''Hey You, Pikachu!'' is a

virtual pet A virtual pet (also known as a digital pet, artificial pet, or pet-raising simulation) is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet. Digital ...

''Pokémon'' spin-off video game for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

developed by Ambrella and published by

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

. It was released in Japan on December 12, 1998, and in North America on October 30, 2000. The player is asked to help

Professor Oak Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

test the PokéHelper, a device that lets humans communicate with Pokémon. The game is set in the Kanto region between Pewter City and Viridian City, where the player is introduced to a wild

Pikachu is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which w ...

. The player is able to communicate with a 256-word database through the Voice Recognition Unit (VRU), a Nintendo 64 hardware accessory that, when paired with a microphone, can comprehend and analyze human speech. Along with speaking with Pikachu, the VRU allows the player to move around and gather items. ''Hey You, Pikachu!'' is one of only two games to utilize the VRU, with the other being ''Densha de Go! 64'', the Japan-exclusive N64 port of '' Densha de Go! 2 Kōsoku-hen''. The game had a mixed reception from critics. Though no direct sequels have been made, the virtual pet game ''

Pokémon Channel ''Pokémon Channel'', released in Japan as , is a 2003 video game in the ''Pokémon'' series for the GameCube, developed by Ambrella, published by The Pokémon Company and distributed by Nintendo. The player's goal is to help Professor Oak re ...

'', first released for the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...

in 2003, resembles ''Hey You, Pikachu!'' and shares similar gameplay, with the exception of the microphone peripheral.

Gameplay

The main character is asked to test out the PokéHelper, a new device of Professor Oak's that is used to talk to Pokémon. The player then meets a wild Pikachu and befriends it. Once the player earns Pikachu's trust, it will come and live in the player's house. There are three different activity days: Pikachu's Daring Days, Discovery Days, and Play Days. Each day has a different objective (e.g. collecting food, going fishing) and the player can earn Pika Points, the currency used at Abra's Shop to unlock new items. After 365 gameplay days, Professor Oak notifies the player that Pikachu, still a wild Pokémon, must be released. The player ventures to the woods to find Pikachu and repeatedly says "goodbye", upon which Pikachu realizes it must return to the wild. After the credits, while the player looks around the front yard and reminisces, Pikachu returns, and the game continues as if Pikachu was never released.

Reception

''Hey You, Pikachu!'' received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily Lists of newspapers, newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain ...

''s Dustin Packwood commented that fans of the anime would enjoy this game. '' NextGen''s Greg Orlando, however, said that the game "tastes just like chicken made of glucose." ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally ...

'' stated, "If you're a little kid or a big kid with a little kid's love for ''Pokémon'', ''Hey, You, Pikachu'' is calling for you." In Japan, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' gave it a score of 30 out of 40. ''

Retronauts ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...

'' cited the game as an example of a terrible ''Pokémon'' console game. ''

UGO Networks UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. History The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Onlin ...

'' listed the game on their list of the "Top 50 Games That Belong On the 3DS", stating "Using the 3DS' built-in microphone should make it simple to speak and interact with the wild Pokémon." The game was a runner-up for the "Console Family Game of the Year" award at the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentatio ...

' Fourth Interactive Achievement Awards, which went to ''

Mario Tennis ''Mario Tennis'' is a 2000 sports video game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Following '' Mario's Tennis'', it is the second game in the ''Mario Tennis'' series. The game is known for bein ...

''.

Legacy

spiritual sequel A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...

to ''Hey You, Pikachu!'', ''

'', was first released on the

in 2003 and was also developed by Ambrella. Another spiritual sequel, '' PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure'', was first released on the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

in 2009, which in turn had its direct sequel, '' PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond'', first released in 2011.

Notes

References

External links