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Rating: Good Pokemon Stadium is a decent game, but it's not one that I could see myself playing for months on end. Once you get past the initial fun factor (yes, I just said "fun factor"), all that's left is the hideously cute character designs and animations, which aren't enough to make you want to keep playing. Before anyone sends me a letter saying that I'm biased and I just don't like this kind of game, let me point out that I actually love this kind of game. It hasn't achieved the mainstream success of Pokemon, but the similarly-themed Monster Rancher series is better than Pokemon Stadium in almost every possible way. Monster Rancher has lots of parenting, nurturing, and job-related features in addition to the actual combat, making it one of the most addicting games I have ever played. On the other hand, Pokemon Stadium is limited to combat, combat, and more combat. And the combat itself is nowhere near as strategic as Monster Rancher's. It's basically just a matter of finding moves that work and doing them repeatedly. There is some strategy involved, but not nearly enough. Also, Monster Rancher gives you lots of choices at any time when it comes to what you want to do next, while Pokemon Stadium is a series of linear progressions up ladders. The only thing that Pokemon Stadium offers over Monster Rancher is the team-based element in combat. Battles are three-on-three affairs rather than one-on-one, and you can switch between active characters at any time. This adds a little bit of strategy to the game because it's often wise to switch to another character that is better suited to beat a particular opponent. The team element makes the game mindlessly addictive for at least a few hours. Pokemon Stadium also boasts some very unique character designs. It's nice that all of the characters don't fit neatly into one easily-defined category, which is the case with Monster Rancher. The character models look solid from a graphical standpoint, but many of the spell effects look closer to a Super Nintendo RPG than Final Fantasy 7 or 8. One of the most annoying things in the game is the overbearing announcer. He's not too hard to overlook when you're having fun with the game, but he becomes much more noticeable when you're getting tired of the game itself. The announcer constantly repeats basic phrases like, "What now?" and "What's it gonna do?" He is also inconsistent in a way similar WCW's Tony Schiavone, sometimes saying that a particular move against a particular Pokemon is weak, and the next time saying, "Good move!" The generic music won't exactly have you tapping your foot to the beat. The music in this kind of game should get you excited about the battles, or at the very least be un-obtrusive. The last thing it should be is annoying. Another annoying thing in this game is the inconsistencies in status attacks. Spells that paralyze or confuse your opponent can come in handy sometimes, but most of the time they're useless because they simply don't work. Even if it says that a particular character is paralyzed or confused, many times they will still go about their normal functions without any problems. What's the point of casting a spell to paralyze your opponent if they can still move afterwards? After a while, the entertainment value of Pokemon Stadium begins to fade away, and the game becomes more and more annoying. The spastic announcer, the music, the random nature of many battles, and the inconsistencies in status attcks: It all adds up to create a game that's more annoying than it is fun. Pokemon Stadium is great fun for a while, but in the long run it's more annoying than people who use enough hair spray to immobilize a fully-grown buffalo. Send your thoughts on this review to ivan@mastergamer.com
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com