Pokemon Colosseum

"Though not super-effective, Pokemon is still a hit."

Pokemon has become the poster-child of phenomena, with the Pokemon video game franchise being such a hit. After success on the Game Boy, N64, and Game Boy Advance, the folks at Nintendo released the Pokemon onto the Gamecube. Pokemon Colosseum, however, isn't just another Stadium game. No, it's a true RPG. How does the new gameplay make this legendary franchise on the Gamecube?

Pokemon Colosseum is unique in the Pokemon console world in that it has a true RPG storyline. The Stadium N64 games did have some Gym Battles, Tournaments, and other modes, but Colosseum is a true opportunity to explore. With that, the story is a shift as well. Pokemon Colosseum takes place in the isolated land of Orre, where Pokemon do not run wild. You're no longer an up-and-coming Pokemon trainer; this time around, you're a rebellious youngster who has betrayed the crime syndicate Snagem and stolen the Snag Machine, a special device that can break the rules of the Pokemon world by catching Pokemon that are owned by another trainer. There's a catch, though. The only Pokemon that can be “snagged” are Shadow Pokemon, Pokemon that have had their hearts closed off by an evil trainer and have a Shadow Aura. Along the way, the young Pokemon trainer befriends a female companion who has the power to see the Shadow Aura of Shadow Pokemon and therefore can help the hero capture the Shadow Pokemon. Quite a departure, but surprisingly, seeing a new perspective makes the story mode rather interesting.

Shadow Pokemon play a major role in the gameplay. During a battle, a Shadow Pokemon can appear with its signature dark aura. After weakening it in battle with traditional attacks and status effects, the Snag Machine can be used to transform a normal Pokeball into a Snag Ball to “snag” the Pokemon. After snagging a Pokemon, the door to its heart must be opened, as at first it only knows a single attack (Shadow Rush) which recoils damage back. Basically this is very similar to the Taming system in the GBA games. Letting a Pokemon participate in battle, healing it, and not letting it suffer from ailments gets the heart of the Pokemon to open. By opening the heart of a Pokemon, it can learn normal moves. A final purification at the Relic Stone lets a Pokemon completely eliminate the closed heart, plus gain the ability to level up. As a result, this complex system of gameplay does focus more on raising the Pokemon instead of simply catching them. This is okay, but comes at a price.

This price comes in the system of snagging. The game plays a significant emphasis on raising the Pokemon, but it tends to neglect a major quality that the GBA Pokemon games had that made them unique. Pokemon offered thousands of different ways to battle. You didn't have to catch one Pokemon and use it through the whole game. You could play how you want. Pokemon Colosseum severely limits the amount of customizability that the GBA Pokemon games had. There just isn't as many options when playing. You may end up using a single set of Pokemon throughout the entire game, because purifying a Pokemon takes a tremendous amount of time and effort. Also, there isn't much flexibility in actually catching the Pokemon. In the GBA games, Pokemon ran wild and you could wander around to find many Pokemon. In Colosseum, you don't have as many options to catch a Pokemon. By the end of the game, there's just not enough flexibility in the Pokemon formula for Colosseum to succeed greatly.

Outside of the story mode, which is as a whole pretty straightforward, Pokemon Colosseum has a few modes to back up. You can get a set of random Pokemon and simply battle, or challenge the 100-Battle Endurance Mode of Mt. Battle. Possibly the biggest draw is the ability to hook up your GBA and play with Pokemon from your GBA Pokemon games. The new 2-vs.-2 battle system works wonders in multiplayer battles, and the whole multiplayer aspect is a great reason to break out the GCN-GBA Link Cables. However, there is no way to rent Pokemon, a factor that made the Stadium games more forgiving in how to play. You didn't have to play through a story mode or have a Game Boy Pokemon game to play. Another big problem is the lack of real modes. Minigames, tournaments, and such broke up the monotony of the Stadium battles, but Colosseum is basically a bunch of battling and nothing else. Sure, purifying Pokemon in the story mode is okay, but once all Pokemon are purified, there's nothing left to do but battle.

Graphically, Colosseum hits and misses. The Pokemon animations are amazing; they truly capture the character of each Pokemon. The Pokemon move fluidly and really show off their uniqueness in battle. Battle animations, however, are incomplete. Sure, they look good, but some animations are just too similar. The only different between Yawn and Howl is where the soundwaves are directed too. The character and charm of the Stadium attack animations are lost into good-looking, but repetitive ones. In the story mode, you'll see some very creative design. The hovering platforms of Mt. Battle or the futuristic Realgam Tower look very intriguing. Behind the cleverness of the environments, however, are some muddy textures and overall lack of polish. There is some creativity in the areas, although not enough to hide the lackluster technical limitations.

The audio is just bad. The exploration music is repetitive and uninteresting, and so is the few battle themes that play throughout. A major, though surprising disappointment is the lack of announcer. Without the announcing of attacks and techniques, the battles feel flatter and less interesting than in the Stadium games. This is even more disappointing when there's no voice acting period. Scrolling through text and listening to repetitive theme music doesn't make the tedious story mode any better. But on a whole, Pokemon Colosseum is a decent attempt at making a Pokemon game on the Gamecube. If there was more effort in the presentation and modes, then this could've been great. Alas, that is not the case.

Pros
+ Creative graphic design
+ Hundreds of Pokemon to battle with
+ Pokemon battle system still works
+ Story Mode is a unique twist
+ Catch those that Ruby/Sapphire skipped

Cons
- No voice acting
- Graphics are technically poor
- Lacks depth of GBA Pokemon games
- Limits diversity in how you play
- Story mode is tedious

Pokemon Colosseum is a decent attempt to bring Pokemon onto the Gamecube. There's plenty of Pokemon, battles, and objectives to find in the game, making this a must-have for all Pokemaniacs. The Story Mode is an interesting turn in an RPG direction, but the execution can only be described as a side-thought. The Shadow Pokemon aspect is interesting and it encourages battling and raising Pokemon with care, but the depth and customizability that the RPGs were known for is non-existent in Colosseum, as you can only capture Shadow Pokemon. However, after you complete the tedious Story Mode, Pokemon Colosseum lets you battle with all of your favorite and memorable monsters in full 3-D. It's apparent that Pokemon Colosseum is driven towards Pokemaniacs; if you are just now getting into the whole Pokemon craze, Colosseum really isn't the best place to start. As an RPG, it's pretty fair. As a Pokemon game, it's pretty middle-road. Overall, pick up the GBA games first, then Colosseum will most likely be more appealing.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/20/06