Pokemon Colosseum (Gamecube)
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Pokemon Colosseum
ポケモンコロシアム
Pokemon Colosseum Box
General information
 Platform  Gamecube
 Developed by  Genius Sonority
 Published by  Nintendo
 Players
 1,2 or 4
 Generation  Generation III
 Release dates
  Australia  June 24th, 2004
  Europe  May 14th, 2004
  Japan  November 21st, 2003
  United States  March 22nd, 2004
Quick menu: Story / Pokemon / Purification Techniques / Game Modes / Integration with other titles / Videos / Trivia & Facts / Sales Figures / Review Scores / Media & Artwork

Pokemon Colosseum title screenPokemon Colosseum was the first true 3D adventure Pokémon game to be released. Although most people thought the game would be just a sequel for Pokémon Stadium 2 on GameCube, Pokémon Colosseum combines the battle features of its predecessor with many new mechanics, creating a marvelous 3D RPG
Pokémon game. Pokémon Colosseum takes place in the region of Orre, home of two evil organizations; Team Snagem which discovered a device that helps steal Pokémon from trainers and capture them as if they were wild, and Team Cypher which corrupts the hearts of Pokémon to gain control over them.

The main protagonist Wes, an ex member of Team Snagem, battles the evil doers with the goal of purifying the Pokémon, all while discovering the new region and uncovering the truth behind the shadow Pokémon. Unlike the other third generation games, Pokémon Colosseum doesn't let the player choose their characters sex, as the protagonist can only be the male Wes, but they were given a sidekick female character called Rui, that helps Wes throughout his adventure.

Another noticeable thing about the game is that all battles are carried in a two versus two Pokémon battle style. As opposed to the RPG Pokémon games, the player can't capture wild Pokémon but only snatch the corrupted shadow Pokémon from other trainers. The game also features a battle mode where players can use Pokémon present in game or those from or use their own from the GBA games, to battle each other or the AI. Marvelous graphics and scenery are present in game, along with very well done 3D Pokémon models and animation, making it the hard to beat graphic wise in it's day. On the sound level, the game was also spectacular, especially with the different soothing music and themes provided. Overall, the game was pretty successful and very well received by the Pokémon community, earning the title of the best selling RPG on GameCube.

Plot / Story

For most RPG Pokémon games, the game starts with the character waking up at home or reaching home and being asked to set the time. Pokémon Colosseum starts completely different with the main protagonist Wes escaping from the exploding hideout of Team Snagem, after stealing some sort of equipment. Using his motorcycle, Wes reaches Outskirt Stand where he has his first battle against Rider Willie using his Espeon and Umbreon. Upon defeat, Willie tells the player about Phenac city, which he visits and encounters two suspicious people dragging a sack. Once they are defeated, a girl named Rui emerges of the sack and decides to stick to the player for a while.

They both head to the major informing him of the shadow Pokémon and who in return suggests that they visit Phenac's Stadium. At the Stadium's entry they encounter two Team Snagem grunts, one of which reveals Wes's past as an ex Snagger. After confronting and defeating one of the grunts, Rui who turns out to be a psychic that can detect shadow Pokémon, decides to tag with Wes, becoming his partner, throughout the game.

The player soon learns about Team Cipher as the corruptors of Pokémon and starts his quest of snagging all of the shadow Pokémon they have. Both characters lead an adventure full of battles where they eventually face the four Cipher Admins. First, Mirror B in Pyrite Cave. Second, Dakim, the shadow Entei owner, at Mt.Battle. Third, Venus, the shadow Suicune owner, at The Under. And finally, Ein, the Shadow Raikou owner at the Shadow Lab.

Afterwards, Rui and Wes head to the Realgam Tower where they face the four Cipher Admins again, followed by the Cipher boss Nascour. Upon defeating Nascour, Es Cade the major of Phenac City shows up, revealing he's Evice, the true boss of Cipher. Once Evice loses, he tries to escape, but gets stopped by the flames of a Ho-Oh.

Can I catch 'em all?

When it comes to getting Pokémon, the game is very different from its RPG predecessors. There are no wild Pokémon and the player can only "snag" shadow Pokémon, which limits the options even further. Overall, there are 48 shadow Pokémon to be snagged. The rest can only be obtained, via connectivity to other games.

During the game the player gets to choose between Bayleef, Quilava and Croconaw. Once the player picks a Pokémon the other too will be available again late in the game. The Pokémon whose type is weaker to the chosen Pokémon's type will be present at the Snagem Hideout. The other one will be available at the Shadow Pokémon Laboratory.

