So, with every new generation of Pokemon games comes a 3D game for the home console of the time, allowing you to battle your Pokemon in UltraNice Shininess. I've played all four of them, and will be going over what they did right (and wrong) and how the Gen V battler can build on this. I'll be lumping the two Stadiums together seeing as Stadium 2 was the same (mostly) except bigger and better.
Note: I haven't played Colosseum in a while, so I won't talk much about it and might have some incorrect 'facts'. I'll revise that section after replaying it.
Stadium and Stadium 2 -
Easily my favourite, these were the first Pokemon battling games that I ever got (possibly the first Pokemon games full stop - I can't remember if I got Snap before or after Stadium.) They have tonnes to do if you're a single player (Lots of cups and gym leaders, minigames, earl's academy etc.) and are of course fun in multiplayer. I like how, in these games, all the rental Pokemon are available from the start. You can devise battle strategies, try to wing it in the prime cup with legendaries or Quick Battle as Ash Lookalike. These games are just really fun. Also, the graphics are quite nice (for an N64 game, obviously.)
Apart from battling, there are a few extra features that I really enjoy. Earl's Academy, while teaching newbies some basic strategies, also has an in-depth guide to each Pokemon, the sort you pay to get in an official guide. It also has a quiz that is fun and challenging, some fantastic remixes, really well updated Pokemon cries *coughWhydon'tyouhavethatinthemainseriescough* and of course those minigames. It may sound strange to someone who has never played Stadium and Stadium 2, but they were one of the best bits. They were insanely addictive and were really fun in multiplayer (the hitmontop one was my favourite :3).
The Stadium games are solid. They don't try to do anything amazing, and are all the better for it.
Best bits: Remixes, lots of battling options, cries, guide and minigames
Worst bits: Not adventurous enough for some, rental Pokemon sometimes a bit eh
Pokemon Colosseum -
As I said before, please excuse me if I get facts wrong :>
The story mode venture is a clever one. I never really liked the whole 'snag and purify' thing, but lots of people did and I'll admit it is clever. Although I may be wrong (please correct me if I am), I remember the battling options being not-to-extensive and the game being mainly focused on the story, which is bad if the main reason the game is being made is for battling on the big screen.
I also remember (but again, may be wrong) that the graphics weren't too great and were pretty much the Stadium models reused.
Best bits: Adventure, some battle animations were epic, new direction
Worst bits: Not enough focus on battling, story too central in game
Pokemon Battle Revolution -
Ah, PBR. Remember this trailer? PBR was released only 6 months later. Unfortunately, it isn't half as good as this trailer. It was rushed out and as a result never really felt like a completed game. A lot of the character models are reused from the previous games, which is pretty lazy. Some of the attack animations look good, but don't make any of those awesome environment changes shown in that trailer.
The game also suffers from being incredibly difficult and annoying if the player doesn't have any main series games to connect to it. There are very few rental Pokemon and the Colosseum system is linear and boring. It is also very easy and tedious if you have uploaded a half decent team. Also, the battle tracks aren't remixed versions from the games and aren't that good. Still, it has online mode and (finally) trainer customization.
Still, they should have kept those awesome camera effects. Oh, and it shouldn't have that bloody annoying way of typing your name in.
Best Bits: Trainer Customization, Online, Nice attack animations
Worst Bits: Half-baked, lazy character models, eh music, boring and easy/difficult colosseums
So, what would I like to see in BW's 3D battler? It is rumoured that it will have a story mode as well as a battle mode, and I'm quite pleased about that. A story mode, perhaps a prequel in Unova, set a few years before BW would be awesome. I'd just like to see an awesome story mode, great character models (not recycled - more like in PokePark Wii), lots of battling options and some cool extra features (like the minigames in the stadiums and the camera in pre-release PBR.)
Seeing as they are putting a huge amount of effort in this gen I can't see the Gen V console battler being half-baked like PBR was. I hope this holds true. So, what do you think? Comment below!
Note: I haven't played Colosseum in a while, so I won't talk much about it and might have some incorrect 'facts'. I'll revise that section after replaying it.
Stadium and Stadium 2 -
Easily my favourite, these were the first Pokemon battling games that I ever got (possibly the first Pokemon games full stop - I can't remember if I got Snap before or after Stadium.) They have tonnes to do if you're a single player (Lots of cups and gym leaders, minigames, earl's academy etc.) and are of course fun in multiplayer. I like how, in these games, all the rental Pokemon are available from the start. You can devise battle strategies, try to wing it in the prime cup with legendaries or Quick Battle as Ash Lookalike. These games are just really fun. Also, the graphics are quite nice (for an N64 game, obviously.)
Apart from battling, there are a few extra features that I really enjoy. Earl's Academy, while teaching newbies some basic strategies, also has an in-depth guide to each Pokemon, the sort you pay to get in an official guide. It also has a quiz that is fun and challenging, some fantastic remixes, really well updated Pokemon cries *coughWhydon'tyouhavethatinthemainseriescough* and of course those minigames. It may sound strange to someone who has never played Stadium and Stadium 2, but they were one of the best bits. They were insanely addictive and were really fun in multiplayer (the hitmontop one was my favourite :3).
The Stadium games are solid. They don't try to do anything amazing, and are all the better for it.
Best bits: Remixes, lots of battling options, cries, guide and minigames
Worst bits: Not adventurous enough for some, rental Pokemon sometimes a bit eh
Pokemon Colosseum -
As I said before, please excuse me if I get facts wrong :>
The story mode venture is a clever one. I never really liked the whole 'snag and purify' thing, but lots of people did and I'll admit it is clever. Although I may be wrong (please correct me if I am), I remember the battling options being not-to-extensive and the game being mainly focused on the story, which is bad if the main reason the game is being made is for battling on the big screen.
I also remember (but again, may be wrong) that the graphics weren't too great and were pretty much the Stadium models reused.
Best bits: Adventure, some battle animations were epic, new direction
Worst bits: Not enough focus on battling, story too central in game
Pokemon Battle Revolution -
Ah, PBR. Remember this trailer? PBR was released only 6 months later. Unfortunately, it isn't half as good as this trailer. It was rushed out and as a result never really felt like a completed game. A lot of the character models are reused from the previous games, which is pretty lazy. Some of the attack animations look good, but don't make any of those awesome environment changes shown in that trailer.
The game also suffers from being incredibly difficult and annoying if the player doesn't have any main series games to connect to it. There are very few rental Pokemon and the Colosseum system is linear and boring. It is also very easy and tedious if you have uploaded a half decent team. Also, the battle tracks aren't remixed versions from the games and aren't that good. Still, it has online mode and (finally) trainer customization.
Still, they should have kept those awesome camera effects. Oh, and it shouldn't have that bloody annoying way of typing your name in.
Best Bits: Trainer Customization, Online, Nice attack animations
Worst Bits: Half-baked, lazy character models, eh music, boring and easy/difficult colosseums
So, what would I like to see in BW's 3D battler? It is rumoured that it will have a story mode as well as a battle mode, and I'm quite pleased about that. A story mode, perhaps a prequel in Unova, set a few years before BW would be awesome. I'd just like to see an awesome story mode, great character models (not recycled - more like in PokePark Wii), lots of battling options and some cool extra features (like the minigames in the stadiums and the camera in pre-release PBR.)
Seeing as they are putting a huge amount of effort in this gen I can't see the Gen V console battler being half-baked like PBR was. I hope this holds true. So, what do you think? Comment below!
