Pokemon Stadium 2

"What's better than seeing your Pokemon Team in 3D? Seeing your Gold and Silver Pokemon in 3D!"

The people at Gamefreak have outdone themselves with this game! Seeing my original team from Red and Blue (and Yellow!) was a real treat, but now I can see the NEW teammates from Gold and Silver (and Crystal!) in their 3D glory! I knew this game was going to be great, but I didn't expect it to be THIS good! If you think this is just a redo of the first Pokemon Stadium, THINK AGAIN! There is so much more to Stadium 2 than you think. Of course, playing with the new Gold and Silver Pokemon is just the beginning...

CONTROLS: 10/10
The same controls as in the original Pokemon stadium, and you have to "hide" your pokemon's moveset from a human foe, relying on designated buttons for each of the 4 moves. The controls are very good here and mess-ups rarely (if ever) occur.

GRAPHICS: 10/10
The 151 original pokemon look as they did in the original Pokemon Stadium, but the new pokemon are noticeably improved. For N64 graphics, the pokemon look very good! The backgrounds look nice as well, and the animations for many moves have been improved.

SOUND: 9/10
The pokemon, like in the previous stadium, make cries that sound like they do in the gameboy versions, only enhanced. The announcer also calls pokemon by their names and also the name of the move the pokemon is using. He may get somewhat annoying to some people, but I really like how he gets excited when my pokemon tries to use a One-hit KO move on my foe's last pokemon: "The finishing blow?!" and when/if it works: "OH! That hit just the right spot!!!"

MUSIC: 10/10
A major improvement from the original stadium, plus some gold and silver music remade for 64-bit graphic quality. A lot of the music is fun, like during the new mini-games.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10
As I said about Pokemon Stadium, in the sequel, you need to utilize a strategy to win. Pokemon have elements, which are weak to another element (fire hurts grass, grass hurts water, water hurts fire, fire hurts bug, bug hurts dark, dark hurts psychic, etc.). Now, instead of using sheer power (like in the case of psychics), two new elements have been introduced: Steel and Dark. Psychic is "Not very effective" on a steel pokemon, and psychic does NO DAMAGE to a dark pokemon. Though steel does regular damage when used on a psychic pokemon, dark is "super-effective" on a psychic. Mewtwo used to be near-invincible, but with the introduction of dark pokemon, decent dark moves, and strong ghost attacks (along with dark, ghost is "super-effective" on psychic pokemon), Mewtwo is no longer invincible. If you have a pokemon that can make the most of once of those moves, and has high enough attack stats, it's now possible to defeat Mewtwo! Besides talking about Mewtwo, the special stat has been split in 2: Now there is a special ATTACK and a special DEFENSE. Did I mention that Stadium 2 is reverse-compatable? You obviously can use the Gold and Silver game paks, but you can also use the Red and Blue game paks as well! Even Yellow and Crystal can be used.

CHALLENGE: 10/10
A lot of trainers get much harder, and you'll need your wit and skill to stay alive and keep moving up the ranks. You'll need to carefully think out movesets for your pokemon in order to be able to bring down your foes' pokemon. There are also cups you can try out, like the Pika cup and the Petit cup for low-level and unevolved pokemon. You may soon realize that many pokemon and moves you once thought were weak are actually formidible in these cups, if nowhere else! Another option I like: If you're having trouble winning, you can go to a "Pokemon school" to learn about pokemon, their stats, and the basics of Pokemon Battle.

REPLAY: 10/10
You'll want to play again and again, either to see how far your team can go, how well you can fare with another set of pokemon, or to play mini-games. Some of the mini-games are fun, like the Donphan races, and the furrets and pokeballs. There are many other mini-games to play as well, and they sometimes have a little surprise: the pokemon in your gameboy game pak that is eligible to play the game (like a girafarig you caught will play instead of a furret)!

OVERALL: 10/10
Just when I was thinking that Pokemon Stadium was a great game, along comes Pokemon Stadium 2 to steal the crown! This game is a MUST for any and every pokemon fan! Pokemon is not just for kids...it's for ANYONE who wants to have fun!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/04