Game Play
In the game's Stadium Mode, one player competes in 80 different
battles, divided into four tournaments. Beat the Stadium Mode
and you're in for a bonus battle against the ultimate Pokémon
warrior, Mewtwo, as well as a secret mode that gives you 80
brand-new, and devilishly tough battles. There is
virtually no way you can beat the secret mode without having
trained your own, elite Pokémon.
One to four players compete against each other or the computer
in a no-holds-barred battle with customizable rules. You can
select rental Pokémon for these battles - just that makes them
much too predictable since their selection of techniques isn't
determined by the trainer. You can select quick and easy versus
and random battles.
Battle the Gym Leaders
Battle against all the gym leaders that appeared in the Pokémon
Game Boy games and win up to eight semi-rare to rare Pokémon
that you can add to your Game Boy party and Pokédex!
Get full control over your Pokémon PC Boxes and examine, sort,
group and move your Pokémon. You can even bring up tables that
display moves, abilities, ID numbers, area locations, and more
on one screen. This lets you easily compare new Pokémon you
have caught to see which ones are worth keeping.
Storing your Pokemon
Organize, sort and store whole PC Boxes (which hold up to 30 Pokémon)
on the N64 to free up room on your GB cartridge. Up to 240 Pokémon
can be stored on the N64 cart. You can even give a whole box
full of Pokémon to a friend.
Store items on the N64 cartridge. You can't give them to a
friend since the GB cart ID numbers have to match, but it frees
up room in your GB inventory. Up to 400 items can be stored in
four different ID boxes.
Strategies
Examine and compare Pokémon techniques. See what every attack's
accuracy rating is and get detailed descriptions on what they
do. An expanded Pokédex lets you look at your Pokémon in
detail and bring up detailed map data that shows you where you
can catch them in the GB games. Trade Pokémon with a
friend using easy on-screen controls.
Play Pokémon Red, Blue or Yellow on your TV screen using the GB
Tower Mode. The emulation is flawless, but HAL actually went a
step further. You can unlock two extra speed settings that let
you play your Game Boy Pokémon at hyper speeds. This is
incredibly helpful if you want to upgrade certain Pokémon and
do as many battles as possible in very little time.
Collect trophies for winning battles. Try to get one for each
Pokémon to unlock a secret.
Compete in nine Mario Party type mini-games with up to four
players.
Snap pictures of your Pokémon in the Gallery Mode and print
them out as stickers in participating stores.
3-D Attacks
See all 151 Pokémon and all attacks and defense moves in
glorious 3D.
As you can tell from the list of features, Pokémon Stadium is
packed full with goodies that should make Pokémon Game Boy
owners salivate. No, it's not an RPG -- and as such, it doesn't
have a storyline or a quest mode. Pokémon Stadium is a clever
add-on package that's based on the Game Boy games' popular
Colosseum battle mode and not only enhances the GB games, but
actually got me to go back and invest even more time into Pokémon
Yellow. Sure, the initial attraction is to see your Pokémon in
3D, and Stadium definitely delivers the goods when it comes to
bringing the creatures to live. But the battles quickly become
meaningless if the combatants you're using aren't really yours.
Gym Leader Castle
Although the Pokémon Stadium mode is considered to be the main
attraction, the Gym Leader Castle is probably the feature GB Pokémon
owners will like best. Every time you beat it, you are randomly
awarded one of eight Pokémon. For many gamers who don't have
the chance to trade with friends, this is virtually the only way
to get a complete Pokédex. I've got myself four new Eevees, two
of which I evolved into Flareon and Vaporeon (since I initially
only had a Jolteon). I won Omanyte and went back into Pokémon
Yellow and had it evolve to Omastar. Pokémon Blue and Red
owners can also finally get the other two starting Pokémon (out
of Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander). But the upgrades you get
in the Stadium mode are equally impressive. Playing the Game Boy
games in four-times the speed on your TV screen is awesome. No
longer do you have to wait 20 seconds to heal your Pokémon at a
Poké Center. Just kick the thing into overdrive and you're
done.
Adding Excitement
The battles themselves are only as exciting as your Pokémon. If
you've got a crew of level 100 mega-monsters, you'll definitely
see the sparks fly. But even if you've spent weeks upgrading
your favorite six, you can't just blaze through the game without
losing some of the duels. Nintendo was smart enough to put a few
rules and regulations in some of the tournaments that force you
to use Pokémon of a certain size or level. That way, you won't
just use Mewtwo, Zapdos and co. over and over again, making for
more varied battles.
Getting Started
The computer's AI starts off really easy. You won't have a
problem beating the first few tournaments, even if you're using
the so-called "rental Pokémon" that are available to
fill gaps in your Pokémon lineup (or for those courageous
players who say they don't need the GB games to fully enjoy this
game). But wait till you get to the higher tournaments and you
will see the difference to the GB games' AI! The computer will
employ different tactics, such as trying to take your best Pokémon
out first with self-destruct moves. It will withdraw Pokémon
that are susceptible to your Pokémon type's attacks. It will
use Thunder Wave to slow your fastest Pokémon down. It will
poison you with Toxic and try to stall you by putting you to
sleep or using Fly and Dig. It will drive you insane with Wrap.
Pokemon Lab Mode
GB Tower mode aside, the most useful mode for Pokémon GB fans
is probably the Pokémon Lab mode where you can organize
everything, compare Pokémon, and so forth. Once you have used
the Lab, you will notice how rudimentary the menu systems in the
Game Boy versions really are. Teaching your Pokémon moves from
TMs and HMs is made really easy, since you can now see what each
machine does and what Pokémon can learn the respective moves.
These excellent additions round off what I think is one of the
more original console titles to come along in a long time. It's
only too bad the game sells at full price (necessitated by the
inclusion of the Transfer Pak), which will make some N64 owners
expect more than just an expansion of the Game Boy titles.
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