''Pokémon Rumble'' (titled in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
)
is a
beat 'em up
A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in Side-scrolling video game, scrolling, 2D c ...
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
in the ''
Pokémon
is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
'' series for
WiiWare
WiiWare was a digital media entertainment service operated by Nintendo that allowed the download of games and applications developed for the Wii video game console. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the W ...
developed by
Ambrella
was a Japanese video game developer, video game development company that worked under a publishing agreement with Nintendo. They were best known for making spin-off games for the Pokémon (video game series), ''Pokémon'' video game franchise ...
and published by
The Pokémon Company
, simply known as Pokémon is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video games, a trading card game, anime television series, f ...
and
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles.
The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
.
Gameplay
The player controls Pokémon as they battle other Pokémon in a series of linear dungeons and enclosed arenas. The game features real-time melee-based gameplay, which has been likened to that of ''
Smash TV
''Smash TV'' is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a twin-stick shooter in the same vein as 1982's '' Robotron: 2084'', which was co-created by Jarvis. The Super Nintendo Ent ...
''.
The game uses a
Wii Remote
The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...
held sideways by default, but also supports the
Nunchuk
is a traditional East-Asian martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately (sticks) and (rope). A person who has pract ...
,
Classic Controller
The is a game controller produced by Nintendo for the Wii home video game console. While it later featured some compatibility with the Wii U console, the controller was ultimately succeeded by the Wii U Pro Controller. In April 2014, Ninten ...
(Pro) and
GameCube Controller
The GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller design in ...
. Using one of the attachment controllers allows two players to share the same Wii Remote. Controllers can be changed at the Multiplayer booth in the Terminal area after finishing the first stage.
The player starts off with a low-level Pokémon with only one attack at their disposal. They can collect stronger Pokémon (with up to two moves) through defeating wild Pokémon within the game's levels. Additionally, by battling wild Pokémon the player collects coins which can be used to buy new attacks or recruit more Pokémon. When the player obtains a high enough level Pokémon, the doors to the Battle Royale room open, where they take on dozens of Pokémon at a time in an enclosed arena. The player must defeat all of the Pokémon in order to rank up, eventually facing much stronger and even
Legendary Pokémon
Legendary may refer to:
* Legend, a folklore genre
* Legendary (hagiography)
* J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium
Film and television
* Legendary (2010 film), ''Legendary'' (2010 film), a 2010 American sports drama film
* Legendary (2013 film), ' ...
.
The game supports up to four players simultaneously in co-operative and competitive modes.
It also features a password system which unlocks certain Pokémon. Passwords have been found in Nintendo Power magazines, the official game website, or online.
Development
The game was originally planned to also have Pokémon from
Gold and Silver and
Ruby and Sapphire Ruby and sapphire may refer to:
* Corundum, a class of gems including both rubies and sapphires
* ''Pokémon Ruby'' and ''Sapphire'', a pair of 2002 video games
* Garnet, a fictional character from ''Steven Universe'', formed by the fusion of Ruby ...
, but they were not implemented presumably due to WiiWare's 40 megabytes size limit. This gets proven further when it was discovered that the games collection booth was hard coded to not show Pokémon 152 through 388, and
Arceus.
A free demo was available on the Wii Shop Channel. It included a number of functions including: The Normal Introduction, a few stages allowing the player to get the feeling of each stage. Pokémon can be recruited and the Terminal can be used. Once a Pokémon is recruited with Power Points of 100 or more, a short video is displayed in which the Battle Royale doors open and then a screenshot appears stating that the demo is over.
Reception
IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
rated the game as 6 out of 10, saying that it is "mindless, but fun", but doesn't have enough depth to keep playing. They went on and criticized the developers for being lazy and reusing models from ''
My Pokémon Ranch
is a 2008 virtual pet video game developed by Ambrella and published by The Pokémon Company for the Wii. It was released on the WiiWare service. It is a spin-off of the ''Pokémon (video game series), Pokémon'' series.
Internationally, this g ...
''. The game received an aggregated score of 59 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, based on reviews from 9 critics.
Sequels
On June 10, 2011, the Japanese Pokémon website announced a sequel, ''
Pokémon Rumble Blast''. The game was released in Japan on August 11, 2011, for
Nintendo 3DS
The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
. In 2013, a second sequel for
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
called ''
Pokémon Rumble U'' was released. ''
Pokémon Rumble World'' was released on April 8, 2015, through the
Nintendo eShop
The is a digital distribution service for the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2, and formerly available via the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo eShop served ...
as a
freemium
Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium", is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ( ...
title for Nintendo 3DS. On May 22, 2019, a mobile sequel named ''
Pokémon Rumble Rush'' was released globally for Android, with its iOS release happening on July 23.
[Madnani, Mikhail (23 July 2019). https://toucharcade.com/2019/07/23/pokemon-rumble-rush-ios-android-free-download-released-now/ ''TouchArcade''. Retrieved 2020-04-15.]
References
External links
Official website(English)
Official website(Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokemon Rumble
2009 video games
Action role-playing video games
Ambrella games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Role-playing video games
Video games about sentient toys
Video games developed in Japan
Wii games
Wii-only games
WiiWare games