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When it comes to this latest Pokémon adventure we may not get what we want, but we get what we deserve.
October 14, 2005 | 6:03 PM PSTby: Matthew Green
Pokémon fans around the world have been clamoring for a full-on Nintendo GameCube RPG for years and now Nintendo and developer Genius Sorority is set to deliver this unique adventure/battle hybrid, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. When a legendary Pokémon by the name of Lugia is transformed into a deadly Shadow Pokémon, it becomes a remorseless killing machine that simply cannot be purified. It is the ultimate Shadow Pokémon. Enter a new hero, a young Pokémon trainer named by the player, who has been put in the unique position of having to save and purify all of the Shadow Pokémon – more than eighty of them – and put a stop to the sinister plans of the Cipher organization. Gale of Darkness follows our hero’s quest as he roams the land and builds an army of purified Pokémon, both familiar and new.
Features
Gotta Purify ‘Em All!
Gale of Darkness opens early in our hero’s Pokémon training career, but before too long he acquires the "Snag Machine", a device that allows him to snag Shadow Pokémon from other trainers and purify them back to their natural state. The game’s central goal is to snag all of the Shadow Pokémon, purify them, and use their skills to rescue a kidnapped researcher and expose Cipher’s plans to turn all of the Pokémon in the world into Shadow Pokémon. Purified Pokémon can be used in battle just like their standard-issue Pokémon brethren and can be leveled up normally. Like other games in the series, capturing and raising the proper combination of Pokémon is essential to advancing in the game. The standard procedure is to find a Shadow Pokémon, identify it with the Aura Goggles item, send friendly Pokémon into the fray to weaken it, and then use the Snag Machine to capture it. Purification can then be performed according to the ancient rituals. Purified Shadow Pokémon lose their amazing dark attacks, but still remain formidable allies in the battle against evil. If this sounds familiar it’s because the last Pokémon appearance for the Nintendo GameCube, Pokémon Colosseum, made use of this same mechanic.
Pokémon battles are about what one expects to see in a title like this. Our hero faces off against other trainers (some looking for a friendly fight, others serving the Cipher organization) by sending up to two Pokémon into the melee. Double Battles are the name of the game here as up to two Pokémon can fight for a particular trainer at a time. If one Pokémon falls, another can be tossed into the fray. Each critter has up to four attacks at its command, and as Pokémon evolve into higher forms they learn new moves to replace weaker abilities. Battles end when one trainer is out of Pokémon reinforcements with the winner receiving experience points and cash to be spent at one of the game’s shops (note that a Shadow Pokémon cannot earn experience points until it has been purified). Unlike other Pokémon adventures, our hero cannot capture Pokémon from other trainers unless that trainer is employing a Shadow Pokémon. Only the Shadow Pokémon can be captured in battle and early on in the game our hero is told that trying to capture a friendly Pokémon is a major Pokémon faux pas.
Probably the most damning aspect of Gale of Darkness is that it grabs hold of the player’s hand right from the start of the game and leads our hero step by step and place by place without the opportunity for players to make their own choices about where to go next. The first few hours of the game are spent on seemingly pointless errands, such as finding the hero’s lost little sister or picking up a machine part from a nearby harbor shop. The problem is that when a character issues a mission – "Have you seen Jovi?" or "The machine part I ordered has arrived. Can you go get it for me?" – the game tells you right where to find the sister, the machine part, and the other various items our hero is sent to retrieve. There’s no mystery to it, no clues to figure out, and no real excitement in carrying out the orders. It’s a paint-by-numbers RPG on rails, essentially, with little deviation from the script. Do as the game says and players will progress without a problem. Unless all of the hero’s Pokémon fall in battle, in which case the game restarts from the hero’s home or another inconvenient location. Speaking of which, why does the game end when our hero’s Pokémon are defeated during a friendly battle? Our hero isn’t dead, after all. Why can’t the fallen Pokémon just get a recharge at a nearby Pokémon Center? Sending our hero back to a far away restart point feels like an attempt to pad out the game’s length.
Endangered Species
One of the most beloved aspects of the Game Boy Advance Pokémon adventures is the chance to roam the land, discover wild Pokémon, capture them, train them, and use them in battle. Gale of Darkness does not include this dynamic. An overworld map screen offers a preset list of destinations, and selecting a place to go triggers an animation of our hero riding his little moped to the chosen place. New places appear on the map screen as the story progresses (i.e. when our hero is given another task to perform). The basic procedure is for the hero to ride into a town, talk to the people walking around that town, fight battles with the trainers who challenge him, snag a Shadow Pokémon where appropriate, eventually find the object or person in the town that our hero has come to see, and then either return home or move on to another town for a secondary objective.
There is one place where our hero can encounter wild Pokémon. Three places, in fact. As time goes by and the story rolls on our hero will come across hunting grounds where wild Pokémon romp and play and feed. If our hero leaves out a little treat, eventually a wild Pokémon may take the bait and leave itself wide open for capture. These captured Pokémon then join our hero’s merry band of creatures. Note that this is a minor part of Gale of Darkness, almost an afterthought of the game’s design. Don’t expect to toss Pokéballs all willy-nilly, as early in the game one of the characters tells our hero that Pokéballs are a rare item in this part of the world and are not to be wasted on Pokémon that haven’t had their hearts sealed shut.
