Pokémon Battle Revolution

Pokémon Battle Revolution
Developer(s)	Genius Sonority
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Distributor(s)	Nintendo
Released	JP December 14 2006 NA June 25 2007 AU November 22 2007[1] EU December 7 2007[2]
Genre	RPG-Fighting
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer, Multiplayer online
Ratings	CERO: A ESRB: E OFLC: G PEGI: 7+
Platform(s)	Wii
Media	Wii Optical Disc
Input methods	Wii Remote, Nintendo DS (option to use Pokémon Diamond or Pearl card in the game)

Pokémon Battle Revolution (ポケモンバトルレボリューション, Pokemon 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 in North America and Japan and the first Wii game to wirelessly interact with the Nintendo DS handheld.^[3] Pokémon Battle Revolution features eleven different colosseums in a new land, a Pokémon-themed theme park called Pokétopia.^[4][5] 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 11 different colosseums (all of which are completely the same, except for the setting), each with special changes to normal play or prerequisites and a Colosseum Leader (Except the Lagoon Colloseum that is only used in DS Battle Mode and Online Battle Mode). Six out of the 10 Colosseum Leaders wear Pokémon costumes. The costumes are: Marina of the Waterfall Colosseum wears a Kyogre costume, Taylor of the Main Street Colosseum wears a Pachirisu suit, Rosie of the Neon Colosseum wears a Roserade suit, Terrel of the Magma Colosseum wears a Groudon suit, Dusty of the Sunset Colloseum wears a Lucario suit and Voldon of the Crystal Colloseum wears a Electivire suit. Also, the Crystal Colosseum can hold up to 16 players, the battles are done in a 16-person tournament mode. The Gateway Colosseum is only open to a rental pass holder. As the player progresses, the Pokémon available to rent become more powerful. The player also earns Poké-Coupons, which is the form of currency this game. The player can then further customize his/her character.

A double battle: Dialga and Palkia against Kyogre and Groudon as featured in Nintendo Power.

Pokémon attacks are also much more diverse, with each Pokémon acquiring their own animations for most moves in the game. Some animations feature both the attacking and defending Pokémon on screen at the same time. In previous titles, the game only showed one Pokémon attacking and then cutting away to the second getting hit by the attack. 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 through Mystery Gift. This feature allows players to obtain Pokémon that are either hard or impossible to get without using a cheat device. To unlock the Pokémon, players must achieve certain goals or enter a special code. So far, Electivire and Magmortar are the only Pokémon that can be obtained through the latter method. In addition to the Pokémon download, players can purchase items like certain Technical Machines and evolution items. Players can create and customize trainers to use in battle. A trainer's apparel, accessories, hair color and, in non-Japanese versions, skin color can be changed.

Online functionality

Battle Revolution is the first Pokémon home console title to go online in the United States as well as the first online game for the Nintendo Wii. 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,^[3] and Battle with Someone, which lets the player face off against a random opponent.^[6] DS controls cannot be used in online multiplayer. Notably, when playing random online battles, the player's trainer's custom greetings and Pokémon nicknames are all changed to its native nation's defaults; for example, a Japanese Magikarp (コイキング, Koiking^?) will show its Japanese name instead of its English one. The game uses a separate friend code than the one introduced in Diamond and Pearl. Each save file has its own friend code in order to keep the friend rosters of players within the same household separate. After each random battle, players are given the chance to exchange trainer passes. The exchange must be mutual; it will not work if one of the two trainers refuses. All pokemon are allowed in Random Battles apart from Arceus and Shaymin, as they have not officially been released in Japan yet.

Reception

Pokémon Battle Revolution has received mediocre reviews from critics. It received a score of 5.0 out of 10 from IGN,^[7] which cites that the game omits several features demonstrated in previous games like Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Colosseum, such as a role-playing mode. The multiplayer and online functionality of the game is also criticized for lacking functions such as tournament play. Gamespot gave the game a mediocre 5.5 out of 10 score, criticizing the repetitive gameplay and the barebones online support, as well as the fact that if one didn't have Pokémon Diamond or Pearl for the DS, there isn't nearly as much to do.^[8]The Wire gave the game a D+ grade, but praised its intuitive, if underwhelming, interface with an Ease of Use award. Nintendo Power rated it a 6.5 out of 10, praising the game's multiplayer while criticizing its lack of single player features. The game currently has a 56% average of 23 aggregated reviews on Game Rankings.^[9]

Development

The game was first announced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata at a Nintendo marketing event in Japan on June 7 2006.^[10][11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] In one of this game's first pre-release videos, where a Groudon's Hyper Beam hit a Deoxys, it was revealed that certain attacks would affect the landscape of the colosseums. However, for unknown reasons, this feature was not seen in the final version of the game.

References

External links

• Official Pokemon Battle Revolution Webpage (English - Great Britain)
• Official Pokemon Battle Revolution Webpage (North America)
• Official Pokémon Battle Revolution Webpage (Japanese)
• Pokémon Battle Revolution at IGN
• Pokémon Battle Revolution at Gamespot
• The Shocking Secret Gift page at Pokémon-Games.