Raz laughs at our poor financial decisions.

[Don't Run With Scizors]

...not that this has anything to do with Raz's qualms against buying Colosseum, I just thought it'd be a catchy title for my critique of it.

Genius Sonority sucks [male-specific body parts]. Big, hairy ones. Even its name sucks. "Genius Sonority" sounds like one of those Japanese companies who tried to translate their name into a cool-sounding English name but ended up calling it something like "Flying Beaver Screw". For those who don't feel like looking it up on dictionary.com, "sonority" refers to sound, so "genius sonority" roughly means "smart sound".

"Smart sound" does not describe Pokémon Colosseum.

For one thing, all the sound effects of the moves I've seen seem to be on the high-pitched end of the spectrum. A lot of the sound effects I liked back in the N64 Stadiums have been replaced by this dumb tinkling sound. I listen to Earthquake, and it sounds like breaking glass. Isn't it supposed to have that rumbling roar that it had in the N64 Stadiums and the GB games? Shadow Ball had a cool "hum" and subsequent "WHAM!" back in Stadium 2 that I liked, and now all I hear is tinkletinkletinkletinkletinklewhop. Even electric moves no longer seem, well, electric. Their sound has been toned down so much since Stadium 2 that they pretty much resemble just every other move that has sparks and tinkle.

Speaking of sparks, a lot of the animations are flashy when they really don't need the flash. The animation for Shadow Ball is a dark, shapeless blob (as opposed to the sharply-defined sphere in Stadium 2). With sparks. Sparks and tinkling seem to be a recurring theme in Genius Sonority's interpretation of Pokémon moves. Don't get me wrong - Genius Sonority does a good job with the CGI. But they see fit to give everything similar special effects and expect that it's a good interpretation. In fact, why don’t they take a few hints from HAL? They copied the 3D Pokémon models from them, so why not take a few attack animations?

And then we have the characters that are amusingly insecure with themselves after you beat them - not that this is necessarily Genius Sonority's fault; these guys have existed since the days of RBY. However, the Orre region seems to be filled with people like this who seem to have insecurity encoded in their DNA. Every time I see one of those characters with hunched over with their face buried in their hands after a battle, I imagine a scene like this:

Father: You came second in the Pokémon tournament?! You should be first! I am disappointed. You bring shame and dishonor to this family.

Son: I understand, father. I will go stab myself now.

These guys need a major dose of testosterone to boost their competitiveness level (except for Cipher Admin Dakim, who has obviously injected himself with too much testosterone already).

I've got more thoughts, but I'll add them later.

[Andrew]

I'm unlikely to run out and purchase this game, but if the reviews from America hold true, I can believe that the awful screeching on nails on a blackboard is back. I am highly, highly dissapointed they did not include the Anime voices of the Pokemon... mainly because its so EASY to do.

Its not the most graphically heavy game, so they really could've put in the Anime voices along with a program which deepens or hightens the voice according to gender. After all, the dubbers, they have a PC, a database FILLED with what a Pogeymon sounds like when it talks.

How hard would it have been to perhaps Copy and Paste that? Really...

Meh... Colosseum seems... ok, but it definately has its shortcomings. I'm dissapointed the Nintendo level of innovative spit and polish has been applied to this game.

But regarding the tinkly sounds DRWS... all I can say is... WTF are they on!? And a Question. When a Pokemon uses Tackle, do they actually... connect nowadays?

[Shadow Djinn]

Originally posted by OzAndrew
And a Question. When a Pokemon uses Tackle, do they actually... connect nowadays?

Meh...I hafta think my GCN is ****ed up. Whenever a Skitty uses tackle, I see it singing something to lower Atk and Def. Wtf? Nope. No contact at well. Flaafy's spiffy shadow rush? No contact. FLy? Hardly. Crunch? Seems to hit some invisible enemy.

:/

[Razola]

You peopole thought I was trolling, but slowly the truth is coming out: it is an underdeveloped game, and way below what Nintendo is capable of.

Next time don't let the fanboyism blind you.

EDIT: I'm waiting for someone to come in and give the standard "there isn't enough memory in teh Gamecube for contact!"

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Originally posted by Shadow Djinn
Meh...I hafta think my GCN is ****ed up. Whenever a Skitty uses tackle, I see it singing something to lower Atk and Def. Wtf? Nope. No contact at well. Flaafy's spiffy shadow rush? No contact. FLy? Hardly. Crunch? Seems to hit some invisible enemy.

