Pretty great Pokemon game. I never played Colosseum but as far as I can tell, this sequel improves upon the gameplay so vastly. If you’ve been searching for an official shakeup to the mainline formula, this is a fantastic option. It’s fun to have your team built around Pokémon that you snag from others. The game only having double battles is such a major boon for the strategic depth of this adventure, it genuinely makes me wish we’d get another game where the main story is all doubles.
One of the game’s biggest assets also happens to be one of its biggest flaws. The battle animations are enthralling, fun to watch, and full of life. However, without the option to turn them off, halfway through the playthrough they start to feel like they’re lasting waaaay too long and easily make up for a good chunk of the playtime.
I still give this my recommendation, but if you have the means to throttle the game speed, you’ll enjoy it even more.
One of the game’s biggest assets also happens to be one of its biggest flaws. The battle animations are enthralling, fun to watch, and full of life. However, without the option to turn them off, halfway through the playthrough they start to feel like they’re lasting waaaay too long and easily make up for a good chunk of the playtime.
I still give this my recommendation, but if you have the means to throttle the game speed, you’ll enjoy it even more.
It’s been probably about two years or so since I played Pokemon Colosseum. While I really liked it, I wish it was a little bit longer, it felt like it ended too soon. Fast forward to now, and I’ve finally gotten around to playing the game’s sequel, XD: Gales of Darkness. Practically any issue I had with Colosseum is gone, and this game is such a great time overall, I’m so glad I finally got around to playing it.
Shadow Pokemon are so fun, even just catching them is super engaging. Having to catch them in Double Battles, where you also have to pay attention to the second field on the enemy’s field. Eventually you’ll have to catch multiple Shadow Pokemon in the same battle, making it a far more delicate balancing act. It’s also really nice that there’s a pretty safe way of trying to get a Shadow Pokemon again, if it faints in the first battle. I haven’t played Colosseum since I played it the first time back in 2022, but I don’t remember it being as forgiving. I was able to get every single Shadow Pokemon obtainable in the game, and I purified them all as well, to boot.
Purifying them as well is so fun. Of course you have the original way, going to the relic in Agate Village once a Shadow Gauge is empty, and purifying it. But the new Purification Chamber is such a handy tool, though it was definitely a learning curve to figure out how it works. The Purification Chamber allows you to purify up to 9 Pokemon at a time, being able to do other things while they purify in the background. You’ll need already purified Pokemon to help them purify though, and that’s where the nuance is. You can place 4 Pokemon around the Shadow Pokemon in the Purification Chamber, and the order that they’re placed in can increase the purification rate. It took me a long time to actually figure it out, In a clockwise order, each Pokemon must be weak to the one placed before it, and doing that for the full circle maxes out the tempo. Doing so is really fun, especially once you get each Purification Chamber Slot at max tempo, and being able to purify 9 Pokemon at the fastest possible rate.
I also think the introduction to Wild Pokemon is also interesting. There’s only 9 Wild Pokemon you can catch, which is fine, but it is quite limited. On it’s own, it’s not very interesting, but I do like how they did it. Simply just placing down a PokeSnack at a spot, and returning once you get notified of a Pokemon Spawning is really interesting. This, alongside the Purification Chamber, are really good ways to add mechanics that can fit naturally alongside the normal campaign of the game, and I really like that.
I think one of the best things about Colosseum and XD is the Pokemon you’re allowed to use. Typically in a Pokemon game, you’re likely to use similar Pokemon, and there’s often some Pokemon you’ll like never be able to use. One of the first things I think of is how in the Gen 2 games, a good number of new Pokemon (Slugma, Houndour, Larvitar) are postgame exclusive. In XD, I had a really fun team, especially with what Pokemon I was allowed to get early on, I think I was about halfway through the game when I finalized my team. My team for XD was Jolteon, Ursaring, Houndoom, Walrein, Dusclops, and Aggron. It was so fun to use pokemon like Houndoom, or Dusclops, pokemon that I’d otherwise be unlikely, or unable to use.
