Pokemon Colosseum for Gamecube Review by ProReviewer at nGaming

'Exploring is always fun, but that's when there is somewhere to explore'

Pokemon has always maintained the ability to be an exciting turn based battle game, with strategy, role-playing and fun in the mix. But when it comes to 3D pokemon games, a lot of this is lost. You have to train the pokemon ON the Gameboy or use rental pokemon. The role-play is destroyed and the fun of exploring is lost. Pokemon Colosseum has clearly aimed to fix that, but has it aimed high enough?

Everyone wanted a 3D Gamecube game, and they've got it. Most people were expecting a Stadium 2 clone with a couple more pokemon and a few new mini-games'. Nope. This kicks all of the past games into the dirt, because the experience is about 10 times more exciting. So why isn't it just Pokemon Stadium 3? To be honest, the whole 'Colosseum' gimmick is pretty pointless. A Colosseum is essentially a Stadium, with a few extra seats. But the developers thought that this was a title more deserving of the word 'Stadium'. It certainly is!

Yay! Thank you lord for this game. The Gameboy pokemon games have arrived in 3D. Exploring, training pokemon, fighting trainers, pokemon centers, marts and gyms, items to buy, people to see. It's what we always wanted. However, the trip from the land of the 2D games to the land of 3D games has affected the gameplay severely, you could say the trip was like a bus journey, where the driver got bored half-way through. Walking around is fun but there is hardly any where to walk to. Only 10 different locations, though each vast, seems a little plain. The fun of exploring routes is gone, and you'll have to beat trainers in the towns. The gyms and Pokemon Contests didn't catch the bus between dimensions either, which is acceptable to some, but an outrage to others. I can excuse Pokemon Contests, it would have been hard to do that but Pokemon Gyms? There is no excuse for that. Some locations look bland, lazy and totally effortless, almost deserted at times. It looks like what I'm saying now totally controdicts what I said earlier. Luckily, Pokemon Colosseum has sneakily crept it's way out of the Pokemon hall of shame. It is supported by an awesome and truly involving storyline, which is boring at first, interesting later, then repetitive towards the end. It has massive Colosseum battles, with some of the finest examples of location programming yet seen in 'Pokemon' games. A huge Mt. Battle challenge with 100 trainers to beat and 4 Evil Cipher Admins, who you could call the 'gym leaders'.

This game also sees a whole new type of Pokemon, the 'Shadow Pokemon'. You snag them off other trainers, then try to 'purify' their hearts. Some Pokemon will purify quickly, some will take longer, but as they become less 'shadowed', they will regain their moves. This may seem strange but you'll get used it. Disappointingly, there are only 47 pokemon to catch and the heart-stopping moment when you throw your Pokeball, is sort of 'ruined' by the 3D aspect. Other features of the story mode include having a PDA. This allows you to keep track of the Pokemon you've seen, view data, camera angles and listen to cries. You can get sent e-mails, which doesn't really help with the main story but becomes a major tool towards capturing the Shadow Pokemon (and only about 3 people will ever send you e-mails). You have to save at 'save computers', where you can store pokemon in '3 boxes' and store items. Saving at save points removes even more of the 2D, roaming adventure aspect, but again, you'll get used to it.

Now, the other side of Colosseum, the battle mode. You can 'Battle Now' with pre-decided team, of which there are about 30 and 5 difficulty levels, against the computer. But who cares about that when you have a massive set of challenges to put your Pokemon to work on. Once you've registered your Pokemon from either Colosseum or Ruby / Sapphire / FireRed / LeafGreen you can battle away with a huge set of challenges. It's a good thing that there's a Story Mode, otherwise they'd be no excuse for not having Rental Pokemon. Not having Rental Pokemon is a bit of pain, it doesn't do it justice when you compare it to it's N64 cousins. But it won't affect the gameplay to much, (considering how rubbish the Rental Pokemon's moves in the last game were).

You can battle solo, with your registered Pokemon in the Colosseum challenges. In the Colosseum battles, you battle a series of 8 trainers (very Pokemon Stadium 2 like) in a row, if you lose, having to start again. Every perfect win gains a continue and there are six Colosseums, each with a series of Single and Double battles to choose from. Or you can take the Mt. Battle vs 100 challenge. Like in Stadium 2, all the opposition's Pokemon will be the same level as your highest level pokemon. It's easy at first, but gets harder as you progress. You can play either double or single, so thats 200 battles in it already.

Of course, the main glue in the complex and addictive origami of Pokemon is the multiplayer. However, in this game, the 'glue' could have been slightly stronger. When in the arena, the Pokemon formula remains as fun as ever. That's if you get into the arena. No rental Pokemon means you'll have to use your own. Seing your own Pokemon in 3D is always fun, but not when you don't have any to battle with. For a 2 player battle, one of you will need a GBA, R/S/FR/LG pack and GC-GBA cable. For a 4 player battle, THREE of you will need all of that. Very expensive. If you can afford it though, you'll see that Pokemon's multiplayer magic remains as powerful as ever and seing your beauties in 3D never loses it's charm, brilliance or allure.

