Pokémon Colosseum (Gamecube) Review
Introduction
Lets just say this if Pokmon wasnt around either would be Nintendo, Sad but True. However since it is Nintendo’s most popular franchises (well depends who you talk to) and the Pokmon RPG’s are pretty good games. It when you come to the Cash-in’s on the Pokmon Games that it gets sketchy, there has been some good ones (Pokmon Stadium 2) and some very average (Pokmon Snap) and the Shockingly Boring (Pokmon Channel). But Fret Not Nintendo and the development team have definitely focused on the Adventure mode even though if it is a bit cut down.
Graphics
You’ve got to give it to the Development team; they put a lot of effort into making the game look good. The Graphics are what we call a mixed bag, with more on the good side and not on the bad. The style of the Role Playing Mode is good with lots of effort put in to the design of the different environments, characters and cities. The Pokmon however are the real stars with all of them (300+ now, I gave up at 251 on Gold) realistically animated and modelled how you would expect them to look in real life. Although when the Pokmon are fighting they dont actually touch each other (and not like that you sicko: P). But the Effects used are put in there place. The Real let down is the Characters models, the people you talk to you may not notice it much but when you are in a FMV and the people talk and it comes up to a close up you can nice how badly the humans of the game are modelled and how off-sync there mouth is with there speech. It doesnt even look like it matches, however this could be because it was matched to the Japanese Version and not the English one. The Menus are all well done and match the look of the Pokmon GBA games very well. Also the Pokmon Centres and Marts actually look like there GB counterparts so you do know where you are. However the Actual game is nothing like a NORMAL Pokmon Adventure, More on that Shortly.
Sound
The Sound Also is a Proverbial Mixed bagged. In the Left corner you got brilliantly orchestrated music that has had some money put into it. Hearing that Pokmon Theme in a cool Non Midi, Orchestrated Music always puts you in the mood for some battling however what turns you off straight away is the old GB “Beeping” of the Pokmon’s Call. Sure this could pass on the GB, heck we forgave it on the GBA but on the GameCube? Whats to stop Nintendo getting all the people who do the Pokmons Voice to Voice about 10 noises for each character and for them to say there name. Half of them are already done on games like Pokmon Channel and the Anime so why not on the Game. If you still not sure what I mean then if you expecting a Pika! from a Pikachu all you will get is a bzzzzzazzara that the GB version makes.
Gameplay
Lets start off with the Battle mode you all know from the Previous Games….
The Battle mode which was the focus and basically entirety of the last 2 Pokmon Stadium games take a back seat here. The Battle Mode uses the same graphics engine, character models and player interface. The thing that makes the battle mode interesting is the rules you can change so you can make the battles different which will make the game last a bit longer and also change the strategies people use. People with Game Cube only can register there Pokmon from the RPG and fight with Computer players in the solo mode or up to 3 human players with Gameboy Advance’s. The design encourages playing with this mode by giving you Pokmon Coupons to use in the either the GBA or NGC adventure modes.
The RPG mode is where the game is mostly at and if you expecting the Start from A city work through all the Gyms then the Elite Four. Yay youre a special Pokmon trainer! then think again. This time you start off as a Pokmon Trainer who already has some experience and some Pokmon. So if you havent played Pokmon at ALL before then your sort of thrust into it but youll get the hang of it. The Rules of Pokmon Fighting are still the same however there are now 17 types of Pokmon and thats means youll have to have some strategies as some Pokmon have mixed types which makes them more resilient. Though the NGC game follows the game from the GBA pretty much the same there is new element in the mixed which is called Shadow Pokmon. These Shadow Pokmon are Abused Pokmon and are the Game cubes Adventures storyline as well as a new Gameplay feature.
If you though you would be walking around the map looking for Pokmon to build up your team you though wrong it simply doesnt happen in this version. The only Pokmon there are to collect are Shadow Pokmon from another Trainer. You do this by Snagging and its something new and different to this adventure. In this game you will encounter a trainer who has a Shadow Pokmon and attempt to snag it using an appropriate Poke ball. You still snag them the same by slowly working there health down but once court the Pokmon is still a Shadow Pokmon in your party. You will have to use it in battle to break the Shadow on them. The only move they can first use is Shadow Rush with the more you “Unlock” then the more moves you get
Value/Difficulty
Even with all these new features the story isnt a deep, involving or as open ended as the GB adventures are and were. The quest of the game is very linear with no alternative way to work through the game. So even though it is similar to the GB versions there are no quests, no magma or aqua, no mini games which is what the GB version is full of. And the reason for this? So Nintendo can still sell more of the Handheld Adventures.
The Actual adventure will take a while to complete but as you know some Pokmon Battles can go on forever and there is lots of in games movies. Also with the battles with the Pokmon actually moving and animating it takes a while just to do something simple. Also the GBA link up, which is the main selling point of the game, is a bit… well below average and I was expecting a lot more. The fact that you can get all your stats on the GBA when youre playing and the person playing the cube can is a disappointment.
In Conclusion
For what ever makes the Game Boy Pokmon Games so cool is in Colosseum however also what also make the games really cool is missing. The RPG although pretty good as a game you not going to get the same adventure you would on the GB. There is not “Gotta Catch Em All!” in this as there is only a limited amount of Pokmon you can catch and sometimes you can only see them once. Although its been done before the 3D and very well Animated Pokmon are what make up this game so instead of a bunch of Pixels you get the real deal and its wonderful to see 300+ of the Pokmon there.
Even though the Story mode is not all there it is still one hugely challenging game and is a different way to experience the Pokmon Games.
PS Since when has Pokmon has so many Pokmon? I though there way only like 300 of them?
