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BACK WHEN THE GAMECUBE was code-named Dolphin, Nintendo showed off plenty of up and coming titles as well as some teaser footage from titles that may or may not eventuate. One of those teasers was a little something called Meowth's Birthday. While Nintendo clearly stated that this was not a title, they did hint at something Pokemon heading its way onto the GameCube. Since that day there have been plenty of GameCube Pokemon titles, but none being the epic RPG gamers wanted. And then it happened; Nintendo announced that work was underway on what WILL be the epic 3D Pokemon RPG that every Pokemon fan had been waiting for. It was to be titled Pokemon XD: Gales of Darkness, and screens and trailers eventually were released to the media. With over 5 years of hype, how does Pokemon XD live up to expectations?
The thing everyone needs to know before reading this review is that Pokemon XD is a Game Boy title with 3D graphics, and that's it. As far as many are concerned, Nintendo missed out on something amazing by not trying to re-create the series for the GameCube. What many expected was a game that would blend the look and style of the cartoon with the gameplay and fighting system of the GameBoy titles. So what exactly did we get?
The game starts off as every other Pokemon game does; naming your character. Sadly there is no option to choose a different gender, or choose fom a selection of characters. While it would have been understandable if the game were full of voice acting, it would hardly have been an issue to replace all the hes with shes in the multitude of text you will be scrolling through.
Once the story starts you learn that an organisation has started turning normal Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon. The company for which the hero's mother works is creating a machine that can help open the hearts of these Pokemon so they can be purified and once again be the happy battle monsters we know and love.
While being a rather obscure way to get gamers to collect all 360 odd Pokemon all over again, the story works. You will find yourself a little more excited about the battle when the hero uses his special visor to find that the Pokemon being used in battle is a Shadow Pokemon. While the game starts off slowly, and we get re-introduced to everything we already know -- Items, PokeBalls, Pokedex, PCs, etc. -- we also get to learn about the new Shadow Monitor. When you have a Shadow Pokemon on your team you can keep an eye out on his heart and how "dark" it still is. The more he battles for good, the more his heart will open. Once completely open you can take it back to the lab to be purified.
Purification is no easy task, and while they try their best to explain it, they also mention that it's easier once you start playing around with it. It seems like someone at Nintendo had a great idea he just couldn't portray very well. To be told to "have a play" to figure something out is pure frustration and you may just bypass this method in favour of a special tree found on the island that purifies Pokemon automatically.
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