:/



That would be because the Skitty is using "Tickle" instead of "Tackle." ;)

Yeah, I do find it weird that there is no contact between Pokémon when they use moves that have physical contact with the defending Pokémon. But overall, I am happy with Colosseum, and I am glad that I got it. I realize that some of the graphics and sound effects could have been better. One of the things that I would have really liked, like OzAndrew said, it having the Pokémon being able to "talk." They were able to talk in Super Smash Brothers, so they should have been able to talk in Colosseum too, instead of just making the little sounds like they do in the gameboy games. But overall, the game is fun IMO, and I don't regret buying it.

[The Muffin Man]

Wow, look at all the people hopping on board.

So, DRWS, from your post I am forced to assume you are being harsh on the game because of the sounds and looks. Did you even play the game yet? Or were you just watching a Demo?

Don't bother answering. The latter is obviously true.

All sparks and twinkles? Flamethrower is a much more vicious-looking stream of flame. Fireblast is a ball of fire that bursts into the shape on contact, Heat Wave is a star-burst fireball that bursts into a huge blast, Ember is a shower of sparks, Ice Beam is a literally blast of ice(even has a small chunk of ice forming before they fire it off).

So, I'm guessing you saw mere previews and decided "OMG CRAP! I MUST WRTIE AN ILL INFORMED VIEW ON THE SOUNDS AND LOOKS ALONE!!!"

The game is fun. Play it.

[ShockingAlberto]

http://jivemagazine.com/review.php?rid=529

*shameless self-promoting*

-- ShockingAlberto

[Razola]

Originally posted by The Muffin Man
Wow, look at all the people hopping on board.
And once again we see the Muffin Man employing his "Those who don't agree with me are obviously on some conspiratorial bandwagon!" defense.

Classic.

EDIT: Sorry ShockingAlberto, but I stopped reading the review when you took a Nintendo Power review seriously.

[ShockingAlberto]

Which is funny cause I didn't.

I said Nintendo Power reviews are never to be taken seriously, but this quote was above and beyond ridiculous.

You have any idea how hard it is to start a review about a game you both like and dislike at the same time?

-- ShockingAlberto

[Razola]

Yes I do. Does the critic not like being criticized?

[ShockingAlberto]

The very same could be said of you and your fallacious logic, Raz. You're very quick to go on the defensive, kind of hard to call someone hypocritical when you yourself are guilty of the very same. It's sort of like frame hypocrisy, in a way.

Also, I really only take criticism seriously when someone actually bothers to read my review. Otherwise, their opinion can't really be valid.

It's almost like...it's almost like judging a game without playing it! Wow, what wonderful irony. While your opinion could technically be right (well, not technically, so no opinion is really right or wrong), without any experience to back it up, the opinion isn't really valid.

Funny, that.

-- ShockingAlberto

[Water Pokemon Master]

I read your review all the way through, and I agree with it. However, I do think that if a new person would play this game, they would to some degree like Pokemon. At a HUGE TCG City Championship I went to 2 weeks ago, we were playing in a big store where average people could just walk in. On the television was hooked up a Gamecube and Colosseum, and people would walk by and play it. Eventually, there was a little fight over who was going to play it, and we had to switch over the 2 Pokemon Pinball TVs to Pokemon Colosseum. The thing was, we were telling the people who came in to play Colosseum and to see how they liked it, and they were people who had never been introduced to Pokemon. My point is, they were fighting over playing the game because they liked the Battle Mode and RPG mode, and we had to bring out some more TVs. When the tourny was over, the store owner sold 14 additional copies of Colosseum to people we had told to play it.

[The Muffin Man]

And once again we see the Muffin Man employing his "Those who don't agree with me are obviously on some conspiratorial bandwagon!" defense.

Classic.

EDIT: Sorry ShockingAlberto, but I stopped reading the review when you took a Nintendo Power review seriously.
You mean the "Havn't played the game and will just claim it's crap because it's not EXACTLY what THEY wanted"?

[Razola]

You mean the "Havn't played the game and will just claim it's crap because it's not EXACTLY what THEY wanted"?
So you're saying I should buy games I don't want? Excellent argument.


The very same could be said of you and your fallacious logic, Raz.
Where's the fallacy? I read about the game, I did not like what I read, and as a result I did not buy the game.



This from the person who goes on the defense when I take more of a swing at NP than their own review. Note that I rarely take any review seriously, and that it's not personal. I just read for factual statements and ignore what the critic has to say. I only use reviews to judge the technical points of a game (sound, graphics, etc.)

[quote]Also, I really only take criticism seriously when someone actually bothers to read my review. Otherwise, their opinion can't really be valid.
I hope you weren't expecting me to expect you to take my comment that seriously. I have read plenty about colosseum, and I know that my enjoyment would be too brief to garner a purchase. Again: it was a dig at NP, not so much at the review.