The battles of the game are always fun. Just like Colosseum of course, all of the battles in the game will be Double Battles. I just think by the nature of them, they’re just naturally more engaging. Having to synergize the two Pokemon you have out on the field, and be aware of the Pokemon your opponent is using as well. Sometimes your opponent will just have something you wont expect, and I think it’s really interesting. For a good majority of the game, I didn’t really need to grind all that much, the game was relatively balanced level-scaling wise. Most of the time, I grinded a little bit in order to help Shadow Pokemon I caught be on par with the rest of my party. The only problem I have with the game is the one bit of level scaling that I wish was improved, which was the final location of the game. In there, most of the Pokemon you’ll be fighting are about mid-30s to low 40s at best. But this jumps highly with the last handful of battles, bringing out Pokemon that are mid-40s all the way up to 50. I think it’s a noticeable spike, and I wish it was ironed out a little bit more, probably just adding some more battles to that final dungeon would honestly be enough.
But even then, I absolutely adored this game. As I mentioned prior, I went out of my way to fully obtain and purify every single Shadow Pokemon in the game, I didn’t even do that for of Colosseum. I haven’t even acknowledged Shadow Lugia up to this point, and I am an absolute sucker for that design. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but Shadow Lugia has a similar level of coolness design-wise that I see in Shadow the Hedgehog. I know it’ll never happen realistically, but I’d love to see it appear someway or somehow. It’s so cool to see a Shadow Pokemon be transformed by the shadow experimentation, instead of just getting a shadowy aura. But yeah, I can see myself replaying this game again at some point, it’d be fun to try the game again with a new team, and new eeveelution. Or maybe I’ll try to see if I can beat the 100 battle challenge in the save I do have. This game is an absolute blast.
Shadow Pokemon are so fun, even just catching them is super engaging. Having to catch them in Double Battles, where you also have to pay attention to the second field on the enemy’s field. Eventually you’ll have to catch multiple Shadow Pokemon in the same battle, making it a far more delicate balancing act. It’s also really nice that there’s a pretty safe way of trying to get a Shadow Pokemon again, if it faints in the first battle. I haven’t played Colosseum since I played it the first time back in 2022, but I don’t remember it being as forgiving. I was able to get every single Shadow Pokemon obtainable in the game, and I purified them all as well, to boot.
Purifying them as well is so fun. Of course you have the original way, going to the relic in Agate Village once a Shadow Gauge is empty, and purifying it. But the new Purification Chamber is such a handy tool, though it was definitely a learning curve to figure out how it works. The Purification Chamber allows you to purify up to 9 Pokemon at a time, being able to do other things while they purify in the background. You’ll need already purified Pokemon to help them purify though, and that’s where the nuance is. You can place 4 Pokemon around the Shadow Pokemon in the Purification Chamber, and the order that they’re placed in can increase the purification rate. It took me a long time to actually figure it out, In a clockwise order, each Pokemon must be weak to the one placed before it, and doing that for the full circle maxes out the tempo. Doing so is really fun, especially once you get each Purification Chamber Slot at max tempo, and being able to purify 9 Pokemon at the fastest possible rate.
I also think the introduction to Wild Pokemon is also interesting. There’s only 9 Wild Pokemon you can catch, which is fine, but it is quite limited. On it’s own, it’s not very interesting, but I do like how they did it. Simply just placing down a PokeSnack at a spot, and returning once you get notified of a Pokemon Spawning is really interesting. This, alongside the Purification Chamber, are really good ways to add mechanics that can fit naturally alongside the normal campaign of the game, and I really like that.