Features
- A new Pokémon adventure featuring old favorites and new foes
- Snag the Shadow Pokémon from rogue trainers and purify them
- Learn new information about the Pokémon mythology
- Transfer Pokémon from the various Pokémon GBA games for use in Versus Mode
- Only for Nintendo GameCube
Gotta Purify ‘Em All!
Gale of Darkness opens early in our hero’s Pokémon training career, but before too long he acquires the "Snag Machine", a device that allows him to snag Shadow Pokémon from other trainers and purify them back to their natural state. The game’s central goal is to snag all of the Shadow Pokémon, purify them, and use their skills to rescue a kidnapped researcher and expose Cipher’s plans to turn all of the Pokémon in the world into Shadow Pokémon. Purified Pokémon can be used in battle just like their standard-issue Pokémon brethren and can be leveled up normally. Like other games in the series, capturing and raising the proper combination of Pokémon is essential to advancing in the game. The standard procedure is to find a Shadow Pokémon, identify it with the Aura Goggles item, send friendly Pokémon into the fray to weaken it, and then use the Snag Machine to capture it. Purification can then be performed according to the ancient rituals. Purified Shadow Pokémon lose their amazing dark attacks, but still remain formidable allies in the battle against evil. If this sounds familiar it’s because the last Pokémon appearance for the Nintendo GameCube, Pokémon Colosseum, made use of this same mechanic.
Pokémon battles are about what one expects to see in a title like this. Our hero faces off against other trainers (some looking for a friendly fight, others serving the Cipher organization) by sending up to two Pokémon into the melee. Double Battles are the name of the game here as up to two Pokémon can fight for a particular trainer at a time. If one Pokémon falls, another can be tossed into the fray. Each critter has up to four attacks at its command, and as Pokémon evolve into higher forms they learn new moves to replace weaker abilities. Battles end when one trainer is out of Pokémon reinforcements with the winner receiving experience points and cash to be spent at one of the game’s shops (note that a Shadow Pokémon cannot earn experience points until it has been purified). Unlike other Pokémon adventures, our hero cannot capture Pokémon from other trainers unless that trainer is employing a Shadow Pokémon. Only the Shadow Pokémon can be captured in battle and early on in the game our hero is told that trying to capture a friendly Pokémon is a major Pokémon faux pas.
Probably the most damning aspect of Gale of Darkness is that it grabs hold of the player’s hand right from the start of the game and leads our hero step by step and place by place without the opportunity for players to make their own choices about where to go next. The first few hours of the game are spent on seemingly pointless errands, such as finding the hero’s lost little sister or picking up a machine part from a nearby harbor shop. The problem is that when a character issues a mission – "Have you seen Jovi?" or "The machine part I ordered has arrived. Can you go get it for me?" – the game tells you right where to find the sister, the machine part, and the other various items our hero is sent to retrieve. There’s no mystery to it, no clues to figure out, and no real excitement in carrying out the orders. It’s a paint-by-numbers RPG on rails, essentially, with little deviation from the script. Do as the game says and players will progress without a problem. Unless all of the hero’s Pokémon fall in battle, in which case the game restarts from the hero’s home or another inconvenient location. Speaking of which, why does the game end when our hero’s Pokémon are defeated during a friendly battle? Our hero isn’t dead, after all. Why can’t the fallen Pokémon just get a recharge at a nearby Pokémon Center? Sending our hero back to a far away restart point feels like an attempt to pad out the game’s length.
Endangered Species
One of the most beloved aspects of the Game Boy Advance Pokémon adventures is the chance to roam the land, discover wild Pokémon, capture them, train them, and use them in battle. Gale of Darkness does not include this dynamic. An overworld map screen offers a preset list of destinations, and selecting a place to go triggers an animation of our hero riding his little moped to the chosen place. New places appear on the map screen as the story progresses (i.e. when our hero is given another task to perform). The basic procedure is for the hero to ride into a town, talk to the people walking around that town, fight battles with the trainers who challenge him, snag a Shadow Pokémon where appropriate, eventually find the object or person in the town that our hero has come to see, and then either return home or move on to another town for a secondary objective.
There is one place where our hero can encounter wild Pokémon. Three places, in fact. As time goes by and the story rolls on our hero will come across hunting grounds where wild Pokémon romp and play and feed. If our hero leaves out a little treat, eventually a wild Pokémon may take the bait and leave itself wide open for capture. These captured Pokémon then join our hero’s merry band of creatures. Note that this is a minor part of Gale of Darkness, almost an afterthought of the game’s design. Don’t expect to toss Pokéballs all willy-nilly, as early in the game one of the characters tells our hero that Pokéballs are a rare item in this part of the world and are not to be wasted on Pokémon that haven’t had their hearts sealed shut.
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