One of the most debated games of 2007, but what's the insider view? Find out within my review.
Pokemon Battle Revolution is the first Pokemon game to be released for the critically acclaimed Nintendo console the 'Wii'. The game was release in the last quarter of 2007 and since then has had fairly average sales that as usual with spinoffs; reflect the sales of the main RPGs quite poorly. The average review score for PBR is currently 55%.
However, this game's quality is one of great dispute and this makes it all the more interesting to review. There are two main arguments. One is that the game is useless as an actual video game and is a mere accessory to Diamond & Pearl, whereas the other is that all video games are useless without the players understanding and therefore Pokemon Battle Revolution should only be judged on its merits.
My personal view could be considered 'sitting on the fence' somewhat. I wouldn't really call it that, but I suppose that you can decide for yourself.
The game starts off with a trainer arriving on the exquisite resort of Poketopia, but this is going to be no relaxing vacation! Hundreds of battles and hours of game play lie ahead of the trainer should they choose to fully complete the game. In usual Pokemon style, it starts off extremely tame, which contrary to popular belief and opinion I feel is probably to lull casual gamers into a false sense of security. The game is obviously easier if you have a solid team to upload from a DS game, but this is not always the case. Battle passes are there for people who don't have Diamond or Pearl, but they aren't always the best, so I can see why some people who bought this game and not the portable titles found it tedious. As for overall difficulty, the game itself is generally easy except for a couple of coliseums near the middle, which again is in usual Pokemon style. Which other games have peak difficulty in the middle of the story rather than the end? Not many, but you've still got to love them. That's the main storyline over with which let's face it has to cater to Nintendo, Pokemon and the Wii's fairly wide target audience ranges. The post-game scenario is very different. Suddenly Poketopia becomes quite challenging even for veteran Pokemon players and then it has its party piece, the WiFi compatibility which you can use to test your skills against random players or against your friends. In this game, the opponent and your own team define the difficulty and you can really start to enjoy this game. However this is not to say that it isn't open to abuse. Hacked and fully uber teams plague the random battle section and can become extremely annoying. I would classify PBR as an easy game for the main story or medium-quite hard for the overall game.
The storyline is probably the most debated point. The arguments are that it either doesn't have a storyline or that it does have one, but not in the usual sense. I disagree with both really because it is just a game in which you progress by just battling rather than one that actually has a plot. It is a similar case as with the Gran Turismo series. Those games are just racing with no real plot, yet strangely they get double the storyline points in reviews in most cases when compared to Pokemon Battle Revolution. What's going on there then? I personally just treat the game as a direct descendant of the Pokemon Stadium games, but with even more features. I would rate it as N/A for storyline just as I did with Gran Turismo 4, but if I had to put a number on plot related quality it would be between seven and eight.
Graphically and audibly Pokemon Battle Revolution is more than decent. The graphics are crisp and defined and are best viewed on a medium sized LCD/Plasma TV as they can be really shown off that way without blurring or stretching. The Pokemon are more detailed that previous 3D titles as you would expect and the coliseums look better than ever. The sound is very nice and though it isn't to everyone's satisfaction I feel that the commentator adds to the atmosphere very well with his occasional jokes and sometimes unintentionally when he makes some extremely generic comments! The actual graphics engine used by the games isn't that strong, but Pokemon Battle Revolution really does make the best of what it has. There is also a common complaint about the sound and that is that the Pokemon don't say their cries as they do in the anime, which suggests to me that people still haven't realised the line between the games and the anime. My argument is that Pokemon don't say their names in the games to add a little 'possibility of realism' in contrast to the usually totally unreal feel of the anime, I have never seen a cat go around screaming 'feline, cat, cat' so I don't really expect Rampardos to cry out its name either. Plus, there is the language barrier.
As for value, the games are indeed full price but I think that they are worth their peanuts. Compared to some of the other Wii titles out there at £39.99, I'd say that Pokemon Battle Revolution fits comfortably in the middle where quality is concerned. However, if this is your first Pokemon game and you don't plan on buying Diamond or Pearl then I suggest you don't buy it. If you have played previous Pokemon titles then it then even if you don't have Diamond or Pearl I'm sure that you'd love it, but as a first and only it wouldn't really stand up and you'd probably just add to its poor reputation, which it really doesn't deserve. As you've probably guessed, this game is a must own for competitive battlers of all skill levels and especially those who like Pokemon purely for that reason.
Overall, Pokemon battle revolution is a magnificent game that is all too often overlooked. It has its quirks and issues, but the game as a whole is nothing to be ignored. If you love battling and don't really care for a story (Diamond and Pearl's storyline should be enough to satisfy anyway) then you will love this game all the more. Also, Pokemon Stadium lovers will probably like this regardless of their status with the handheld games for its sheer nostalgic value. Unfortunately though, I can't give it an unrealistic score as this is a review for a game and not just a Pokemon game, if it was then maybe I would give it an extremely high score, but it simply doesn't work that way. I do however have the utmost respect for those who score it as a Pokemon game and even those who review it as mediocre video game, I can see where both arguments are coming from but I just can't fully agree with either.
My official rating of this game is: 74%
By Ben Brown