Players can obtain Ho-Oh in Pokémon Colosseum after snagging and purifying all the 48 Pokémon.

When Wes saves Plusle from Cipher, Dukim gives it to him to take care of it.

The Bonus disc given with the game, allows players in the American regions to earn Jirachi and those in Japan to earn Celebi. Furthermore, the disc wasn't given to those within the PAL areas.

Linking the game to Pokémon Channel, is another way of getting Jirachi.

Purification Techniques

In order for the player to purify a Pokémon, first, their Heart Gauge has to reach a certain level. The message " The Pokémon's heart is about to open! Undo the final lock!" is displayed, when a Pokémon is ready to be purified. Once they are purified, Pokémon will earn all the accumulated experience of the player.

There are several factors that can help reach the purification point of the Heart Gauge:
  • Walking anywhere while having the Pokémon in party.
  • Placing the Pokémon in Agate Village's Day Care.
  • Calling the shadow Pokémon out during battles, once it reaches its Hyper Mode.
  • Using Scents bought at the Agate Village on the Pokémon

Game Modes

Pokémon Stadium mainly offers two game modes: Scenario mode and Colosseum mode.

  • Scenario Mode: The main story mode taking place in the Orre region, where Wes and Rui conduct their quest to save all the corrupted Pokémon from Team Cipher.
  • Colosseum Mode: The second mode of the game, a battle mode where the player can face the AI or other players. Within the Colosseum, several options are available for the player. They can battle in the different Colosseums, in the Battle Mountain or they can trade Pokémon Coupons.
  1. Colosseum Battles: The player can join six different Colosseums (Phenac Stadium, Pyrite Colosseum, Under Colosseum, Orre Colosseum, Tower Colosseum and Deep Colosseum), each with different rules and Pokémon levels. They can pick whether to enter the specified Colosseum in a one versus one play style or two versus two play style. These different Colosseums are unlocked through the scenario mode. Winning eight Colosseum battles earns the player a Pokémon Coupon.
  2. Battle Mountain: In the Battle Mountain mode, the player has to face one hundred different opponents consecutively. The difficulty goes up as the player scores more wins and progresses. Each time the player wins ten battles, they earn a Pokémon Coupon
  3. Pokémon Coupons: Here, players can trade the accumulated Pokémon Coupons they earned for varied rare items or TMs.

Integration with other titles

Like the Pokémon Stadium games, Pokémon Colosseum too, allows the link to the GBA games (Pokémon Sapphire,Pokémon Ruby, Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen) and the trade of Pokémon in between the games. Yet, this functionality is only available after finishing the story mode.

Videos

Check out these Pokemon Colosseum videos including TV Commercials, trailers, the intro and more.

Pokemon Colosseum e-Reader Menu Screen Theme/Music

Official Trailer from the Bonus Disc

A USA TV Commercial

The undeniably cool title screen and opening cinematic


Trivia & FactsGroudon

  • Although the game presented a lot of new Pokémon models and animations, many were just copied as they are from Pokémon Stadium 2.
  • Groudon and Kyogre aren't present in Pokémon Colosseum, although they're portrayed on the game cover.
  • If the boxes of the player's Storage System and his party are both full, they won't be able to snag Pokémon, instead they get the message " The box is full. You can't snag any more Pokémon."
  • The first Pokémon to introduce the concept of shadow Pokémon.
  • The Pokémon obtainable in Pokémon Colosseum are only from the second and third generation.

Sales figures

Considered the best selling RPG game on GameCube, Pokémon Stadium, also, earned the best selling game title on Amazon just before of its release due to the high amount of pre-orders. It was the best selling title on GameCube on May 2004. The games sales continued to steadily increase and towards the end of the year 2007, over 1.8 million copies were sold.

Review scores

As mentioned at the start of the article, Pokémon Colosseum was greatly received, getting high scores on major review sites. Let's take a look at those scores :
  • Ryan Davis of GameSpot reviewed the game and scored it 7.3/10, which equates to "Good" on the GS scale.
  • Craig Harris from IGN fancied the game, scoring it 7.5/10, the equivalent of "Good" on their scale while stating : "Pokémon Colosseum is one hugely challenging game, and it has enough originality, not to mention a whole assortment uniquely catchable creatures, in its design to encourage both newbies and veterans alike to experience a new style of Pokémon adventure."
  • The game also reached 73.46% on GameRankings, a quite fitting score for such a great game.

Media & Artwork

Box Art from Pokemon Colosseum including several different regional variations
Official Artwork from Pokemon Colosseum including several prominent Pokemon
Screenshots from Pokemon Colosseum

 

 

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