I think one of the best things about Colosseum and XD is the Pokemon you’re allowed to use. Typically in a Pokemon game, you’re likely to use similar Pokemon, and there’s often some Pokemon you’ll like never be able to use. One of the first things I think of is how in the Gen 2 games, a good number of new Pokemon (Slugma, Houndour, Larvitar) are postgame exclusive. In XD, I had a really fun team, especially with what Pokemon I was allowed to get early on, I think I was about halfway through the game when I finalized my team. My team for XD was Jolteon, Ursaring, Houndoom, Walrein, Dusclops, and Aggron. It was so fun to use pokemon like Houndoom, or Dusclops, pokemon that I’d otherwise be unlikely, or unable to use.
The battles of the game are always fun. Just like Colosseum of course, all of the battles in the game will be Double Battles. I just think by the nature of them, they’re just naturally more engaging. Having to synergize the two Pokemon you have out on the field, and be aware of the Pokemon your opponent is using as well. Sometimes your opponent will just have something you wont expect, and I think it’s really interesting. For a good majority of the game, I didn’t really need to grind all that much, the game was relatively balanced level-scaling wise. Most of the time, I grinded a little bit in order to help Shadow Pokemon I caught be on par with the rest of my party. The only problem I have with the game is the one bit of level scaling that I wish was improved, which was the final location of the game. In there, most of the Pokemon you’ll be fighting are about mid-30s to low 40s at best. But this jumps highly with the last handful of battles, bringing out Pokemon that are mid-40s all the way up to 50. I think it’s a noticeable spike, and I wish it was ironed out a little bit more, probably just adding some more battles to that final dungeon would honestly be enough.
But even then, I absolutely adored this game. As I mentioned prior, I went out of my way to fully obtain and purify every single Shadow Pokemon in the game, I didn’t even do that for of Colosseum. I haven’t even acknowledged Shadow Lugia up to this point, and I am an absolute sucker for that design. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but Shadow Lugia has a similar level of coolness design-wise that I see in Shadow the Hedgehog. I know it’ll never happen realistically, but I’d love to see it appear someway or somehow. It’s so cool to see a Shadow Pokemon be transformed by the shadow experimentation, instead of just getting a shadowy aura. But yeah, I can see myself replaying this game again at some point, it’d be fun to try the game again with a new team, and new eeveelution. Or maybe I’ll try to see if I can beat the 100 battle challenge in the save I do have. This game is an absolute blast.
Getting to play a console Pokemon game with an actual story was a dream back in the 2000s when this game and its predecessor came out. In my opinion, the original is narratively stronger, but the mechanical additions make this more fun to play. Adding the purify chamber means that purifying shadow pokemon is far more painless and quick. The simple change that opposing trainers can have more than 1 shadow pokemon means that the potential roster is so much larger. Also, the ability to catch wild pokemon makes transferring from R/S/E actually viable as you don't have to give up any Pokemon from the limited roster to do so. I distinctly remember catching a ton of Pokemon, so I could import every Pokemon I had off a rented copy of Sapphire before having to return it to the store. A small gripe is that I wish there were more new locations, but I recognize the value of being able to reuse assets in game development.
Needs a remake 😭
First and only pokemon game I have finished in its entirety.
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, is a childhood favourite that I was never able to beat. Either because there wasn't enough time when I borrowed a copy from friends or because by the time I got my own copy other games stole my attention. The past two years though I've slowly been playing it, a few hours after work here, a weekend when sick there, and it feels very satisfying to watch the credits role. I've always loved Shadow Pokémon, and thought Shadow Lugia was the coolest Pokémon ever. It's a refreshing experience to play a Pokémon game with an actual narrative rather than just the tried and true "catch 'em all and defeat all the gyms". It was hilarious to me playing this game when Scarlet and Violet came out. No exaggeration; Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness runs better than the newest Pokémon games, and I've been playing the original 2005 version on my GameCube. I've yet to finish all the post game content (purrifying all the Shadow Pokémon, the Coliseum, the Battle Towers, etc.) but I did defeat the main baddies, and catch all 83 Shadow Pokémon (there's one extra in the post game to catch). If you love Pokémon but are feeling worn down by the main line games check out Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness! The soundtrack in this game slaps too! A shame the Pokémon Company has never revisited the Orre Region again, but I'm grateful to always have the chance to return in this game.
