is a 2013

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

video game 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 available on the

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 ...

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 t ...

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 ...

. It is the successor to the 2011 3DS game '' Pokémon Rumble Blast''. It features all Pokémon from the first five generations. Up to 100 Pokémon and 4 players are able to play at the same time. It is the first Wii U game to utilize the

Wii U GamePad The Wii U GamePad is the standard game controller for Nintendo's Wii U home video game console. Incorporating features from tablet computers, the GamePad has traditional input methods (such as buttons, dual analog sticks, and a D-pad), touchscre ...

near-field communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...

(NFC) function. It was released in Japan on April 24, 2013, in Europe on August 15, 2013, and in North America on August 29, 2013.

Gameplay

While ''Pokémon Rumble U'' shares similar gameplay elements with its predecessor, in ''Rumble U'', the player controls

and battles alongside them against other Pokémon in battle arenas. A boss Pokémon must be fought at the end of every battle arena. As the player advances, new battle arenas are unlocked. Further battle arenas can be selected from a menu. Progressively, battle arena difficulties continue to rise. Once a battle arena is completed, the player is rewarded with coins and new Pokémon. The game also uses figurines, similar to ''

Skylanders ''Skylanders'' is a toys-to-life action-adventure video game franchise published by Activision. ''Skylanders'' games are played by placing a character's figure on the "Portal of Power", a device that reads its tag using NFC and "imports" them ...

'' and ''

Disney Infinity ''Disney Infinity'' is an action-adventure sandbox toys-to-life video game series developed by Avalanche Software. The setting of the series was a giant customizable universe of imagination, known as the Toy Box, populated with toy versions of ...

'', to add content to the game.

Plot

After a mishap in the Toy Pokémon Shop, some Pokémon capsules are swept down a river and washed up on a strange riverbank.

Pikachu Pikachu (; Japanese: , Hepburn: ) is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' media franchise, and the franchise's mascot. First introduced in the video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'', it was created by Atsuko N ...

, Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott emerge from the Pokémon capsules and set out to find their way back to the Toy Pokémon Shop. On the course of their journey, they discover Pokémon reluctant of returning to the Toy Shop. It's even found the four Pokémon were intentionally thrown into the river in the first place.

Development

Prior to ''Pokémon Rumble U''s release,

announced it would be the first game to use the

(NFC) component of the

. Around the same time, Nintendo announced figurines would be distributed. Once the game went on sale in Europe, a special edition including two NFC figurines, a poster, and a code to download the game was distributed in game stores. Pokémon figurines are utilized by placing them on the NFC section of the

, which allows the player to use that Pokémon in the game. NFC figurines have been sold in Japan, Europe, and the United States with limited availability. In response to the figurines not being sold in Canada, a Nintendo spokesperson commented that claiming availability in the United States was limited.

Reception

''Pokémon Rumble U'' has received mostly mixed reviews. 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 ...

, the game received an aggregated score of 49 out of 100, and a user score of 5.0. Its aggregate score at

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

was also 49%. Writing for ''Nintendo Insider'', Joe Merrick gave the game 70%, summarising that "''Pokémon Rumble U'' is a simple and fun game, but may bore a few players". Mike Manson of ''Nintendo Life'' gave a more mixed review, giving ''Rumble U'' 6 out of 10; summarising that "''Pokémon Rumble U'' is straightforward fun that's a far cry from the main Pokémon titles, but it does pair some key strategic elements of the series with the button bashing – though there are definitely moments where there's too much going on to keep real track of, which does lead to more reliance on the latter than the former". Chris Carter of ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

'' rated the game a 6/10. He critiqued it, finding ''Pokémon Rumble U'' too linear, lacking strategy, and repetitive and basic. Despite its flaws, he claims it may be a fun experience with friends and in short periods of gameplay. Will Greenwald of ''

PCMag ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Magaz ...

'' gave the game a 2/5. He criticized it for not living up to the mechanics of '' Pokémon Rumble Blast'' and lacking a Pokémon upgrade system, due to what he deemed an unnecessary incorporation of external merchandise into gameplay. If one wants to grow attached to their Pokémon, they must buy its corresponding NFC figurine – only then will they be able to "upgrade" it to their liking. Nonetheless, he said the game is too linear and short to enjoy the upgrades.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokemon Rumble U 2013 video games Action role-playing video games Ambrella games Role-playing video games Video games about sentient toys Video game sequels Video games developed in Japan Video games that use figurines Wii U eShop games Wii U games Wii U-only games Pokémon Rumble Multiplayer and single-player video games