Pokémon Battle Revolution is a turn-based strategy video game in the Pokémon series developed by Genius Sonority and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. It was released for the Wii on December 14, 2006, in Japan; on June 25, 2007, in North America; on November 22, 2007, in Australia; and on December 7, 2007, in Europe. Along with being the first Wii incarnation of the Pokémon video game franchise, it was the first Wii game to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in Japan and North America, and the first game to link the Wii and Nintendo DS and permit the DS to be used as a Wii controller.
Pokémon Battle Revolution features eleven different colosseums in a Pokémon-themed park called Pokétopia. Other features include stadiums with their own special rules, such as randomizing the order of the player's Pokémon, allowing the player to choose the order of an opponent's Pokémon, and imposing level limitations.
Gameplay
The game features 11 different colosseums, each with special changes to normal play or prerequisites and a Colosseum Leader. The Crystal Colosseum holds battles in a 16-person single-elimination tournament mode. The Gateway Colosseum is initially open to a rental pass holder, and Neon Colosseum uses a wheel to choose the player's and opponent's battling Pokémon. As the player progresses, the Pokémon available to rent become more powerful. The player also earns Poké-Coupons, the currency of the game. Coupons can be spent to customize the player character's in-game appearance with items such as apparel, face paint, and hair color. Unlike Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, the game does not include a story mode.
Pokémon attacks are also much more diverse, with each Pokémon acquiring its own animation for most moves in the game. Some animations feature both the attacking and defending Pokémon on screen at the same time. In previous console titles, the game only showed one Pokémon attacking and then cut away to the second getting hit by the attack. Reviewers noted the game's more detailed rendering, attack effects, weather effects, and battle animations, although some Pokémon models and animations were reused from earlier console games.
Along with connectivity to the Nintendo DS games, a player can win Pokémon in this game and transfer them back to the DS games through Mystery Gift. This feature allows players to obtain Pokémon and items that are difficult or otherwise unavailable through ordinary play in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. To unlock the Pokémon, players must achieve certain goals or enter a special code. A Pikachu with the special moves Volt Tackle and Surf can be obtained by beating each Colosseum once, whereas an Electivire and a Magmortar can be obtained via special codes. In addition to the Pokémon downloads, players can purchase items such as certain Technical Machines and evolution items.
Online functionality
Pokémon Battle Revolution was the first Pokémon home console title to go online in the United States, as well as the first online game released for the Wii in North America. It features two online modes: Battle with a Friend, which allows a player to battle a friend using a friend code, and Battle with Someone, which lets the player face a random opponent. After each random battle, players are given the chance to exchange trainer passes. The exchange must be mutual; it does not occur if either trainer refuses.
Nintendo DS controls cannot be used in online multiplayer. During random online battles, the player's customized greetings and Pokémon nicknames are replaced by standardized text and the Pokémon's name in the language of the player's copy of the game; for example, a Japanese Magikarp (コイキング, Koiking) displays its Japanese name instead of its English one. All Pokémon species available through the fourth generation are permitted in random battles, subject to the selected battle rules.
Nintendo discontinued the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service for Wii and Nintendo DS software on May 20, 2014, ending the game's official online functionality. Its offline modes and local DS connectivity were unaffected.
Development
The game was first announced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata at a Nintendo marketing event in Japan on June 7, 2006. At the event, Iwata described Wii-to-DS connectivity using the game as an example, stating that players with Pokémon Diamond or Pearl could use their Pokémon in Pokémon Battle Revolution and operate the battle interface with the DS.
The DS linkup feature was demonstrated at the 2006 Nintendo World Tour. As well as allowing Pokémon from a Pokémon Diamond or Pearl cartridge to be used in the game, it replaces the on-screen battle menu ordinarily controlled with the Wii Remote. The GameCube controller is not compatible with the game. Instead, the battle menu is displayed on the DS touchscreen and navigated with the stylus. Up to four players can take part in a series of one-on-one matches comparable to the Battle Frontier's Battle Dome in Pokémon Emerald.
At the Game Developers Conference in March 2007, Nintendo announced the North American release date and promoted the title as the first Wii release to use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and the first game to use a Nintendo DS as a controller for Wii software. Contemporary previews described it as a battle-focused extension of Diamond and Pearl, rather than a successor to the story-driven modes of Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness. Nintendo's European release announcement emphasized the ten main colosseum challenges, rental passes for players without a compatible DS game, trainer customization, online play, and local multiplayer using as many as four Nintendo DS systems.
Reception
According to the review aggregate website Metacritic, Pokémon Battle Revolution received "mixed or average reviews". It received a score of 5.0 out of 10 from IGN, which cited the omission of features demonstrated in previous games such as Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Colosseum, including a role-playing mode. The review also criticized the multiplayer and online functionality for lacking features such as tournament play. GameSpot gave the game a 5.5 out of 10, criticizing the repetitive gameplay and barebones online support, as well as the limited amount of content available without Pokémon Diamond or Pearl for the DS. Game Informer rated it a 5.75 out of 10, raising similar objections and adding criticism of a tutorial that teaches the player how to point the Wii Remote.
Nintendo Power rated the game 6.5 out of 10, praising its multiplayer while criticizing its lack of single-player features. Famitsu gave the game a more positive score of 35 out of 40. A review published by Game Oracle awarded it 75%, praising the online mode, graphics, and soundtrack. The reviewer criticized it for not being as substantial as XD: Gale of Darkness, principally because of the limited single-player content and the need for Pokémon Diamond or Pearl to access the full experience. GameRankings recorded an average of 53.19%, while Metacritic reported a score of 53 out of 100 based on 34 critic reviews.
Nintendo World Report also scored the game 5 out of 10. Mike Gamin praised the rendering engine, anti-aliasing, depth-of-field effects, and presentation of attacks and weather, but argued that the tournament structure became repetitive and that players without Diamond or Pearl received a particularly limited experience. In a retrospective review for Nintendo Life, Marcel van Duyn gave it 4 out of 10. He similarly praised the graphics and battle animations but regarded the absence of an adventure mode, reliance on the DS games, and limited online options as major shortcomings. GameSpy's Gerald Villoria gave it three stars out of five, praising its 3D Pokémon models and access to otherwise difficult-to-obtain items but reporting stability problems and criticizing its limited scope.
It sold 850,000 copies in North America and Western Europe and 352,123 copies in Japan, bringing its total reported sales in those territories to approximately 1.202 million copies.
References
External links
- Official website (North America)
- Official website (in Japanese)