Pokemon Battle Revolution

Pokemon Battle Revolution, contrary to what its name might imply, is not a 'revolution' in anything - it's a return to the gameplay style of Nintendo 64's Pokemon Stadium games. The shadow Pokemon and light story elements of GameCube's Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness are gone in exchange for Pokemon Stadium's straightforward 3D battles across various arenas. Battle Revolution features some natural improvements over its predecessors in terms of presentation and interface, but it's clearly designed for fans that own Pokemon Diamond or Pearl for the Nintendo DS.

My Pokemans, let me show you them. In 3D.

The greatest value in a game like Pokemon Battle Revolution is the ability to watch your captured Pokemon duke it out in full 3D on the big screen, a point on which this Wii title delivers well enough. All 493 Pokemon are true to their 2D looks, although some - primarily the new additions from Diamond and Pearl - look noticeably better modeled than others. That said, none of the Pokemon themselves look significantly improved beyond their GameCube counterparts.

The lighting and special effects, in addition to the environment complexity, utilize Wii's extra power nicely. Pokemon also interact with each other when attacking, something not found in previous games, which is made more interesting to watch thanks to dynamic camera angles. Some jagged edges show on the trainers, however, and some bad 2D sprites of trees or people can be seen in some of the backgrounds. Why the developer chose cheap sprites as audience members rather than Miis is beyond me.

These are some of the trainer models you can customize.

Pokemon Colosseum made the trainers visible on-screen during battles for the first time. Battle Revolution improves on this aspect with customizable trainers that don't seem like oddly-posed mannequins during fights. Granted, only six base trainer models are available, but there's a decent assortment of options between headgear, hair, facial decorations, glasses, shirts, bottoms, shoes, badges, bags and hand gear to make each player's trainer unique. In order to use most of the customization options, players will need to buy them in the shop using Poke Coupons, which are earned by winning solo battles. The shop also sells special gifts like moves and items that can be purchased and sent to your DS game. The trainers are really just a visual component, unfortunately having no impact on gameplay, but their presence and movements do help lend more authenticity to the battling experience.

Everything is controlled with the Wii Remote, which is basically the equivalent of a large DS stylus. Players can either use the pointer in the controller's longways position or the d-pad in the sideways position. The main menu, rather than being a hub world with branching areas like in the Stadium games, is a coliseum lobby with a female attendant. She explains the purpose of each large on-screen button, but most players could easily figure them out without her help.

Players can't skip over the attendant's introductory tour, either, which is made irksome by her lack of voice, the somewhat slow text scrolling and the jagged edges of her character model. Players can create a custom battle pass, which contains all the data for your trainer and Pokemon team, when she finishes. Players will edit the battle pass when customizing their trainer or changing their Pokemon team for fights. Battle passes can also be stored on a Wii Remote and used on a friend's console. Just remember: all changes must be manually saved by clicking the save button in the main menu; the game does not auto-save any progress, strangely enough.

An example of a battle pass. Many designs can be  unlocked. 

Single players can take on a Colosseum or Free Battle. Those who own Diamond or Pearl can copy all their Pokemon over to Battle Revolution for use in these battles, which is an easy process that takes a few button presses. Otherwise, players can use a rental pass containing a preset team of Pokemon. Several rental passes can be unlocked as players progress, allowing some choice in teammates for those who don't own the DS games, but it's still a step behind the Pokemon Stadium games in which players could create their own rental teams. Free Battle is exactly as one would expect: choose the arena, set the rules, pick your custom or rental battle pass and fight against a computer or another human player. All 493 Pokemon can be used in Free Battle.

The Colosseum Battle take places across the island of Poketopia. Only two arenas are available at the beginning, but winning will open up a handful of others - just not as many as Pokemon Stadium 2. Battle Revolution emphasizes quality over quantity, featuring coliseums that are more elaborate than any before them, from a neon-lit stadium in the center of Poketopia city, to a large underground cavern covered in glowing crystals, to an ancient arena surrounded by a jungle and waterfalls. The environments don't have any bearing on gameplay, which is disappointing for a game of Wii's generation. Even the DS games managed to involve environmental conditions in battles.

The music is different for each arena (and changes again between regular matches and bosses). The themes are generally a mixture of jazz and techno, which works well for creating an upbeat battle atmosphere. The only voice during battles is that of the commentator, a fellow who lent his enthusiasm to the role in the earlier Pokemon Stadium games. He delivers most of his lines well, and the precision of his statements towards battle events is impressive enough, but sometimes even good delivery can't save the cheesy lines, especially when they're stated in every battle. Players can turn off the commentator if they so choose. Of course, I'd prefer the commentator over the trainers speaking, since the catchphrases for winning, losing and introductions of most trainers are terribly cheesy. Players can set custom catchphrases for their trainer when editing their battle pass, but these have to be kept relatively short due to character limits.

For people who enjoy Pokemon battling on their portables, you'll likely find the activity more enjoyable in Battle Revolution, thanks to the combination of the visible trainers, slightly faster turns, dynamic camera angles, visually detailed 3D arenas and Pokemon, and other cool effects (like water dripping down your screen when the move Rain Dance or Surf is used). The AI is on par with the DS games, which isn't saying much since it mostly uses basic battle strategies and occasionally makes clearly unwise moves. Like in Pokemon Stadium, players can't use items during battle. Some players may prefer the lack of items, as it forces them to focus more intently on core strategy, but the absence of items removes some depth from the battles. The Wii Remote's pointer makes move selection and Pokemon switching as easy as it is on the DS, but there's a sense that developer Genius Sonority could have done far more with Wii's abilities to make battles more engaging beyond what the old 'click and watch' formula provides.

Stages are rather pretty, but why no Gyrados leaping from the water?

Playing in the coliseums can hold a Pokemaniac's interest for a time, since the different arenas come with different rules that keep the basic battling fresh. For example, one coliseum has you and your opponent place your Pokemon on a roulette; teams are then mostly determined by chance. Winning players are also rewarded with Poke Coupons for buying more accessories. Completing all of the main arenas will unlock a surfing Pikachu that can be sent to your DS game, a survival mode and a special Level 5-capped coliseum.

Overall, there's about 15-20 hours of single-player content - naturally, only people who really enjoy the battling aspect will want to complete it. While players could make due with rental Pokemon the entire way through, it's clearly the inferior way of playing the game. A personal connection to one's team is very important to the Pokemon experience, so players really need Pokemon Diamond or Pearl to enjoy the game in full.

The presentation values of Battle Revolution are good and the battles play out exactly as Pokemon fans are accustomed, but all the improvements over the N64 Stadium games are expected for the generational jump. Use of the Wii Remote makes the process of battling easy, but there's nothing innovative or very engaging about the control aspect - the device isn't even necessary for gameplay. The single-player aspect of Battle Revolution also doesn't have the same breadth as the older Pokemon Stadium games.

Should some solo content have to be sacrificed for cool effects?
Maybe - a generation ago.

So far, it's hard to justify this game costing $50. Players that own Diamond and Pearl will reap the most benefit from Battle Revolution, but they've also spent a good deal of money on the other materials already. For people that don't own the DS games,the single-player lacks the longevity for full price. For players who have never touched a home console Pokemon game, Battle Revolution provides little reason to start.

Of course, some fans are willing to overlook a shallow single-player experience because Battle Revolution is the first North American Wii game to offer online play. Will online battling and DS connectivity make this brawler worth owning? Come back for Stage 2 to find out.