Pokemon Trading Card Game

"Great time burner.. may not be for expert players."

Pokemon. Love it or Hate it, it's popularity is insane. From video game to cartoon, to card game to video game of the card game, it's been through its paces and even now doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. The TCG (Trading Card Game) was wildly popular when this GBA game was released, and even though the card craze has died down quite a bit, is still enjoyable. That said, let's get to this, shall we?

Gameplay/Control: 8/10
Being menu driven, it can take a few minutes to get used to the locations of things for your decks, cards, saves, etc. During the actual matches, you control a cursor and that's it. Going through the paces, you attach your 1 energy per turn, evolve, place basic, and otherwise "prep" your Pokemon to do battle as the "main" pokemon.

There is a tutorial at the beginning of the game that teaches you how to play. For first timers, it couldn't be easier to pick up and get going. For someone who already knows the game inside and out, not being able to skip the entire tutorial will drive you crazy for a few minutes.

Deck-building remains the same for the rules of the time. 60 card deck, no more than 4 of any one named card (i.e. Pikachu may have 3-4 different versions, but you can only have a total of 4) requirement of at least one basic pokemon. That's it. Today's Pokemon TCG players will notice that the "new" rules the Real Life TCG uses are not available to use, so be prepared to go old school for these matches.

One overly annoying factor is that you can't actually save a deck unless it has 60 cards. The game won't let you. So you'll find yourself throwing in "filler" cards while building new decks, and trading those out later for the cards you actually want in the deck.

You gain new cards by trading/battling. At the end of each successful battle, you receive 1-3 boosters (depending on the battle, and difficulty of said battle). Each pack comes with a number of cards for you to add into your deck, or start building a new one.

New "Gameboy only" cards have been introduced and most usually have an effect that is completely random. Some are actually very good, while others tend to be thrown on the "collectors pile" and only attained to finish your binder.
Newcomers may be annoyed by the "coin flip" methods used by the game, primarily because sometimes, a match can hinge on a single flip. Veterans know what to expect and can plan accordingly to avoid any instance of coin flipping attacks/items/etc.

The computer AI during matches....well. Let's just say it ranges from supremely easy to about the skill of an average player. Expert players will most likely find the NPC's to be a joke and become easily bored with the quick beatdowns they serve out to the various gym leaders and lackeys.

Story: 8/10
You're a young TCG Player who's rival is the professors relative.. sound familiar? Essentially, it takes the Pokemon Red/Blue/Gold etc etc storyline and puts it in TCG form. You will occasionally battle your rival as you go from gym to gym battling card players in your attempt to get each gyms badge. Everything culminates in a final battle against the "elite 4" of the TCG league and.....well, we won't spoil the end of it. ;)

Graphics: 10/10 or 0/0, depends on you.
It has the graphics you'd expect from a gameboy pokemon game of it's time, just with a little bit of color thrown in. The cards look like their real life counterparts (which isn't too much to ask).

Attack animations of the cards themselves are simple, but break up the monotony of each battle.

I say the graphics score depends on you because of the simple fact that the graphics get across what they are meant to, and some people nowadays may find them to be a bit archaic.

Sound: 5/10
Not really much sound to be placed here. You have your battle theme that you will hear through most of the game, along with each gyms own minor theme. During each battle, attacks have their own sound effect be it a slashing, bashing, or crashing you hear, they usually relate to the attack being used so it becomes recognizable.

Length: 10/10
You'll only spend as much time on this game as you want. Collectors will be battling over and over in attempts to get that last card, or to get the extras they want for the deck they love to use. Once you complete the final battle, you'll probably replay just to battle, since that is the heart of the game.

An added bonus for those that will be looking to do something extra is the "Card Pop" feature. Using the link up cable, or the infrared port of the gameboy color, you and a friend who has the Pokemon TCG game cartridge can "Pop" together so that each of you receives a "limited" card that is usually only available through this method. This was particularly easy during the TCG craze because most of the players had the TCG GBC game as well, but nowadays you will most likely never be able to experience this little feature.

Overall: 7/10
As someone who was a Gym Leader for the Real Life Pokemon TCG up to the point of the Neo set being released, I am able to say that I was considered an expert player by most, if not all of the people around me, which impacted my enjoyment of this particular game somewhat. While enjoyable, it can become repetitive when you are searching for that "one last card" to finish off your killer deck. If you have a GBC/GBA/GBASP, and you see this game for 10 bucks or less, and have even a remote interest in the TCG, I suggest picking it up. If you don't like pokemon, well, what are you doing here reading a review for a Pokemon game? ;)

Enjoy!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/10/05