It's almost like...it's almost like judging a game without playing it!
Gee, I'm sorry Uncle Pennybags, that I am still a student who cannot afford to rent every game that is released. Aren't reviews like yours made so that we can get an idea of the game without giving Blockbuster seven bucks to test it? I mean, there'd be no need for critics if all games had a free demo available.

And sense when can't we try to judge things based on what we've read? Is this illegal? I also can look at videos and determine that, for the most part, DRWS's comments seem fairly true. Finally, my budget allowed for two games. Two of these games had FREE demos. One did not. I liked what I read about those two before playing them. The other I did not.


Wow, what wonderful irony. While your opinion could technically be right (well, not technically, so no opinion is really right or wrong), without any experience to back it up, the opinion isn't really valid.
How does playing it make your opinion any more valid? You can say it's fun, and rattle off why, but that doesn't make it any more likely I'll get it and love it. It just tells us why you like it. Should I label all my statements with a warning along the lines of "BASED ON WHAT I HAVE READ AND SEEN, I AM INCLINED TO BELIEVE I WILL NOT LIKE THIS GAME, SHOULD I BUY IT." or can I just hope that you'll assume that's what I mean?


Funny, that.
Indeed.

[The Muffin Man]

Blockbuster costs $5-6 at most. There's no reason why a quick weekend rental couldn't be possible.

[Shadow Djinn]

I didn't say Colloseum sucked. I only said the attacks were sorely weird. The physical ones remain the same whilst the projectiles, yes, HAVE improved, but, still, they need work on the physical. Whats so hard about making a Houndoom run across the stage for a tackle? BUt other then that, I OWN the game TMM. Sure, I read a review and said OMFG this is crap lolz. No. Though the RPG mode is quite spiffy.

[Razola]

Blockbuster costs $5-6 at most. There's no reason why a quick weekend rental couldn't be possible.
It could be I either a) Don't have the money at the moment or b) am not near a Blockbuster at the moment. Or perhaps c) all of the above.

I may rent it one of these days, but if my views are unchanged I want six of you to mail me a dollar.

[AndrewPDes]

One question: Why the heck to we care what Raz thinks? Either we like it or we don't, who cares what the kid next door says? To quote Adam Sandler, "Actualy I belive Donky Cong is the best game ever." Then the brat next to him told him it sucked. To each their own.

[Kari and Mewtwo]

Ill agree with Raz on the fact that Colloseum was a somewhat underdeveloped game, but I disagree with his opinion that the game in general sucks. Contrary to what I thought at first, Colloseum was actually fun, and the graphics were a tad smoother than i expected. Not to mention the whole Pokecoupon system kinda makes up for the lack of effort put into the Battle/Colloseum mode.

All in all, Colloseum was much better than i originally expected it to be. And thats my 2 cents for today, children.

[Razola]

One question: Why the heck to we care what Raz thinks? Either we like it or we don't, who cares what the kid next door says? To quote Adam Sandler, "Actualy I belive Donky Cong is the best game ever." Then the brat next to him told him it sucked. To each their own.
The grand irony of this statement is that who cares what you think about what I think?

EDIT: I almost might add, that Colosseum is not "crap," but it's just inferior to a lot of the other releases for March. Unreal Tournament 2004, Far Cry, Battlefield: Vietnam, and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. A person has only so much cash, and this four titles are clearly superior.

[ShockingAlberto]

The grand irony of this statement is that who cares what you think about what I think?

EDIT: I almost might add, that Colosseum is not "crap," but it's just inferior to a lot of the other releases for March. Unreal Tournament 2004, Far Cry, Battlefield: Vietnam, and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. A person has only so much cash, and this four titles are clearly superior.

You do realize that quality isn't hard and steadfast, right? None of those games above really appeal to me, so why would I buy them instead of a game I would enjoy?

What you like is your own deal, Raz, but clearly superior? Hardly.

-- ShockingAlberto

[pimuni]

Colliseum is not a bad game at all. I think they could have done a better job though. For example, the attacks look so much alike. And most of them are sparkle-like. I thought Dragon Breath was going to be somewhat like FLamethrower, but blue, and its just a bunch of sparkles, of a yellowish-purple color. Lol, wtf. So many other attack look alike. You cant tell apart a psychich blast from an electric blast, lol. Another thing is that the game seems to lag a little when one exits the pause menu. But its no big deal.

Overall, this game might not have the best graphics or sound, but its playability is 11/10. Its very addictive and a big challenge. You cant beat the game without training apart from the normal sequence of the story mode. Besides, it brings back a bunch of pokes, including Tyranitar. :) I think it is a good idea to transfer ur R/S pokes and train them on the lvl.10 Battle Tower. Thats is a much better and fun way than training in the boring Elite 4... lol

[Razola]

You do realize that quality isn't hard and steadfast, right?
Of course not, nowhere in my post did I mention that at all. Oh crap, I forgot that since you can't be bothered to read my posts, sarcasm is probably lost on you as well. My apologies. I'll mention again that I don't feel like adding "In my opinion" to every sentence I write, so pleae just assume most of posts are opinion, unless I state otherwise. Thanks.


