Pokemon is one of the most successful franchises ever created, with a following of fans that is staggering. Nintendo knows this, but has consistently passed up the opportunity to convincingly transition the saga onto the GameCube, instead feeding us pseudo-games for the last year or so. I'm talking about Pokemon Channel, and Pokemon Box. Both of these could hardly be called games, with Channel being a glorified TV program, and Box being not even a game at all, but a larger storage chest and organization system for your Pokemon. With Pokemon Colosseum, Nintendo takes its first attempt at a real game for the Pokemon franchise on the GameCube, and creates a game that while entertaining, may not appeal to all Pokemon fans out there.
The Pokemon games on the GameBoy systems have all been RPG's with hours of playability. You traveled from town to town, collecting Pokemon along the way and training them so that they were stronger and more powerful. This tried and true formula kept millions of gamers enthralled, with the hunt for rarer and rarer Pokemon on each successive cartridge. Colosseum goes a different route. Nintendo has made this game have a different angle than the usual Pokemon adventures. In this story, you play a teenager who was part of a rogue group of Pokemon trainers, but had stolen a piece of technology they used, and ran off on his own. This gadget allows you to steal Pokemon from other trainers in the midst of a battle, something that couldn't be done before. This actually ends up being the only way to increase your collection in Colosseum. But there's another spin. You can't capture just any Pokemon, no; you're limited to catching only "Shadow Pokemon" from the trainers you battle.
"Shadow Pokemon" are the centerpiece of this adventure. It seems a group of evil-doers have found a way to "artificially close the heart" of Pokemon, thus creating a Pokemon that isn't afraid to attack humans. Yes, the "close the heart" thing does sound a little cheesy, and that, combined with other lines in the story make you wonder a little about the translation of this game, but for the most part it's all good.
The RPG mode itself is not entirely complex, with a storyline that is quite linear, and simplistic. The battles you face are of the same fare you experienced in Sapphire and Ruby for the GBA, with 2 on 2 battles going on. This leads to some simple tactics that can be employed, like getting one Pokemon to be in a support role to the other. The whole adventure will give you 10-15 hours worth of game play if you stick directly to the story, but there are a few opportunities to just train your Pokemon to your hearts content.
The other mode of play included is the battle mode. Just like the Stadium games on the N64, Colosseum offers you the chance to battle your Pokemon in grand arenas and with full screen effects of your Pokemon's skills. The battles are really what make this whole game. The RPG wouldn't really be much without them, and with the ability in the Battle Mode to link up to 3 additional GBAs with Sapphire or Ruby in them and battle your stored up pocket monsters from your previous adventures, it's a good system indeed.
Although the graphics in the RPG aren't exactly standout, the graphics in the battle sequences can be quite stunning. Some of the attacks using smoke or different lighting effects come across looking quite awesome. This is sure to please Pokemon regulars, as they weren't that polished on the N64, and all you get on the GameBoy systems are flashing screens and other simple animations. It did seem as though Nintendo was a little lax in the sound department. Besides continuing their love for not including voice acting in their games, the soundtrack was alright, but not that inspiring, with several of the songs being repeated over and over. Another point of contention was the sound of your Pokemon themselves. Instead of allowing them to use the voices weˇ¦ve come to love (and be annoyed by..) in the animated series, they chose to use a synthetic sound for each of them. This was a disappointment to me, as I really do like to hear a "pika pika!" now and again.
|
|
So there we have it, Nintendo finally gave us a real game for Pokemon on the GameCube. Even though the battles are still largely the focus, and the RPG does not have the depth of the GameBoy versions, it's still worthy of some play time just to see your little monsters run around on the big screen using those attacks that you always imagined would look amazing. Also, the idea of capturing "Shadow Pokemon" and "opening their hearts" is a new spin on the old collecting idea. I for one am still waiting for the time when they finally shake up the series and create a nice long epic that makes the GameBoy series wish it could compete... Will it happen? Here's hoping.