200 dollars for the phsyical it was WORTH IT
Jolteon is lit
The best game in the franchise. And the best on Gamecube, arguably.
Como el colosseum pero más cutrecillo.
The GameCube just never missed, I need a remake of this game so bad. I wanna re live this baller ass game
Objectively a better game but it didn't hit as different to me. The art style was worse and the main character is such a happy go lucky goober compared to the badass Wes from the first game. Chobin is the true unsung hero of the series.
Although I was admittely burnt out with Colosseum's grindy gameplay, I was a little hesitant with Pokemon XD, as I knew this was a sequel to Colosseum, but also has the same gameplay.
Pokemon XD takes place 5 years after Colosseum as things in Orre are starting to flourish after Team Cipher was allegedly taken down. However, the protagonist child called Michael finds that out the hard way as the professor is taken by them and try to create Shadow Pokemon that can no longer be purified, with one in succession called XD001, or Lugia for short.
While the plot was more lighthearted, I kinda missed the dark storytelling that was Colosseum's a little, but again, was a little forgettable at times. The gameplay was the same like I said, but was made a little better. Not only do you have a lot more shadow Pokemon to catch now in this game; a whopping 83, but there are also Wild Pokemon that can appear in areas called Poke Spots. After you place snacks down at these areas, you can catch certain Pokemon there for your team, which was admittedly really cool. And you coould use these right off the bat too!
In terms of changes, XD adds a new way of purification called the Purify Chamber, a device at the Lab that allows you to surround the shadow Pokemon with regular Pokemon to help speed up the process. Now while this was great to have, you can still do the old methods and even purify them at Agate Village still if you wanted to.
The biggest problem I had in the last game was resolved here! No more grindfests in the slightest. So this arguably makes the game a little more easier in comparison. But I honestly have to say that Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness is a much better game of the two.
Pokemon XD takes place 5 years after Colosseum as things in Orre are starting to flourish after Team Cipher was allegedly taken down. However, the protagonist child called Michael finds that out the hard way as the professor is taken by them and try to create Shadow Pokemon that can no longer be purified, with one in succession called XD001, or Lugia for short.
While the plot was more lighthearted, I kinda missed the dark storytelling that was Colosseum's a little, but again, was a little forgettable at times. The gameplay was the same like I said, but was made a little better. Not only do you have a lot more shadow Pokemon to catch now in this game; a whopping 83, but there are also Wild Pokemon that can appear in areas called Poke Spots. After you place snacks down at these areas, you can catch certain Pokemon there for your team, which was admittedly really cool. And you coould use these right off the bat too!
In terms of changes, XD adds a new way of purification called the Purify Chamber, a device at the Lab that allows you to surround the shadow Pokemon with regular Pokemon to help speed up the process. Now while this was great to have, you can still do the old methods and even purify them at Agate Village still if you wanted to.
The biggest problem I had in the last game was resolved here! No more grindfests in the slightest. So this arguably makes the game a little more easier in comparison. But I honestly have to say that Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness is a much better game of the two.
played this on the wii and holy fuckkkkkkk it was a banger, i need to emulate and replay it
meh
While I don't think it's very replayable due to the limited Pokemon games at your disposal, I think this game's story campaign is something unmatched by any of the mainline games outside of Black and White.
