Pokémon has come back into the limelight after Pokémon Go got the whole world either interested in the series for the first time, or got fans from the past back into catching critters. And so with all this renewed interest in long running series let’s look at the 5 best Pokémon spin off games…
Pokémon Snap – Released March 1999 for Nintendo 64
Imagine playing a game version of being on safari, except that instead of boring animals like lions and tigers, you’re actually looking out for Pokémon like Pikachu and Snorlax! Taking the form of an on-rails-shooter, with a camera instead of a gun, you’re tasked with finding all of the Pokémon and taking the best photo you can. Getting the Pokémon to take their specific poses for you becomes more and more addictive as you go along, and because of this Snap has become a must have for fans of Pokémon and lovers of unique N64 games alike.
Pokémon Stadium – Released August 1998 for Nintendo 64
Pokémon Stadium took the idea of the Pokémon battles themselves, which at the time were simple 2D affairs with minimal movement, and took them into the 3D world giving each character a depth and personality that hadn’t been seen before. Allowing you to transfer your own Pokémon from the Gameboy games and take them through a gruelling set of stadium battles was a sight to behold, and seeing your team rendered as 3D sprites in full colour was definitely worth the money.
Pokken Tournament – Released July 2015 in Arcades and March 2016 for Wii-U
Since its inception the idea of being able to fight as a Pokémon itself has been something any fan has wanted. You gained the ability in the Super Smash games, but it wasn’t until Pokken Tournament that there was a fully fledged Pokémon fighting game. Combining elements from the Tekken series, it’s not only a great game where you get to take the role of a select group of your favourite Pocket monsters, but one that also stands up as a solid fighting game with a great fight community.
Pokémon TCG Online – Released March 2011 for iPad, Android, OS and Windows
The Pokémon card game is a great thing, you get to collect a whole plethora of different cards with all kinds of different images on and you can also use those cards to play the game itself. This however can become an expensive process with thousands of cards available to purchase. Luckily TCG exists for you to play on tablets and computers. This gives you the opportunity to get to grips with the game itself whilst paying no money at all, earning new cards by playing and even getting to play other people via the online side of the game. For me it’s a perfect starting place to get used to the game itself before you jump into buying and playing the cards for real.
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire – Released August 2003 for Gameboy advance
Pokémon Pinball wasn’t just a quick cash in to get more money by just slapping characters on a pinball table; it takes the tried and true game of pinball and adds in the capture and evolution of Pokémon as game elements where your goal (much like in the main series) is to catch them all. The tables are well designed and the game mechanics are just as good, possibly better, than any pinball game that I’ve ever played.
Of course all these spin off games wouldn’t be possible had the main series not become one of the most famous brands known to man, so when you get bored of Pokémon Go why not power up one of your Gameboys and give one of the original Pokémon a whirl for old times’ sake.
Author: Hal, Plymouth store
