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  REVIEWS - Pokémon Stadium 2 ::

Why do girls run when I want to show 'em my Pocket Monster?
Game Info.
Genre
Strategy
Publisher/Developer
Nintendo/Hal Laboratory
Peripherals
  • GB Transfer Pak
  • Rumble Pak
    • Release
    3/26/01

    Pokémon Stadium 2
    Another lame sequel, or something much more?
    Reviewed by Sam - August 6th, 2001

    As the first one did, this game blows my mind. I love it. I thought it couldn't get better, and that I'd never enjoy 100 new Pokémon. Oh how wrong I was. This game is fun, tight, and incredibly strong on its own; I can definitely recommend it to all players who enjoyed the first game. And for everyone else? Listen up...

    [By the way, I'd just like to note that this is NGEB's 40th review, and it hasn't even been 11 months. Woo! I can almost smell the smoke! Hah, cause y'know... we're smokin'. Like, on fire, but not in a bad way.]

    Gameplay
    Stadium 2 still has a ton of different modes to choose from and things to do outside of standard battle, but I personally notice a new direction for the game toward a 1-player focus.
    Returning is the Gym Leader Castle, in which you fight down the Gym Leaders and their cronies from the Game Boy games. But this time, of course, you're fighting the Gold/Silver/Crystal leaders, rather than the Red/Blue/Yellow leaders in PS1. Along the way, you'll encounter more of a story-like path, with Team Rocket trainers bumping into you every so often. And after you've gone through the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, there're the original Gym Leaders of Pokémon Stadium 1 to fight! Wee! It's quite a journey and quite a challenge. One of my new favorite parts of the game.
    Stadium Tournaments are still an option, but this time they're a little different. Instead of all 3 tournaments consisting of 4 cups each with 8 battles, there's only ONE tournament like so, and the other two consist of only ONE cup. Personally, I find this downsize a little dissapointing, but I guess they had to save memory somewhere. Darn.
    There's also a school/library in which you can learn ALL about Pokémon, their attacks, breeding pairs, items, type relations, and rules for combat. The school teacher even lets you fight-off against your classmates to get a first-hand perspective of how Pokémon work (I wish MY teachers would let us hit eachother with beakers to see how chemistry works!). This is a feature chocked full of flavor and just the type of thing the series could use more of.
    There're a lot of extra things you can do if you own a Game Boy Pokémon game and a transfer pak, but again, that's ONLY if you own a Game Boy Pokémon game and a transfer pak. These are fun, though, like customizing your room in the Game Boy game. Very cool. And the free Mystery Gifting without a Game Boy Color-only infrared port, which is nice for GBA players like myself. Also the Game Boy Tower, in which you can play your Game Boy Pokémon game on the big screen, returns, naturally, as well as Oak's Pokémon Lab, this time with souped-up graphics and awesome 3D rotating Pokémon in the ol' Dexter computer; a welcome change from the crappy Pokémon Snapping mode in Stadium 1; what a lame idea. Overall really, nice job, Nintendo! And thank you for the changes.
    8/10

    Graphics
    The graphics look a little sharper and a little cleaner than in Stadium 1. Pokémon attacks look incredible overall, and really improve upon some of the crap in the Game Boy game (ie. Shadow Ball; oh sweet Jesus, it's beautiful). Pokémon movements are also generally more realistic, especially the bird-like Pokémon and the way they twitch their heads.
    9/10

    Sound
    The music's pretty much the same as Pokémon Stadium 1, but there's more variety, which is nice, especially when you're glued to the game for 5 hours straight. The music is more from Gold and Silver this time, of course, so that's good. Sound effects for Pokémon attacks seem a little less inventive this time around, sadly.
    8/10

    Replay Value
    There isn't much to say here that I haven't in my Pokémon Stadium review, so I'll just say there's still a WHOLE lot to do, so I always wanna' play on, yo.
    9/10

    Overall
    Really, this game is at least as good if not better than the first game. Pokémon Stadium 2 is an excellent follow-up game, and definitely works on its own. The graphics are STELLAR, a real vision of what the N64 could do in its prime. I think that people should recognize these games for how awesome and fun they are on their own, as opposed to just "more games to milk the franchise". I mean, as the Pokémon universe grew, Nintendo had to update their N64 add-on, right? I think they've done it in a great way. If you've played the first one or even OWN the first one, I still say you need to give Stadium 2 a good tough look.

    FINAL SCORE: 8/10
    =Great=

    Send feedback to: sam@ngeb.net