Pokemon Stadium
Reviewed by Connor Matak
Blasting for your tv and Game Boy comes a highly anticipated game in
my books. Made for the Nintendo 64, Pokemon stadium comes loaded
with stunning N64 graphics, killer sound, and a very high replay rate.
You play a Ash Ketchum, an up and coming Pokemon trainer. He battles
his way through various cups (for example the pike cup) with different
rules for each (eg. In the pika cup, you may choose 6 Pokemon, but can only
use three). But the twist is, you rent your Pokemon as you need them, and
you are able to import your Pokemon for your Game Boy using the Nintendo
64 Transfer Pak (which also comes with the game). Another bonus is "mini
games", targeted for younger players". These include "dig, dig, dig" and "run
rattata run". These are great for fast games on your N64. But, the main bonus
of this game is being able to play your Game Boy games on the tv, using the
transfer pack. This is like the Super Game Boy for Super NES, but it is better.
Graphics: 9 out of 10
Usual Excellent N64 graphics is the way to describe them. But the good
thing is, no polygonal characters. All the Pokemon are as smooth looking
as a newly waxed 2001 Jaguar! This is very different from games such
as wcw/nwo revenge, as with that game, the arms are cubes upon cubes,
and the heads seem to just stick to the body. That is about it about the
graphics, except that you feel like you could almost be the trainer in
the battle!
Music and Sound: 5 out of 10
The sounds in this game are very dull and highly repetitive, almost the
only bad feature of the game. The commentator makes remarks suck as
"the Pokemon are staring each other down" as your pick your next battle
moves. This happens at least five times every battle, and gets very
wearing after a while. As for the Pokemon, they make their usual game
sounds (example: Pikachu say "Pika Pika" throughout most of the battle)
and also some hit noises like "ouch" and "ohh" Nintendo 64 just doesn't
seem to have any games with great sound!
All I can say is, this game is very worth the price. With the main
fighting part, mini games, and being able to use your transfer pack as
a super Game Boy, this game is worth 74.99!
Suggestions for a Sequel
One downer of this game is not being able to battle in real time. I think
that if they make a sequel, they should let you control the Pokemon you
are using. With this, they could program button combos to do such moves
as tackle and water gun. this would really make the game a 10 out of 10
for me and most other Pokemon fans out there.
Overall: 8.5 out of 10
Overall, this game is worth looking into, even just to rent from your
local video store. With stunning graphics and the other features of the
game...go check it out and try it for yourself