Pokémon Colosseum is an interesting game that has a lot going for it. This is the third game to be fully 3-D behind Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2 and the first of two games to fully force the player to play double battles as well as explore the Orre Region and the concept of Shadow Pokémon.
First, the positives. The tone of the game is really damn unique with how the characters design and the setting looks. It's so grimy and rustic, yet its still charming which helps stand the Orre Region out from other games. The forced use of double battles makes the battle more dynamic and tense since there is a lot more options and strategies to think of. The 3-D animations are still great though the looks of some of Pokémon do look blocky due to gen 1 and 2 models being ported over from the Stadium games. Music is straight up complete banger with all the songs being catchy, yet cool at the same time. Finally, I like the idea of restricting Pokémon to force players to use other Pokémon they would never use in another game. It makes building a team a lot more meaningful.
However, there are a few negatives that really do drag the game down. First, while I said I like the game was pretty restricted, the actual choices of Shadow Pokémon available are kind of a mixbag. Some a good to great, some are dogwater, and some are really great, but you get them way too late in the journey. It's probably my preference to how I perceive specific Pokémon, but I felt the choices were lacking due to the amount of the Shadow Pokémon being filled with a lot of Gen 2 mons. Second, the story kind of hypes itself up way too much in the opening to the point people have an inflated perception of the game's story. Make no mistake, it still is a Pokémon game where you still stop an evil organization - just without the gym badges nor the goal of becoming Champion. Third, the process of stealing Shadow Pokémon is cool, but the process to catching them while not accidentally defeating them is a pain to deal with. It doesn't help that some Shadows only have one chance to show up in the game. Finally, my biggest gripe of the game is the bad level scaling between generic enemy trainers and the Cypher Boss Admins, and the final boss. While the generic trainers are manageable, the Cypher Admins and the final boss are way too drastic difficulty spikes to the point of needing to really grind to actually enjoy them as a challenge. Since there is no random encounters, you either need to refight some weak trainers or train in Mt. Battle, which are still going to be pace killers. If it wasn't for the bad level scaling in difficult, the game would probably be about 15 hours at bare minimum and I would've been more gracious with it. However, the excessive amounts of grinding killed the pacing the game and thus ruin what could've been a pretty amazing game.
Despite my problems with the difficulty curve, I still enjoyed the game and its many unique features. I do think it's a bit too overrated though the ideas from this game still could be used for any future games when GameFreak decides to come back to it. Otherwise, solid game that is ultimately hurt by the level curve and the pacing of excessive grinding. 3.5/5.
First, the positives. The tone of the game is really damn unique with how the characters design and the setting looks. It's so grimy and rustic, yet its still charming which helps stand the Orre Region out from other games. The forced use of double battles makes the battle more dynamic and tense since there is a lot more options and strategies to think of. The 3-D animations are still great though the looks of some of Pokémon do look blocky due to gen 1 and 2 models being ported over from the Stadium games. Music is straight up complete banger with all the songs being catchy, yet cool at the same time. Finally, I like the idea of restricting Pokémon to force players to use other Pokémon they would never use in another game. It makes building a team a lot more meaningful.
However, there are a few negatives that really do drag the game down. First, while I said I like the game was pretty restricted, the actual choices of Shadow Pokémon available are kind of a mixbag. Some a good to great, some are dogwater, and some are really great, but you get them way too late in the journey. It's probably my preference to how I perceive specific Pokémon, but I felt the choices were lacking due to the amount of the Shadow Pokémon being filled with a lot of Gen 2 mons. Second, the story kind of hypes itself up way too much in the opening to the point people have an inflated perception of the game's story. Make no mistake, it still is a Pokémon game where you still stop an evil organization - just without the gym badges nor the goal of becoming Champion. Third, the process of stealing Shadow Pokémon is cool, but the process to catching them while not accidentally defeating them is a pain to deal with. It doesn't help that some Shadows only have one chance to show up in the game. Finally, my biggest gripe of the game is the bad level scaling between generic enemy trainers and the Cypher Boss Admins, and the final boss. While the generic trainers are manageable, the Cypher Admins and the final boss are way too drastic difficulty spikes to the point of needing to really grind to actually enjoy them as a challenge. Since there is no random encounters, you either need to refight some weak trainers or train in Mt. Battle, which are still going to be pace killers. If it wasn't for the bad level scaling in difficult, the game would probably be about 15 hours at bare minimum and I would've been more gracious with it. However, the excessive amounts of grinding killed the pacing the game and thus ruin what could've been a pretty amazing game.
Despite my problems with the difficulty curve, I still enjoyed the game and its many unique features. I do think it's a bit too overrated though the ideas from this game still could be used for any future games when GameFreak decides to come back to it. Otherwise, solid game that is ultimately hurt by the level curve and the pacing of excessive grinding. 3.5/5.
A decent game that lead to a masterful sequel.
Nice twist for the series and great music and characters. Balls hard though.
Possibly one of the most 2000's games ever made, and I mean that in a good way. I can't imagine any other timeframe this game coming out than in the early 2000s, entirely due to the game's outwardly edgy aesthetic.
The vibes and soundtrack of Colosseum in general are excellent, but it's sadly counteracted by the egregiously slow combat, alongside the horribly grindy shadow purification mechanics. And without an interesting enough story like most other JRPGs from this era have, it's really all atmosphere and not much else. I really want to like this game - and there's a lot I do like about it - but it just wasn't very fun.
The vibes and soundtrack of Colosseum in general are excellent, but it's sadly counteracted by the egregiously slow combat, alongside the horribly grindy shadow purification mechanics. And without an interesting enough story like most other JRPGs from this era have, it's really all atmosphere and not much else. I really want to like this game - and there's a lot I do like about it - but it just wasn't very fun.
Los juegos actuales de Pokemon tendrían que tomar ejemplo de este