Pokemon Colosseum

"This game had a lot of potential."

INTRODUCTION
I expected a lot when I first purchased this game. I had my hopes set on another great Pokemon game, with the rental Pokemon, the mini-games, many different types of tournaments, and so on. I was even more excited upon discovering that there was actually a story mode in the game. However, I was quite disappointed when I began playing. A lot was missing from this game.

GRAPHICS: 8.5
Not too much to complain about here. The Pokemon look fantastic, and some of their moves are stunning. The water looks realistic, too. In Story mode, everything is well done, from the houses, to the people, and everything else. My one complaint is that things are just a little blocky. Your character has blocks for feet, and when you're looking at certain objects from a distance, it's the same. However, this is a minor problem, and it doesn't interfere with the gameplay in any way. The graphics overall are well done, but could have been better.

SOUND: 10
A superb job has been done here. The background music suits the scenario you're playing in to near perfection. When you're in an important battle, the music is intense, and in a trainer battle that isn't important, the music will be calm. The sound effects have been done excellently, everything from the Pokemon emerging from a Pokeball to the splash of the move Waterfall. Maybe the Pokemon could have actually uttered their name, but it's not that important. This is the best part of the game.

STORY: 6
Here is where the game really begins to lose points. The entire story is something completely unrecognizable to what was in Pokemon Ruby, Gold, and all the other games. You are no longer attempting to become the Pokemon master of the world. You are now attempting to save the world from an organization that is creating 'shadow' Pokemon. Your job is to use a machine to 'snag' these Shadow Pokemon away from other trainers that have them, and even then you still have to purify them. From there, you can trade them to your GBA game or level them up.

With this new concept, many things we all recognized have disappeared from the game. There are no longer any gym badges to collect. You cannot trade Pokemon with other trainers. Worst of all, you cannot go into the grass to catch Pokemon anymore, because there is no grass. It would have been okay if the normal plot had been followed, but instead, we have to use this. The only good thing about this new story is that we are able to trade Johto and Kanto Pokemon we couldn't find in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire to our GBA.

GAMEPLAY: 5.5
As if the story weren't bad enough, the gameplay is even worse. With this new concept, many things we all recognized have disappeared from the game. There are no longer any gym badges to collect. There are no routes in between cities, instead you just get a clip of yourself speeding to another town on a motorcycle. Worst of all, there is no Pokemon to catch in the grass, because there is no grass. The only way to get Pokemon is by 'snagging' them. Once you've snagged them, you go through the long and annoying process of purification, which can take over an hour to complete unless you battle again and again. Oh - and when you're battling with an 'evil' Pokemon, the only move they know is the terrible Shadow Rush attack. Nothing else, at least until they've been purified, and little by little, they'll regain their moves.

The Battle Mode is a little better, but not by much. Having a GBA-GCN cable and Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire game are almost mandatory in this mode because if you don't then your playing options are severely limited. There aren't as many Cups to try and win, there are no mini-games, none of those little things that made the previous games fun. Oh, I forgot to mention there are no rental Pokemon. This is inexcusable. Leaving out the mini-games is reasonable, but not the rental Pokemon. The only way to battle now is by using your GBA Pokemon, or the ones you have in Story mode.

At least the battling system still exists, although you'll hardly be using it.

REPLAYABILITY: 4
Now that I have beaten Story mode (which only took about 30 hours), I am left with nothing to do except Battle mode, which is not much fun anymore. This game doesn't last too long, unless you trade your Pokemon from your GBA to the GCN so you can train them or if you really enjoy it, play Battle mode. Once you've beaten it, this game offers very little replay value.

BUY OR RENT?
Do not make the mistake I made in buying this before I tried it. It was a costly error I made, because if I had known what the game was like I would never have bought it. Unless you're a die-hard Pokemon fan, rent this before you buy it, don't take any chances.

FINAL COMMENTS
This game threw a lot of potential right out the window. If it had stuck with the original plot that everybody knows and loves, and included a lot of those little things that made the Pokemon Stadium games better, then this game would have been brilliant.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/26/04