None of those games above really appeal to me, so why would I buy them instead of a game I would enjoy?
Have you played the free demos? I have already listed my excuse for not being able to try out colosseum, but when 3 of the four games I list have free demos readily available, it becomes a large pot-kettle syndrome.

And since we're talking about opinion, what is different about Colosseum from any of the other pokemon games? I have played every battling game since then, so unless the battle engine has changed (which is hasn't, unless every article I've read on it has lied to me) then the core gameplay won't appeal to me. Been there, done that. Perhaps if it was something radically new, I could understand, but it's not.

And we've gone the full circle. My original thread was about Colosseum being, more or less, the same old thing disguised as something radically new.


What you like is your own deal, Raz, but clearly superior? Hardly.

For a critic, I find it odd you want to squelch personal opinion. Yes, all games are a matter of personal taste, but we can agree on things, no? We can discuss it right? Because I dislike a pokemon game on a pokemon board means I should be silenced? Because I dare find another game more appealing I should be shuffled off to some dark corner? Tell me, with a straight face, that Nintendo did the best job they could do with Colossuem. Tell me, truthly, that the effort the put into Pokemon Colosseum equals or exceeds that of The Wind Waker or Metroid Prime (or even Mario Sunshine).

So is Pokemon a bad game? No. Perhaps my rant on Nintendo made people to think I thought it was bad. While I think it is merely average, and could be better, it is not a bad game. I'll most likely rent it one day, but not buy it. And I'm still very content with the games I purchased instead of it.

[Saturos]

*Claps hands for Raz*

He totally spoke his mind with logical thoughts on his opinion of the game. One heck of... uh, an opinion. :sweatdrop

One thing I totally disliked about the game is that it isn't Dolby Pro Logic II. It sounds like crap on my stereo system, even though the system is older than I am.

[ShockingAlberto]

How is "clearly superior", in any way, a statement that implies opinion?

You don't have to say "In my opinion" in front of everything, but you also don't have to be so stand-offish and condescending about it.

-- ShockingAlberto

[Razola]

How is "clearly superior", in any way, a statement that implies opinion?
You're a smart fellow, so I don't need to tell you that it means clearly superior to me.


You don't have to say "In my opinion" in front of everything, but you also don't have to be so stand-offish and condescending about it.
I'm pissed off. I like pokemon and I feel that it's been falling in quality since Gold and Silver. I'm also on the defensive, since we can insult other games in VG with only a few negative comments, a pokemon game will garner all sorts of harsh comments.

[ShockingAlberto]

Heh, you know what's really funny, Raz?

I couldn't disagree with you more, but I like you, you crazy nut.

It's difficult to find a series that has increased in quality since it hit its peak. That's why they're called peaks. I agree, Pokemon has been declining in quality since Gold/Silver, but to call it out-and-out bad isn't true, either. It still retains the core playablity that we all fell in love with to begin with. There's no accounting for tastes, though.

-- ShockingAlberto

[FTorchicX]

Well, I bought this game and played it, and so far I think it is pretty good. Sure, I was a tad dissapointed that they didn't remake the RBY and GSC pokemon in GCN graphics, but graphics aren't everything. I admit that the attacks weren't as interesting as the other two games. I felt that they should have looked more like the anime, like firblast is just some fireball, but in the anime it looks like a flamethrower just shaped like a star.

[Razola]

Heh, you know what's really funny, Raz?
A lot of things.


I couldn't disagree with you more, but I like you, you crazy nut.
That seems to be what everyone says.


It's difficult to find a series that has increased in quality since it hit its peak. That's why they're called peaks. I agree, Pokemon has been declining in quality since Gold/Silver, but to call it out-and-out bad isn't true, either. It still retains the core playablity that we all fell in love with to begin with. There's no accounting for tastes, though.
The gameplay is not bad, it's just becoming a very stale formula. Ruby/Sapphire had that "Here we go again" feeling with the standard 8 gym leaders, evil organization quests, etc. I felt Nintendo could've fleshed out the 2v2 system a bit more, and make it the norm. The one in Ruby feels tacked on, and Colossuem suffers because it uses that system, which doesn't feel very deep to me.

I also would like to see pokemon games that are of different genres and good. Aside from Tetris clones and Pinball, pokemon has had no really good games outside the core series. I'm sure a Pokemon platformer (using Pokemon as tools a la Zelda) could do well if developed properly.