How Pokemon Colosseum surprised me: A Review

From Pokemon Stadium to Pokemon Battle Revolution, console Pokemon games always fall short of handheld Pokemon games. Therefore, Pokemon Colosseum, released for the GameCube in 2004, came as a pleasant surprise to me. It still doesn't measure up, but it becomes a great game in its own right through the use of a few twists to the tried-and-true Pokemon formula.

Twist #1: No Wild Pokemon
Okay, so most of the console Pokemon games don't have wild Pokemon. Colosseum, however, isn't like other console Pokemon games, in that it has an extensive single player adventure. So how does the player acquire new Pokemon? By snagging other peoples' Pokemon, that's how! This method is frankly frowned upon in mainstream Pokemon games.

Twist #2: A New Evil Agenda
Fortunately, the plot in Colosseum justifies such dastardly behavior: the bad guys are stealing Pokemon from other trainers (no change there) and shutting the doors to the hearts of these Pokemon (okay, that's different). There is hope for these "Shadow Pokemon": after snagging them, the player can gradually purify them by carrying them around and utilizing other cleansing methods.

Along with these, Pokemon Colosseum contains the single most compelling challenge I've encountered in a Pokemon game: the opportunity to earn a level-70 Ho-oh by snagging and purifying every available Pokemon in the game, then completing Mt. Battle in Colosseum mode with a party composed only of those Pokemon.

So play this game if you're a Pokemon fan! Not a Pokemon fan? It's still a great game.