Pokemon: Reloaded

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fun, Save a game in progress, good quality pinball game.

Cons: Bad Bonus levels, A bit too easy at times.

The Bottom Line: 
If you like pinball games, or are a Pokemon fanatic, this is a nice game to pick up.

Author's Review
Being twenty-seven years old, Pokemon is not a big part of my life. I don't feel like I "Gotta Catch em all" to make my life complete, however, I do have a soft spot in my heart for gameboy pinball, dating all the way back to Revenge of the Gator, and now with Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Saphire.

The original Pokemon pinball was a great game for the gameboy color. It was an odd looking bulky cartridge which held a triple A battery allowing for the rumble feature to be used. The game was a very good pinball game, and had two different tables to test your skills upon. I wasted many hours of my life collecting pokemon on the original, and have already in the few weeks I have owned Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Saphire I have spent a good deal of time flipping around a pokeball along the ramps and bumpers.

If you enjoyed the original game, you in all likelihood will also have a blast with the new game. If you are not familiar with either game, basically you are going to be presented with a very solid pinball game which if it has a major failing it would be that it is a bit too easy at times. The first game had a much more difficult level of play, and perhaps that makes it a bit superior to this new one, but the new game will still be a great addition to one's game library.

Pokemon pinball is graphically what you would expect from a gameboy advance game. Nintendo's handheld system does a particularly good job with cutesy graphics, making it ideal for it's general target audience...kids. This game is definitely marketed to kids, but adults with an open mind will also enjoy this solid pinball game.

The game uses the same general theme as all Pokemon games, that is you are trying to catch Pokemon. (Pokemon are, for the uninitiated, little monsters) There are 200 different Pokemon to catch, as well as at least one special "arrival" pokemon. I've caught about 180 of them so far, and the amount of time I need to actually catch them all may or may not be devoted to this game.

There are two separate tables to play, and each has it's own special challenges. The Ruby table is my favorite as it has an flipper up higher on the table, but the Saphire table also a lot of fun. The physics of the table are for the most part very real to life, although the ball can be exceptionally easy to save much of the time.

The bonus levels are a weakness of this game, because instead of feeling like a special place that is hard to get achieve, it feels more like a chore which you are required to stay in until the timer runs out. In the old Pokemon game, if you lost the ball, the special level was over, in the new game your ball simply respawns in the bonus level until the timer runs out.

There are many different activities to try and accomplish in this game, including a Nintendo favorite...collecting coins. These coins can be used to buy items. You also can attempt to travel to different areas (each area has different Pokemon to catch), You can try and upgrade your ball to make it worth more points, you can attempt to open up a bonus slot which rewards you with prizes, you can try and shoot different ramps to open up the Catch em all mode, the Hatch mode or the Evolution mode to get more Pokemon.

A great feature is that you can hook the game into a Gamecube via a Gameboy Player and get rumble features when you use a standard Gamecube controller. You can also share your high scores with a friend to compete against each other and so that you can see which Pokemon your buddy has that you need.

Perhaps my favorite feature of Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Saphire is that you have the ability to pause your game at any time and save it. You can then turn off your gameboy and comeback to the game at the EXACT spot you saved it at before. This is an excellent feature, one that I hope Nintendo incorporates to more of their gameboy games in the future.

All of the features, and the fact that Nintendo treats it's Pokemon franchise with special care make up a game that is not great, but a wonderful way to pass the time.