The graphics are unarguably brilliant. Every Pokemon is very detailed, well textured and well shadowed. The animations run as nicely as ever and there are no rough edges. However, it's easy to see what has happened. While 138 of the Pokemon models are brand new, fresh models. It seems they were either too lazy, or it was too hard to create new models for the 251 oldies. The models are clearly imported, and nothing can hide that fact. Machamp still looks like lego bricks, with blocky hands and blocky pecs. All the animations are the same, Alakazam's famous 'fly' after getting hurt is still there. But why complain when they still look great and are paired up with a set of the most fantastic effects ever. While some effects are almost identical, strength, superpower, body slam, tackle etc. Most are unique, Psychic looks powerful, but isn't as purple as it was before. Fire Blast is very good, keeping with the infamous 'star' effect, but looking better. Hydro Pump is a disgrace, but is hidden by sleek looking moves like Surf. It seems as though the effects where designed on a 3D Plain, it is clear by the camera angles taken. Bite no longer switches to a front view, it actually hits at a side angle, while still looking just as good. It seems like the switching to front view has been abolished, making Fire Blast, Crunch, Fissure and other moves, better than before. I have a few issues with the move 'Fly'. When a Pokemon is flying during the scene when you select your move, everything seems flawless. But when an attack misses, the flying Pokemon is just shown 'Standing' in the air. It truly is embarrassing to watch and it looks weird when you see Pokemon like Tropius standing in the middle of the air. Some effects are very slow to react. When selecting your move, you'll often see a Pokemon that has just done dig or fly, standing on the ground for 1 second or 2, then go underground or into the air. More simple, graphical errors have been carelessly scattered around the game, these often include your Partner, Fainting Pokemon or certain moves. On the plus side, the gameplay pace has been quickened which will please loads of people, no doubt.

The music is very good, with 6 brand new songs and 3 favourites from Ruby and Sapphire. The new songs sound like they're aimed at an older audience, but young children and adults alike will find the tunes catchy. Unfortunately. The totally ridiculous sounding GBA cries have been carried over. I won't fault the developers for that, since they were probably the only ones available. All the classic, 'Pokemon healing', 'Item collected' sound effects have been carried over, but they don't sound as cheerful as the one in the Gameboy. The battle sound effects are pretty good, but some sound particularly annoying and can get pretty repetitive.

So basically, this is what everyone wanted, what they're getting and a good enough game...

Best Bit:
Knowing that theres always gonna be a sucker nearby to battle and seeing your Pokemon level up, learn moves and kick ass in 3D. It's unforgetable and all of the modes just beg you to carry on that little extra bit before switching off after 10 hours of consecutive play.

Worst Bit:
Having to buy all the stuff required for a multiplayer battle. It's a total pain and it makes multiplayer inaccessible for those unlucky people who don't have the equipment. Rental Pokemon or pe-decided teams? Remember that next time, Genius Sonirity.

Graphics 92% 'Imported Brilliance'
Colosseum unfortunately had to get rid off a few things in order to squeeze in a story mode. The limited amounts of trainer models won't satisfy some and it seems the developers thought we wouldn't notice if EVERY SINGLE 'BOSS' BATTLE WAS JUST A BODYBUILDER WITH DIFFERENT CLOTHES ON. But if you can see past the cheap trainer models then you'll see the fantastic effects, superb pokemon models and nice, although empty locations.

Sound/Music 94% 'Catch-em-y'
The music actually fits in with Colosseum more than any other game. Colosseum isn't as colourful as the Gameboy games so the music is certainly not going to be cheerful. It's more guitar orientated then I'd like to think. But it's still very catchy and has the 'Pokemon' flavour. As for the sound, some sound effects are wrongly put in. I don't see why Meteor Mash should sound EXACTLY the same as Giga Drain. Most sound effects are decent though.

Gameplay 87% 'Too fast for itself'
The gameplay pace has been quickened. Especially in the battles. The words saying 'Super effective' etc. stay on the screen for about 2 seconds, so you'll need to be a fast reader. It's a shame the gameplay can't keep up with itself, otherwise there wouldn't be errors with the moves Dig, Fly etc. and your partner wouldn't start walking into walls. But the gameplay is still 'Pokemon', and that has to be good enough for any fan.

Value 91% 'A game and a half'
You'll play the story mode, complete it quickly then spend the rest of the time playing it in 10 minute blocks because it becomes as boring as turning on the Gamecube. Purifying is a time-consuming process, a process, that only some are prepared to make. But you are graciously rewarded with a Ho-oh after purifying all the Pokemon and completing the Mt. Battle challenge.

Overall Score: 91%.

Verdict: Sceptical people with high expectations will see this a bit of a disappointment. The story mode was probably FAR from what most people were expecting. If your an optimist, you'll see this a chance to train your Pokemon in 3D, visit Pokemon Centers in 3D and to, do stuff in 3D.

What the game lacks:
The nifty animation at the beginning of the battle when the Pokemon comes out. The only time you'll actually see this animation is when you CALL it. It also lacks a 'real' story mode. Sure the story's alright, but more people would be happier with the classic gameplay.

What could have made it better:
Actually being developed by Nintendo, how lazy can they be not to develop their OWN franchise. When a game is developed by Nintendo, it is said to have 'Nintendo Magic' in it. This game isn't developed by Nintendo, so maybe that's why it's so sparse.

What it is:
- Good.
- Glitchy.
- Generous.

What it isn't:
- Good enough.
- Cheerful.
- Stadium 3.

Pokemon Colosseum Review