Level Up: Pokemon Rumble Blast

Pokemon X and Y came out last month and I’m apparently the only one with a 3DS that DOESN’T have it. I have nothing against it, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. But to scratch the itch that comes with everyone talking about a 3DS Pokemon game, I’ve been playing the first Pokemon game for that system. No, not the 3D Pokedex, I’m talking about Pokemon Rumble Blast for the Nintendo 3DS.

Pokemon Rumble Blast is a sequel to the Wii Ware game Pokemon Rumble. From my research the game play in Rumble Blast is quite similar and it has more features. For example, while the original game only included about half of the Pokemon that were known at the time, Pokemon Rumble Blast includes all of them in the 5 generations (so, maybe it was a test run, like the Pokemon Snap and Stadium thing).

Regardless, the game play of the Pokemon Rumble series could actually be described as a really simple beat ‘em up. And a Pokemon beat ‘em up is something that I have been wanting since I was 10. Granted it’s nothing like Final Fight, as they had to compensate to play as each Pokemon; they only have up to two attacks and you can even skip most of the fighting. The game play is at a sort of aerial view as you adventure around, and Pokemon will jump out to attack you regularly. You can choose to fight and beat them all, or you can just try to get past them. However, you will always have to fight a boss at the end of each level, and fighting Pokemon allows you to get newer and stronger ones, since your Pokemon’s power is predetermined.

And yes, you do capture Pokemon, but it’s VERY different. First off, you can carry all your Pokemon at the same time; however you can only get three KOs before per level. You might have trouble capturing the one Pokemon you want though, because unlike the main series, Pokemon can only be “befriended” certain times after you KO them. When Pokemon are wobbling, they are guaranteed to join when KO’d, and there is a Pokemon trait that makes them likely to wobble, but even then you’re not guaranteed anything. This is one of the more annoying aspects of the game, but with the simple and quick game play, I found myself playing some levels multiple times just to get one more Pokemon.

I guess since this is the first 3DS game I talk about, I should discuss the graphics and how the 3D looks. Now, the thing I’ve been tip-toeing around is that you don’t play as real Pokemon, you play as toys. The game play and story narrative are only really impacted when they need to shake things up, so you’ll mostly only notice it for the graphics. The toy designs are done to have them with big heads and small bodies (I guess developer Ambrella were fans of My Littlest Pet Shop?) and I feel like if they were real figures, they’d easily sell. It works to make every Pokemon roughly the same size so the game play isn’t affected when changing from a tiny Tynamo to a sizable Snorlax. Though I do admit, I can see people being turned off from the game when you get this instead of real Pokemon.

As for the 3D, it’s alright. As I said earlier, the game is seen from a mostly overhead perspective, and from that angle 3D has very little to offer. When switching out Pokemon, they do make it seem like it’s coming from the 4^th wall, but other than that, there’s no real moment when something seems to come at you, nor does it help with perspective. It’s well done, but mostly unnecessary.

While Pokemon Rumble Blast was the first Pokemon game on the 3DS, I seriously doubt it would have held over the more hard-core Pokemon fans. I personally enjoyed it, and I’m sure some of the younger or more casual Pokemon fans did too, but it’s so very different from the main series. But this is still a pretty unique experience that I enjoyed for hours. And it might be selfish to say that I like this because it’s the game I wanted for a long time, but if I wanted a Pokemon Beat ‘em up, I’m sure there were others. Bottom line, if this sounds like a game you’ve ever wanted, than why not try it? But, if you just want a new Pokemon game, then maybe you should just pick up X or Y. I give Pokemon Rumble Blast for the Nintendo 3DS 6.5 levels out of 10.