Seven years ago Nintendo released a must-have N64 pairing to go with Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow on Game Boy. Pokemania was running wild, and as such the company combined the advantages of both systems to deliver a seamless, deepened experience to you, the trainer. Pokemon Stadium was a window to a larger Pokemon world, including everything from Stadium Mode to storage boxes for Pokemon and items, full-on gym leader battles to earn rare Pokemon that could be transferred from N64 to Game Boy, a picture mode that allowed you to capture your Pokemon on film and print out stickers, and a plethora of multiplayer "Mario Party" style mini-games on top of the ability to play Red/Blue/Yellow on the big screen in single player mode. Now, nearly a decade later, Nintendo has again released a portable/console pairing to its amazingly popular Pokemon franchise. This time around, however, you're getting far less bang for your buck, and what's there isn't nearly as impressive as even the portable experience.
Unlike its predecessors, Pokemon Battle Revolution is less of a true portable/console pairing, and more a gateway to big-screen battles. A common misconception with Stadium-style games has always been that there's very little to experience outside of seeing your prized Poke-pals battle in glorious 3D. That wasn't really the case, though, until now. Rather than offering any of the true hub-like features of its previous games, Pokemon Battle Revolution focuses on the battle aspect of the game, delivering the ability to transfer your Pokemon to Wii via DS, battle friends or random players online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, or host a Poke-party with up to four DS players in your game room.
Pokemon hits Wii. Do you have what it takes?
If you don't own Pokemon for DS, your experience is going to be greatly diminished, as you'll have to work with pre-made "Passes" created specifically for Battle Revolution. You'll be awarded one when beginning the game, but have no specific choice over which Pokemon you want to use, or how you want to build your team. The six Pokemon on your pass are the only ones you can use with that player. Either pick up the DS version and create a custom pass, or go with the presets.
From the get-go, Pokemon Battle Revolution feels less like a pipeline to worldwide entertainment, and more like a 3D battle demo. After transferring over your DS characters (about a three minute process) or selecting one of two pre-made passes, you'll be on your way. The main Colosseum mode shows a map of Poketopia and the available areas of battle. Once you rip through a list of trainers in one area, a new area will be unlocked, and you'll earn points for your victory. These points can be used to either buy items, which can be transferred to your DS game, or to trick out your trainer appearance for playing online. Aside from that, you can either battle saved passes from defeated trainers and play them in free mode, or head online for the bulk of the action.
Unfortunately, Pokemon Battle Revolution never does show off a considerable amount of depth, as the online experience is as stripped down and basic as the single player mode. Players can opt to either head into random battle with a worldwide opponent or team up with friends for a Pokemon rivalry, but it's never a seriously engaging experience. In worldwide you'll select a level and game type, and then head into random matchmaking. There's no list of waiting players or amount of fighters per stadium, however, so meeting up with an opponent can be a bit of a hassle. We've had matches begin in a matter of seconds, and others take up to five minutes before finally giving us an error code that we can only assume means there was a disconnection problem or lack of competition.
The good... ... and the bad.
In the case of a disconnection, you'll need to go through the entire Wi-Fi connection process again, re-select your pass, pick the type of fight you wish to do, and then start matchmaking for a second time. Add a few of these disconnection issues together and you've got a large chunk of time devoted to reselecting options and jumping through Nintendo online hoops. It's not exactly the online experience we were hoping for, and a pretty underwhelming debut for the Wii console.
Once you enter into battles - whether it's online or not - the experience is pretty solid, though it's nothing more than you'd expect from a 3D display of turn-based battling. Trainers face off and Pokemon burst from their balls, unleashing visually impressive attacks and knocking each other out one by one. The character models are detailed and look good, as do the general attacks, but Pokemon Battle Revolution still manages to fall into some old, annoying habits. Characters still don't physically interact with each other (aside from the occasional "tackle" attack), as most animations consist of a few steps toward the opponent, the canned attack animation, and a cut to the adversary getting the brunt of the bashing.
Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:14 am by 
