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| Pokemon Colosseum; This is the epitome of "underrated". | |
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| Topic Started: 19 Jun 2009, 01:50 AM (172 Views) | |
| Yuzihax | 19 Jun 2009, 01:50 AM Post #1 |
Atari Democrat
  
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Title: Pokemon Colosseum Platform: Nintendo GameCube ESRB: Everyone Type: Role-Playing Released: March 22nd, 2004 While not the first foray by Nintendo to put Pokemon into a 3D perspective, it however is the first to feature the typical role-playing genre of gameplay constantly present in the series. Before it, there had been very few Pokemon games in 3D that featured a battling system; to be exact, there were only two: its technical predecessors, Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Stadium 2. In most aspects, the game isn't innovative and is a rehash of normal Pokemon gameplay mechanics into an isometric form, except for three individual plot points: Shadow Pokemon, Snagging and Purification. Even though it's nearly the same old thing, the new mechanics in the game allow for another new Pokemon gaming experience that, even though these make the game somewhat underrated, make it just as fun as it's handheld relatives. Storyline Rating: 5/5 Even though the storyline is the same as all of the previous Pokemon games, it has a few new twists which make for an increased pleasurable gaming experience. In the game, you play as an ex-Team Snagem member names Wes, who steals the portable Snag Machine that allows normal Poke Balls to be transformed into Snag Balls. Snag Balls are normal Poke Balls that are modified via the Snag Machine to be able to catch a trainer's Pokemon and claim it for the user, hence the term "Snagging." After claiming the Snag Machine as his and keeping it out of Snagem hands, Wes encounters two of Miror B's (a Team Cipher Admin) Peons trying to smuggle a large sack back to their headquarters. When these Peons are defeated, the sack is revealed to have contained a girl named Rui, whom was kidnapped due to her odd ability to see the black aura emitted by Shadow Pokemon; which are Pokemon that have been transformed into fighting machines by having the door to their heart artificially closed. The game revolves around stopping Team Cipher from attaining world domination by Snagging the Shadow Pokemon back from Team Cipher and all whom possess a Shadow Pokemon and stopping Cipher's plot once and for all. Gameplay Rating: 4/5 The main gameplay is the same as every other Pokemon game before it, just rendered in 3D. However, there are other small differentiating factors in the gameplay that make it just slightly separated from the other games before it, and those are the concepts of Shadow Pokemon, Snagging and Purification. The first, Shadow Pokemon, are Pokemon that are changed into fighting machines via having the door to their hearts artificially closed, removing all happy memories and emotions, it's original nature and it's standard moveset. Also, in place of EXP, Shadow Pokemon have a five sectioned gauge which represent the locks placed on the Shadow Pokemon's heart. As each lock is undone, more of the original stats are unlocked and are ultimately restored through the Purification technique, which is the second gameplay deviation. Purification occurs when a Shadow Pokemon is restored to a normal Pokemon when the door to it's heart is reopened via the Celebi Relic at Agate Village, or by Celebi itself via summoning it at the Relic with the rare Time Flute that is sparsely found throughout some locations. When Purification is attained, the door to it's heart is opened, removing the Shadow Rush move, restoring stats, and all of the EXP it normally would of gained during it's time as a Shadow Pokemon is gained. And finally, the last gameplay deviation and the most important, Snagging. Snagging is the technique of using the Snag Machine to change any Poke Ball into a Snag Ball, which is modified to be able to capture a trainer's Pokemon and therefore steal it. Snagging is the core of the gameplay in Pokemon Colosseum, as it allows for Wes to take back Shadow Pokemon and Purify them, reversing all of Team Cipher's evildoing. It is also the only method of which Pokemon are obtained, as the Orre region is predominantly desert and no wild Pokemon are able to thrive in this region therefore; making the Snagging of these Shadow Pokemon an extreme priority in beating the game. Audio Rating: 2/5 Pokemon Colosseum becomes fairly unimpressive when it comes down to the audio. Naturally, with the lack of areas, there's not many songs present in Pokemon Colosseum, so smaller sections like caverns might have similar music, whilst the main areas have their own individual tracks. But that isn't the problem; it's the overall composition of the audio that is just...awful. The music is bland, uninspired, and overall annoying to listen to as the clips themselves are about 40 seconds and they loop infinitely. On another downside, the Pokemon cries are from the handheld games, and while being a quaint throwback to the previous games, shows lack of advancement on audio abilities overall. Graphics Rating: 4/5 Mainly, the graphics for Pokemon Colosseum are quite impressive, the models move fluidly, both trainer and Pokemon (even if most of the Pokemon use their Stadium 2 animations) are detailed and pleasing to look at, and the special effects and attack animations are very detailed and add more of a sense of realism (as realistic looking as Pokemon attacks could get, anyhow.) There is, overall, only one downside to the graphics, and it is that some of the textures (say, the pavement on the ground or the look of a building) in some areas are a tad bland and generic, they portray what they're supposed to and do it well, but sometimes lack detail and therefore are usually nothing special. Replay Rating: 3/5 There are some things that are worth going back and playing again to achieve, such as getting Ho-Oh after beating the 100 trainers at Mt. Battle or catching that one Shadow Pokemon that always seemed to be immune to Snagging. But after all the obtainable Pokemon are collected and every trainer beaten at least once, there's not very much to do afterwards, making the overall replay experience a tad limited. Final Word: Even if Pokemon Colosseum has it's faults, it's a terribly underrated game and deserves much more recognition than it currently gets. It's differentiation from the standard games makes it just a little bit less of a rehash and still allows for the game to be an entertaining, vintage Pokemon playing experience. It goes to show that Pokemon games not on a handheld console can still be just as good, if not better than some. Final Score: 4/5 Edited by Yuzihax, 19 Jun 2009, 01:50 AM.
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| SamuraiMaster | 20 Jun 2009, 03:36 AM Post #2 |
CRAZY ROBOT!!!
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Great review! Although, I disagree with you on some of Audio. There were some songs on the game that were pretty cool. Like some of the battle theme and the Realgm Tower theme (And don't forget the most epic song, the Final Battle). Oh, and I agree totally that it is a very underrated game. |
 Another one of my annoying GIF creations. Merry #$%&ing Christmas RX Community! (Even though it's not Christmas) | |
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| Yuzihax | 20 Jun 2009, 06:55 PM Post #3 |
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Atari Democrat
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Thanks  And yeah, I guess like two or three tracks were legitimately good but still overall a lot of the audio was terrible. |
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| Dark Takutanuva | 30 Jun 2009, 09:59 PM Post #4 |
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Just Registered
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Wow, great review, Yuzihax! Love it
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| Yuzihax | 30 Jun 2009, 11:18 PM Post #5 |
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Atari Democrat
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why thank you sir
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7:10 PM Nov 9
