Shadowknight1
Loftwing
First things first, this is my first game review on this site, so everyone wish me luck! Okay, here goes:
I recently rented Pokemon Battle Revolution for the Wii because I am a big fan of the Pokemon games, and the Stadium-style games in particular. However, I was in for a bit of a scare when I first inserted the disk into my Wii. The console started trying to update, which, for a console that cannot connect to internet, is a bit strange. Seeing as how I only have dial up internet and now way to connect the Wii, I thought that it would just come up with an error message saying that it couldn't connect. A few minutes later, I gave up and merely restarted the Wii. That did the trick, so any of you who are in the same boat as me, that's all you have to do.
Okay, after that happened, I was able to get into the game and immediately made note of the fact that, due to dial up internet, one of the features of Battle Revolution is cut off for me. Those of you with wireless net, you SHOULD be able to battle with others online through that, but I cannot attest to how well it works and what not. Seeing as how I do not have a DS yet, nor a copy of either Pokemon Diamond or Pearl, I went through the process of getting a rental pass. There are only two at first, but you can aquire more later and trade Pokemon among them. You can also customize the look of your trainer as well as his/her catchphrases, which could be most of the fun of this game in itself.
Now, to the battles! The graphics were indeed similar to the previous 3d Pokemon games: Colosseum(misspelled BTW) and XD. At least, as far as the Pokemon models went anyway. When the trainer throws out Pokemon, the camera, for the most part, shows the Pokeball flying from the trainer's hand and into the arena, whereas in previous games, they showed the trainer tossing the ball, and then cut to the ball coming from offscreen(pretty much). Plus, when a double battle takes place, you can visually see the trainer throwing two Pokeballs. Pretty slick, I say. Then came the moves. Many move effects have been updated since Colosseum and XD and the ones I noticed immediately were physical attacks like Mach Punch. Rather showing one Pokemon make the attack and then cut to the other Pokemon reacting, Battle Revolution actually shows the Pokemon running up to the opponent and smacking it upside the head! Very nice! Then the move Dig has been altered. Previously, the Pokemon dug, then came out of the hole to attack. Now, it digs and then burrows ala Bugs Bunny to attack! And attacks like Flamethrower and Ice Beam have also been treated to nice visual updates. Also, techniques like Rain Dance or Sandstorm that add weather effects have been given more realism in battles.
Now, there's all the plus sides. Now to the downfalls of the game. I was saddened by the lack of support for the Game Boy Advance games. The Game Boy Advance has not died yet, and neither have the games. Nintendo really should have had some support for Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and FireRed/LeafGreen. The only way to import teams from those games is to send them into Diamond/Pearl, and effectively erasing them from the GBA games, which is yet another oversight on Nintendo's part. In my personal opinion, that effectively alienates anyone who wants to use a team from the GBA games in Battle Revolution, but does not own a DS. If not for the fact that I enjoy the battles, I would not consider buying it until Nintendo corrects these problems.
All in all, Pokemon Battle Revolution is a fun game that is a worth addition to the 3d Pokemon library. With its slick graphics and the interesting battle tactics(such as Fortune Battles and Select Battles), Battle Revolution is definitely a good buy for someone looking for a fairly simple Wii game, despite the exclusion of the GBA Pokemon Games.
I give it a 7.5/10.
I recently rented Pokemon Battle Revolution for the Wii because I am a big fan of the Pokemon games, and the Stadium-style games in particular. However, I was in for a bit of a scare when I first inserted the disk into my Wii. The console started trying to update, which, for a console that cannot connect to internet, is a bit strange. Seeing as how I only have dial up internet and now way to connect the Wii, I thought that it would just come up with an error message saying that it couldn't connect. A few minutes later, I gave up and merely restarted the Wii. That did the trick, so any of you who are in the same boat as me, that's all you have to do.
Okay, after that happened, I was able to get into the game and immediately made note of the fact that, due to dial up internet, one of the features of Battle Revolution is cut off for me. Those of you with wireless net, you SHOULD be able to battle with others online through that, but I cannot attest to how well it works and what not. Seeing as how I do not have a DS yet, nor a copy of either Pokemon Diamond or Pearl, I went through the process of getting a rental pass. There are only two at first, but you can aquire more later and trade Pokemon among them. You can also customize the look of your trainer as well as his/her catchphrases, which could be most of the fun of this game in itself.
Now, to the battles! The graphics were indeed similar to the previous 3d Pokemon games: Colosseum(misspelled BTW) and XD. At least, as far as the Pokemon models went anyway. When the trainer throws out Pokemon, the camera, for the most part, shows the Pokeball flying from the trainer's hand and into the arena, whereas in previous games, they showed the trainer tossing the ball, and then cut to the ball coming from offscreen(pretty much). Plus, when a double battle takes place, you can visually see the trainer throwing two Pokeballs. Pretty slick, I say. Then came the moves. Many move effects have been updated since Colosseum and XD and the ones I noticed immediately were physical attacks like Mach Punch. Rather showing one Pokemon make the attack and then cut to the other Pokemon reacting, Battle Revolution actually shows the Pokemon running up to the opponent and smacking it upside the head! Very nice! Then the move Dig has been altered. Previously, the Pokemon dug, then came out of the hole to attack. Now, it digs and then burrows ala Bugs Bunny to attack! And attacks like Flamethrower and Ice Beam have also been treated to nice visual updates. Also, techniques like Rain Dance or Sandstorm that add weather effects have been given more realism in battles.
Now, there's all the plus sides. Now to the downfalls of the game. I was saddened by the lack of support for the Game Boy Advance games. The Game Boy Advance has not died yet, and neither have the games. Nintendo really should have had some support for Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and FireRed/LeafGreen. The only way to import teams from those games is to send them into Diamond/Pearl, and effectively erasing them from the GBA games, which is yet another oversight on Nintendo's part. In my personal opinion, that effectively alienates anyone who wants to use a team from the GBA games in Battle Revolution, but does not own a DS. If not for the fact that I enjoy the battles, I would not consider buying it until Nintendo corrects these problems.
All in all, Pokemon Battle Revolution is a fun game that is a worth addition to the 3d Pokemon library. With its slick graphics and the interesting battle tactics(such as Fortune Battles and Select Battles), Battle Revolution is definitely a good buy for someone looking for a fairly simple Wii game, despite the exclusion of the GBA Pokemon Games.
I give it a 7.5/10.