device. Having had a QR code from the start and allowing people to input the Alarmo's info through their phone could have saved a lot of setup headaches.

Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo has one basic function and that's to get people out of bed. Once setup is finished, it's time to select from a handful of available themes. The selection isn't as comprehensive as one might hope given Nintendo's extensive back catalog, but for a first round, it does the job. I was soon able to wake up to the sounds of Koroks in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Toads running around in Super Mario Odyssey. There are also sounds available from Pikmin 4, Splatoon 3, and Ring Fit Adventure with more potentially coming in the future. That'll be where those ten minutes spent setting up the Wi-Fi connection will truly be worthwhile.

What sets Alarmo apart from something like a tablet with an alarm function is that it has a motion sensor meant to detect a user's movements. That's so that it can recognize when lazy layabouts haven't gotten out of bed. There's no snooze function on this thing, but instead it will gradually increase its volume, as well as the action on the Alarmo's front screen, the longer that it takes somebody to finally get to their feet. It's a fun idea, but there are a few quirks that I bumped into during my time toying with Mario and Link.

Because the aforementioned desk with the USB connector is on my spouse's side of the bed, I made sure to set Alarmo to wake her in the morning to head off to a long day of teaching. The first thing to note is that the sensor couldn't properly detect her for a few reasons. One is that she uses a larger wedge pillow to keep her head propped up. The wedge pillow was considered something of an obstruction and left the sensor slightly confused. The other problem is a third presence on the bed. If you've downloaded Shackpets, you probably know his name is Bucky. Even after successfully getting out of bed, the sensor still recognized Bucky and because of that, the alarm wouldn't stop going off.

Fortunately, there's a Button Mode for times when the sensor isn't quite doing the job. Alarmo is honestly worth using with or without the sensor, because it does operate effectively. The calming tones of the Seaside Kingdom theme are a nice thing to wake up to and there's a sense of fun in hearing Mario collect coins or stomp on enemies. There's also a Gentle Mode for those who hate being rudely woken up. Speaking personally, it's a nice change of pace from my iPad alarm, which is... well... this song. While I had no issue hitting the button and following the ensuing prompt to stop the alarm, my wife struggled a little more. That's because she can't see without her glasses, so if she went to hit the button, as one instinctively does when an alarm goes off, she couldn't read the prompt asking if she wanted to stop Alarmo. It's a case where she'd have to memorize the device's quirks to stop it in the morning.

Alarmo also has a few functions for when it's time to go to bed. A Sleepy Sounds function is available for whatever theme you're using and will play for five minutes if you get into bed after your designated bedtime. Again, this is an issue when you have a Bucky who loves to plaster himself on the bed, meaning the Sleepy Sounds will sometimes trigger early. Bucky also has an adverse effect on Alarmo's sleep-tracking function, which is meant to measure sleep statistics based on movement and sleep patterns. The numbers, needless to say, get skewed.

For a big Nintendo kid like myself, Alarmo is an enjoyable luxury. As an alarm clock, it's a novelty, but doesn't go much farther than that. I love that there are options for when and how to wake a person up, making it suitable for light and deep sleepers. The Hourly Chimes give your day a little extra pop and the motion tracking is a cool feature when it works. That's the biggest qualifier, because it doesn't always function the way it's meant to. Adults who share beds with partners (human or furry) won't get the most out of that feature, but it does make Alarmo an enticing option for kids. Parents may get more use out of Alarmo as a potential way to get their lazy kids out of bed so they can start getting ready for school.

At the end (and beginning) of the day, Alarmo is a weird piece of work from Nintendo. After sleeping on it, who else but Nintendo would come up with something like this?

This review is based on a unit purchased by the reviewer. Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo will be available in November 2024 via the Nintendo website for $99.99 USD.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?