PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure Review by: Furret - 8/10
Beat em up: Pikachu editionHey there! This is a review of one of the most forgotten Pokemon games out there; Pokepark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure! It’s a personal favorite of mine as I have spent hundreds of hours (maybe close to 1000 even) playing this game and everything it has to offer. It was released back in 2010 for the Nintendo Wii. A sequel was later made for the Nintendo Wii as well, and that game offers Tepig, Oshawott and Snivy as playable characters as well.
As the name implies, in this game you get to play as Pikachu as you run around an open world filled with different Pokemon that you get to interact with. There are some challenges along your way but for the most part this is a game you can just pick up and play casually as much as you like.
Story - 4/10 Okay, the story in this game isn’t fantastic. Pikachu is playing around with his friends (Charmander, Chikorita and Piplup) when suddenly Mew shows up and reveals some sort of black hole on the ground that appears to lead to a different world. Pikachu takes a peak over the edge to look what’s inside but that’s when Piplup rams into the group from behind which causes Pikachu to fall in. His friends then immediately jump after him to save him, even Piplup. After you wake up from your fall (how are you not dead, that looked like a height small airplanes would fly in) Mew explains that you’re in Pokepark and that there’s been a tragedy. The Sky Prism has broken into 14 pieces and it’s up to you to get them back together! But first you should probably start looking for your friends … (make sure to glare at Piplup if you find him)
This isn’t actually a huge deal as the game is more focussed on gameplay and having fun than a big storyline. I actually wish they had implemented some more silly elements to this story as it’s very refreshing from your usual serious storyline.
Graphics - 10/10Now this is what I’m talking about. Aside from some of the cute cutscenes in the game, the world you play in looks really well made and is stunning to look at. There are so many little details that they decided to put in. It feels like it’s a game made for the Nintendo Switch, not the Nintendo Wii. The Pokemon models all look very well made and all their movements look very carefully created to look as smooth and natural as possible. The world is split into several different zones that are all designed after certain ecosystems (A forest, a volcano, etc.) and every time you enter a new zone it feels exciting and new thanks to the good use of color schemes. The last thing I want to mention are the loading screens in between switching zones or doing minigames. Normally I despise loading screens in video games but the art on these is so cute that I often find myself feeling disappointed when they go away too quickly.
Sound - 10/10There’s not much else to say about the music other than the fact that it’s awesome. There aren’t a lot of tracks for this game, with each zone getting one and the rest being stuff like battle tracks or minigame tracks, but they all sound fantastic.
Difficulty - 6/10This game is really easy. You shouldn’t struggle with anything as long as you read the instructions for every minigame and you’re not terrible at hide and seek :P. Normally this would be a bad thing but this is a game that’s meant to be played casually so don’t go in expecting huge battles and challenges. There are a few Pokemon walking around that could make for some exciting challenges (like a flying type Pokemon playing tag) but nothing too crazy.
Depth - 8/10In this game you play as Pikachu and your aim is to collect all pieces of the Sky Prism, however there are some things you can do on the side as well. Every Pokemon in the game starts of as a stranger but by defeating them in a minigame like tag or hide and seek will add them to your friend list. Defeating them again will make them a Special Friend, so make sure to befriend every Pokemon out there! There are also some other mini-games you can play, called Attractions. There are 14 attractions in total that are split up into 8 different zones, and they’re all unique and fun to play. You can even use the friends you’ve made in these mini-games in order to set better times and get bonus points. All of this can be easily played through in a few hours but you’ll keep coming back for more.
Addictiveness - 10/10Like I said, I have hundreds of hours put into this game. It’s not the story that keeps me coming back to it, it’s honestly just me walking around hitting random Pokemon, playing attractions and having fun. This isn’t a game that requires you to think or to stress, you can just open it up and have fun the whole time. Maybe that’s what makes it so magical.
Overall - 8/10That seems fairly low from what I personally experienced with this game but I tend to be biased and ignore flaws of games I like, so I can see where this 8 came from. It’s still an absolute blast to play and will make you feel all happy inside.
That’s it for this review, hope you enjoyed! This was probably my favorite review to write as I was smiling ear to ear remembering all the good times I had in this game haha. Bye!
Graphics
10 Sound
10 Addictive
10 Depth
8 Story
4 Difficulty
6