Cute Pikachu Game Slow But Entertaining
Pokemon Channel was released in December of 2003 as a Gamecube sequel to Hey, You! Pikachu! released a few years prior. Within it, players befriend a wild Pikachu and must watch tv with it to open certain areas of the game. There are a bunch of different channels to watch, ranging from the entartaining Shop 'n Squirtle - the Pokemon equivalent to the Shopping Channel, where players can purchase accesories, decorations for their room, or bus passes to unlock hidden areas with money won on Quiz shows- to the incredibly useless Relaxation Channel, where one can watch Mareep hop over a fence to one's content.
But that's not all. A never-before-seen Pokemon Anime (cartoon) can be unlocked in five parts. Over four days, players receive one segment of the Anime. When the fifth is scheduled to arrive, a Magnemite delivering it drops the disc, and players have to recover it.
A cute addition to the game is how players can collect cards featuring their favourite Pokemon. Cards can be purchased, but to get special cards, players have to send Pikachu to talk to wild Pokemon and answer a question about them.
Something more to note is how the game follows your actual Gamecube clock. If you start playing at 10am, the game will be at 10am. The sun will rise and set durring the course of a day, and different Pokemon will come out at different times. This concept, based largely on the hugely successful Animal Crossing, adds a relative actuality to the game.
My Ratings (out of 10):
Gameplay: Okay, let's just say that if you're looking for the fun of Mario, the plotline of Zelda, the addictiveness of Animal Crossing, and the excitement of Star Fox with a Pikachu added . . . keep looking. This ain't it. It's a tad slow until you get your first bus pass. A plotline there is naught - the climax of the game being when Pikachu has to pull the Pichu Bros. Anime Disc out of a statue's mouth. It's also repetitive after you play for about 6 hours. Channel is addictive, especially the Shopping Channel (heh heh . . . ) until you recover the last disc and have no more to do. But despite all this, despite the lack of plot and surprises, it is still a cute game which no self-respecting Pikachu fan should miss out on. 6
Graphic Value: The bubbly little cartoon look is so adorable, you'll be "awww"ing until your jaw hurts. As for special effects, (ie. water, weather, etc) there are few, but what there is is quite well done. The Pokemon toddle, slither, flap, scuttle, and gallop smoothly. 8.5
Replay Value: Like all Pokemon games, Pokemon Channel will never ever end. You could play ever day for the next ten years and you still will reach no official ending of the game. So . . . you could replay it and start from the beginning, but you don't really have to - it never ends. 10
Multiplayer Value: I guess it could be fun to sit around with your friends and chatter as you control Pikachu, but there is no connectivity option in Pokemon Channel. 2.0
Singleplayer Value: The game, having been made for one player, has been done extremely well for this category. 9.0
= 35 / 50
