Pokemon: For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll!: Game Boy Advance Video

"Novel idea, but DVDs are still better."

Pokemon. We all know about it. In which, we have the story of Ash Ketchum and his endless quest to become the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world. It's been on the most popular Saturday morning anime for quite a few years.

For all those poke-freaks out there, don't worry, you didn't miss a new game. This ‘game' isn't really a game at all. It's a video card that has 2 episodes from the 3rd season of the Pokemon anime for you to watch.

Game Play: 10/10
So simple, a three-toed sloth with a malignant brain tumor could do it. Select the episode you want to watch, press A. During the show it self, you have the power to fast forward, rewind, stop, everything found in a standard VCR.

Storyline: 8/10
Most the story follows the same basic path: Meet some random trainer A that uses Pokemon B to complete task C, Team Rocket shows up wanting to steal Pokemon B, Ash shows up to help rescue Pokemon B so random trainer A can continue doing task C, Team Rocket tries to steal Pikachu, battle, Team Rocket gets blasted by Pikachu, The End. Although not altogether original, most episodes are entertaining.

Graphics: 9/10
This gets a 9 just because Nintendo impressed me with this. Watch one of these shows on TV and then compare it to this. There are only a few notable differences, most of which are some colors being to bright and thus appearing to be other colors (such as Totodile appearing to be aqua green instead of blue).

Sound: 6/10
Turn the sound up on the GBA as high as it will go. Yeah, hear that annoying static-snowy sound in the background? That's the main problem with these little video cards. Other than that, the sound came out very well. Most music and sound affects are emulated perfectly, although a few character voices are hard to hear with low volume, while others are too bloody high pitched on high volume. I would suggest turning the volume way down anytime the Pokemon say ANYTHING, especially Pikachu.

Replayability:
Depends on how much you like the Pokemon anime. If you love it, can't get enough of it and must watch the same episodes repeatedly, then you've got endless entertainment right here. If your, ya know, NORMAL, then you one viewing should be enough.

Final Recommendation:
If your planning on getting one of these for the episodes, then I would suggest taking a walk over to the closest electronic store and buying the DVD. You'd be getting an entire season for a few dollars less than what one of these video cards cost. If you just want to see what this video card jazz is all about, rent or barrow. It's not really worth the money to buy it.

Overall Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/29/04