- Designed for long-time fans, newcomers, approach with cautionPros: Beautiful 3D Graphics, Excellent representation of the battle system we know and love, Great Character Customization, WiFi Battles, Transfer of Pokemon from Diamond or Pearl
Cons: No RPG-like Single Player Campaign, Must own Diamond or Pearl to completely experience the game (If you are buying this as a gift, make sure the person you're buying it for
Pokemon Battle Revolution is an excellent game in that it does exactly what it has been advertised to do: battle in three dimensions, use Nintendo's WiFi connection to battle all over the world with others, and offer an excellent character customization. However, this game is really only worth purchasing if you already own (or are intending to buy) Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl for the Nintendo DS handheld system. Owners of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are able to transfer all their Pokemon to the game using the WiFi capabilities of the Nintendo DS. If you do not own Diamond or Pearl, you are forced to use "rental Pokemon," which have fixed stats and movesets. They are harder to use than Pokemon you may be used to, but using the rental Pokemon does make for a challenging single player experience. It just isn't what the developers of the game intended - this is not a stand-alone game.
I spent a few hours testing what the game has to offer. Its strongest point so far is the integration of random battle matchups using Nintendo WiFi. While you are still able to battle a specific friend using a friend code, the option of a random battle with a random person is appreciated. The creation of a character is also very fun, I spent about half an hour on my first battle pass. The character customization goes so far to even let you customize catchphrases for when Pokemon enter the battle, return to their PokeBall, etc. Not to mention that transferring Pokemon from my Diamond cartridge using the DS was seamless and easy, taking only a matter of seconds to see my beloved Pokemon appear in all their three dimensional glory. In addition, when you earn currency in the single player campaign, you are able to buy items and send them to your Pokemon Diamond/Pearl game using the Mystery Gift function.
Many critics of this game may say that it suffers due to lack of a deep, RPG-like mode present in the handheld games and it's Gamecube predecessors, Pokemon Colesseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. While I'm the first to admit that I would have enjoyed a single player RPG campaign like in the handheld games, that is not (and never was) what this game was designed to do. It is a Wii and DS specific representation of Pokemon Stadium for the Nintendo 64: It focuses on battling on a very broad scale, and very little else. The graphics are better, they've improved many aspects of the formula, but at its core, it's just a game for people who want to have the major satisfaction of seeing their carefully raised Pokemon battle in three dimensions. This is a wonderful game to use if you or your child enjoy the battling system, or if you simply want a new way to battle competitively online beyond using your DS. Just be aware that the single player campaign is not what you may be used to from the handhelds, and that most of the advantages come from owning a DS and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl.
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