I love this other little guy like you wouldn't believe. Maybe a little more
This game maintains all the good from Pokémon Colosseum and greatly improves all of the bad aspects. You can now save at any time, shadow moves no longer hurt the Pokémon using them, purifying Pokémon is much faster and the purify chamber makes it so much easier to purify all of the shadow Pokémon you catch. The ending is 100x better and more climactic than Colosseum and the final battle is great. There's a lot that's still the same as Colosseum, like many of the locations are reused which is a bit lame. There are more Pokémon to use and a better selection overall, though the distribution isn't very good as you get most of them (especially the coolest/best ones) in the last part of the game. This game is so much better than Colosseum in the most important ways, and I would recommend everyone just skip over Colosseum and play this game only. Objectively, this game probably doesn't deserve such a high score, but I just have so much love and nostalgia for it. This is my favorite Pokémon game and one of my personal favorite games of all time.
I like how the Colosseum spin offs force you to use Pokemon you maybe wouldn't consider otherwise. This one has better distribution of Pokemon and some post-story content that makes it feel ever so slightly more well rounded than the first Colosseum.
Me ha gustado mucho mucho más que el Colosseum, en el sentido que es una mejora en el rendimiento y en la forma de abarcar el juego: Tiene muchísimo más contenido adicional, combates más fluidos y personajes más carismáticos
He sentido la aventura un poco vacía en ciertas aspectos pero en otros ha sido muy divertida. En general, puede que sea por la experiencia personal que he tenido con este juego pero me lo he pasado super super bien.
Recomendadísimo.
He sentido la aventura un poco vacía en ciertas aspectos pero en otros ha sido muy divertida. En general, puede que sea por la experiencia personal que he tenido con este juego pero me lo he pasado super super bien.
Recomendadísimo.
This was actually my first Pokemon game, and I think it holds up rather well even today. Double battles being treated as the standard is a rather underrated format, and I'd love to see a return to that in a future entry.
This game lacks the grit of its predecessor and suffers for it - but it balances that out with a wider world, more variation in team choice, and a robust set of side content/post-game. Mirror B continues to kick ass though
A sequel to the popular Pokemon Coliseum, this expands on the original in almost every way. The story is bigger, the number of Pokemon you can catch is larger, the balance of the shadow Pokemon has been adjusted to be less frustrating, and so many more minor details. By all accounts, this is the better game, and it is a game that any Pokemon fan should check out and play.
With that said, I think the story of this game is less interesting than the original. While not fully fleshed out, the previous game's plot was compelling. Being a former villain who steals Pokemon from other more heinous villains was a cool premise. Unfortunately, this game ends up going back to the usual "kid saves the world" plot that most Pokemon games are known for. This is a me thing, however, it rubbed me the wrong way as there was a lot of potential for a darker-toned Pokemon story.
Regardless, this is still a fun game and should be remembered fondly. If you have the chance, please check it out.
With that said, I think the story of this game is less interesting than the original. While not fully fleshed out, the previous game's plot was compelling. Being a former villain who steals Pokemon from other more heinous villains was a cool premise. Unfortunately, this game ends up going back to the usual "kid saves the world" plot that most Pokemon games are known for. This is a me thing, however, it rubbed me the wrong way as there was a lot of potential for a darker-toned Pokemon story.
Regardless, this is still a fun game and should be remembered fondly. If you have the chance, please check it out.
The best one? not for me to say but yes :)
I wonder if I'll like it as much or even better than Colosseum, but by far the only thing that bothers is the progression on the narration a little bit. Game looks good, much better than many mainline Pokémon games.
My first Pokémon game. It was a lot of flaws, particularly the slow as molasses battles, but the OST for this game goes so hard.
Nostalgia Bias will win on this one.
Nostalgia Bias will win on this one.
This is the best Pokémon game and that’s a fact
I once trained an Umbreon past its normal level for like 5 hrs and pretty much swept everything. Good game
gas
I genuinely love this game. The game's flow is better than Colosseum, Shadow Lugia is factually the coolest Pokemon and the new music is good! Now I know I just said the game's flow is better.. but it's still not great. You'll find yourself grinding very slowly to catch up on other trainers as they're often overleveled. While you can now catch wild pokemons, the roster is still very small which encourages you to use pokemons you wouldn't typically get, but it makes it so there's almost nothing to do once the game is done.