Pokémon Battle Revolution
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| Pokémon Battle Revolution | |
|---|---|
| File:PBR American.PNG | |
| Developer(s) | Genius Sonority |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer, Online |
Pokémon Battle Revolution (ポケモンバトルレボリューション, Pokémon Batoru Reboryūshon) is the first Pokémon game on Nintendo's Wii home console. It is also the first Wii game to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (with the exception of Europe and Australia, where it hasn't been released yet) and the first Wii game to wirelessly interact with the Nintendo DS handheld.[1] It was released in Japan two weeks after the Wii launch. The North American release date was June 25 2007. [2]
Pokémon Battle Revolution features eleven different colosseums in a new land, a Pokémon-themed theme park called Pokétopia.[3] Other announced features include stadiums that have their own special effects, such as randomizing the order of one's Pokémon. Some other effects are choosing the order of an opponent's Pokémon and setting level limitations.
Gameplay mechanics
The game features ten different colosseums, each with special changes to normal play or prerequisites and a Colosseum Leader. Six out of the ten Colosseum Leaders wear Pokémon costumes; for example, Marina of the Water Colosseum wears a Kyogre costume, and Terrel from the Magma Colosseum wears a Groudon suit. Also, the Crystal Colosseum can hold up to 16 players, the battles are done in a 16 person tournament mode. Only the Gate Colosseum is open to a rental pass holder. As the player progresses, the Pokémon available to rent become more powerful. Also as the player progresses they will earn Poké-Coupons, the money in Pokémon Battle Revolution. The player can then further customize his/her character. Upon completion of the game, the player receives a Pikachu that knows both Surf and Volt Tackle (impossible through other means), which can then be transferred to their Pokémon Pearl or Diamond games.
Pokemon attacks are also much more diverse, with each Pokemon getting their own animations for most moves in the game. While performing certain attacks, Pokémon can also strike at the opponent physically while both Pokémon are rendered on the screen, instead of seeing one Pokémon attacking and then cutting away to the second getting hit by the attack as in previous titles. Along with the connectivity to the Nintendo DS games, a player can win Pokémon from this game and transfer them back to their DS games. This feature allows players to obtain Pokémon that are either hard or impossible to get without using a cheat device. An example would be the Pikachu that the player wins as an award for beating the game. This Pikachu knows the Pokémon attacks "Volt Tackle" and "Surf", and it is otherwise impossible for a Pikachu to know both. Other Pokémon obtainable this way are Magmortar and Electivire. along with the abity to download objects unobtainable in diamond or pearl like certain tm's and evolution items.
Players can fully customize their trainer to use on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Players can customize their characters with fobby hats, shirts, glasses, other items, and even customize their player's skin color. A trainer can choose 6 Pokémon and get a Battle Pass. However, if Pokémon Diamond or Pokémon Pearl is connected, a player can upload their trained Pokémon and get a Custom Pass.
Online functionality
Battle Revolution is the first Pokémon home console title to go online. It features two online modes; Battle with a Friend, which allows a player to battle a friend using its own 12-digit friend code, separate from the Wii's code,[1] and Battle with Someone, which lets the player face off against a random opponent based on skill level using the game's Wi-Fi Ranking System.[4]
DS controls cannot be used in online multiplayer. Notably, when playing random online battles, your trainer's custom greetings and Pokémon nicknames are all changed to defaults. This is because Nintendo wants to keep people safe when it comes to communicating online (for instance, someone can say a few swear words). The reason that the game uses it's own friend code system is because you are able to vreate multiple save files (namely four) in the game, and the development team thought that they should let each save file have their own friend list; to allow this, they needed to let each save file have it's own friend code.
Legendary Pokemon ban
On July 2, 2007 rumors circulated about a ban on all Legendary Pokemon used in random battles online. This fact has since been confirmed by Nintendo. They state that if you use already uploaded legendary pokemon in any online random battles, you will be banned from online functionality. (Which can respectively be lifted if one removes said Pokemon from the Battle Pass.) However, it is acceptable for one to use Legendaries in Friend Code battles. Using WiiConnect24, they (Nintendo) have made it a rule that in batle passes, there may be no legendary pokemon, even in colosseum mode. It is unknown if Nintendo will re-instate the ability to use these Pokemon in the near-future.
Development
The game was first announced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata at a Nintendo marketing event in Japan on June 7 2006.[5][6] At the event, Iwata described Wii-to-DS connectivity using the game as an example, stating that gamers with either Pokémon Diamond or Pearl can play battles using their Diamond or Pearl Pokémon in Pokémon Battle Revolution using their DS as a controller.[7]
At first, this game would feature your Pokémon's attacks affecting the landscpapes. This was also shown on one of the game's first pre-release videos. For unknown reasons, this was removed from the final version of the game.
The DS linkup feature was accessible at 2006 Nintendo World Tour for the first time. As well as allowing Pokémon from a Pokémon Diamond or Pearl cartridge to be used in-game, it replaces the on-screen battle menu, normally used in conjunction with the Wii Remote. The GameCube controller is not compatible with this game. The battle menu is displayed on the DS touchscreen instead, and it is navigated with the stylus. Up to eight players can play in a 1 on 1 tournament much like the Battle Frontier Battle Dome in Pokémon Emerald.[8]
Reception
Pokémon Battle Revolution has received a score of 5.0 out of 10 from IGN.[9] IGN cites that the game omits several features demonstrated in previous games such as Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Colosseum, stating that the game lacks a role-playing mode. The multiplayer and online functionality of the game is also criticised for lacking functions such as tournament play. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection feature for this title is also criticised for frequently giving off error messages.
The game currently has a 72% average of 4 aggregated reviews on Game Rankings.[10]
References
- ^ a b "IGN: Pokemon Battle Revolution Preview". IGN.com. 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=lXtLHZS0Kb_sJy4T9vuBgUfKUibop045
- ^ "コロシアム|ポケモンバトルレボリューション|Wii|ゲーム|ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト" (in Japanese). Pokémon Pocket Monsters Official Site. 2006-11-18. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
- ^ "IGN: Pokemon Battle Revolution Preview". IGN.com. 2007-5-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Wiiの発売日、価格の発表は9月。WiiとDSの連動は『ポケモン』から" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
- ^ Sullivan, Meghan (2006-06-07). "New Pokémon Announced". IGN. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|accessyear=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2006-06-07). "Connectivity Returns". IGN. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|accessyear=(help) - ^ "DSバトルモード | ポケモンバトルレボリューション | Wii | ゲーム | ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト" (in Japanese). Pokémon Pocket Monsters Official Site. 2006-11-18. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ "Pokemon Battle Revolution Review". IGN. 2007-07-27. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "Pokémon Battle Revolution reviews". Game Rankings.