Pokemon Stadium?

[SuperBrother]

I've never played any of the Pokemon games at all

This looks quite interesting, especially the connectivity aspect. What's the consensus on this title, is it just eye candy for the kiddies or does it have some depth and strategy?

[gingerj]

I had it for a short while when i was in yr 10 or was it 11 i can't remember, i gave it back due to the fact that i found it .jp intensive and i din't have the gb game to coinscide with it so i found my monsters to be ****... i found it entertaining for a while... i dunno i might be putting a real negative picture on it but if i had the choice i'd hold out of the new one on the gc...

[Crispin]

*Enter Pokefreak, stage right*

You've played none of the Pokemon games at all?
Actually I won't give you a hard time because I can think of ten famous franchises I've never played. Resident Evil anyone?

Speaking as the resident pokefreak, I would have to say they make a superb complement to the GameBoy games. I do recommend picking one of these up first though before buying Stadium and seeing if you like them.

It's a well known fact that the American version of Stadium is superior, due to the inclusion of a "photo mode" that was dropped for the PAL release. However the main draw was you could take your cartridge to a special shop and have these pictures printed out. Since this is Britain and the N64 died over 2 years ago, this isn't such a big deal.

Technically, the Japanese have had 3 stadium games IIRC. Our first stadium game is their second. However I must insist on not playing the Japanese ones because, like all the pokemon games, they're very text heavy.

Pokemon stadium 2 builds on the work laid down in the first. I recommend getting both, since in Pokemon Stadium you can only use Red, Blue and Yellow Pokemon. However, Pokemon Stadium One supports some Pokemon Yellow features that I believe the sequel does not (for example, Pikachu imported from Yellow says "Pika" instead of the Red/Blue screech)

To get the most enjoyment out of them YOU NEED THE GB GAMES, ONE FROM EACH SERIES PREFERABLY, AND TWO TRANSFER PACKS

If you would like any more advice, please feel free to post here or PM me. I might be slightly biased though, but when coupled with the Game Boy games, they form two of the greatest N64 games. They also illustrate what someone can do with connectivity.

Regards.

Crispin

[SuperBrother]

Okeydoke, I'll give one of the GB titles a try, hopefully there are some good deals to be had now considering the games are knocking on somewhat. What's the deal with the two transfer packs though - I assume they are needed for two player battles?

What are the differences between the Western Stadium 1 & 2 though, is there any real virtue in owning both to satiate my passing interest or is it real poke-buff territory telling the two games apart?

I'll be getting the US version of Stadium to complement my lovely Jungle Green DK64 edition console so I can make use of a seemingly redundant feature when I next go over the pond..

Thanks for the help Crispin, all very much appreciated my good man.
Just another quick question, my 9 year old likes Pokemon, are Hey You Pikachu & Pokemon Snap worth picking up considering they are like ?10 os so each currently?

[Crispin]

What's the deal with the two transfer packs though - I assume they are needed for two player battles?

Well, you can get by with one. Stadium has it's own memory you can use to load pokemon into. So you could both upload your Pokemon into the N64 and use them to play, or just one of you upload yours, and the other use the transfer pack "live".

However if you have two, you can do trading between the cartridges. Thus if you play with yourself, you can trade pokemon between cartridges. This is incredibly important as some of the best pokemon only evolve when traded (Seadra is the best example). You can't do this with one transfer pack, even by uploading via the N64 memory.

Plus, two transfer packs are cheaper than two (or one!) game boys! Don't forget you can play the games on your widescreen using the transfer pack and stadium!

What are the differences between the Western Stadium 1 & 2 though, is there any real virtue in owning both to satiate my passing interest or is it real poke-buff territory telling the two games apart?

BIG differences! If you're only going to get one, get Stadium 2. That way you can use Pokemon from any cartridge up to Gold/Silver/Crystal. Stadium 1 WILL NOT work with these latter Pokemon. It will only deal with Red/Blue/Yellow.

However, they do have different minigames. These are some of the best mingames ever and non-Pokefreaks love to play on them. They put Wario Ware to shame.

Stadium 2 is much, much better. With more modes and trainers to play against, more options, mystery gifts (animal crossing style - log in each day with a Gold/Silver cartridge to get cool decorations for your virtual room), a comprehensive library for stats, a school mode that goes quite deep in terms of strategy, quizzes, secret unlockable pokemon as prizes, and other cool stuff, Stadium 2 is superb.

Stadium is also great, and well worth picking up if you eventually get bitten by the Pokemon bug.

Please bear in mind, about transfer packs. Stadium came with one definitely. I'm trying to remember if Stadium 2 did, but I don't think it did as I had to go out and buy one.

are Hey You Pikachu & Pokemon Snap worth picking up considering they are like ?10 os so each currently?

Well the first one is definitely a curio. It never came out here so I haven't played it. Bear in mind one reason that was bandied about in the press was that they were having trouble with getting Pikachu to understand so many languages and accents. Voice recognition on consoles was in its infancy at the time. AFAIK it's a bit like DOAXBV in the sense that it's a fandom game. You can shout at Pikachu and stuff and he has friends and whatnot.

Pokemon Snap is great and is far more than a lazy cash-in. Unfortunately, it is very short. But it's great fun and a taster of what a First Person pokemon game would play like.

Hope I have helped. Any more queries and give me a bell.

If you're picking up a Pokemon GB game, try to pick up Gold before Ruby/Sapphire. They play differently. As will Colosseum...

[SuperBrother]

Right, I'm intruiged by the whole thing now, time to look around for a copy of Pokemon Gold or Silver. Any idea if I need to have a US GB game to be able to transfer to a US copy of Stadium? I would have thought they are universal?

Thanks for all the info BTW

[Crispin]

No, Pokemon Stadium 1 & 2 and the cartridges are fully compatible with one another providing they are both formatted in the same language

So an English PAL Yellow will work fine with an American NTSC Stadium. But not a Japanese one. It could corrupt.