Let the battle commence! Game Info Publisher Nintendo Developer HAL Laboratories Genre Other Origin Japan Lead Prog. Yasunari Nishida Lead Artist Tatsuya Hishida Lead Designer Takao Shimizu Number of Players 4 Rumble Pak YES Release March 6, 2000 New training and battle modes expand on the original game. An indication of what the developers were on when making the game? Pokemon Stadium features 151 Pokemon.

Although the first title was only released in Japan, Nintendo has decided to bring the monster battles stateside with this second revision of the best-selling Japanese hit. Instead of giving US players the more limited Pokémon Stadium (1), Nintendo of America chose instead to directly bring Pokémon Stadium 2 to the US and Europe. To make things a little more confusing (or less, depending on how cosmopolitan you are), the US version of Pokémon Stadium 2 will sell under the moniker of the first title.

Features

• 32MB/256 megabit cartridge.
• 151 Pokémon.
• 3D polygonal battle scenes.
• All-new gameplay modes.
• Compatible with Pokémon Blue/Red and Pokemon Yellow
• Data exchange via Transfer Pak.
• Factor 5 Voice Compression.

In case you're not familiar with the first game, Pokémon Stadium enabled owners of the Game Boy Pokémon games to load their monster data to the N64 with the help of the included Transfer Pak attachment (see hardware section) and then pit them against each other in Final Fantasy-style turn-based battles.

Remember those turn-based battles in most of Japanese role-playing games? Two (or more) creatures or humans square off against each other, enabling the player to input attack commands and watch the battle. Pokémon Stadium instantly reminds you of those RPGs -- minus the quest and storyline.

The premise behind this type of game genre, popularized by Pokémon for the Game Boy and Monster Ranchers for the PlayStation, is not story or action. "Battle" and "training" are the key words. Unfortunately, the first Pokémon Stadium didn't include all the Pokémon monsters from the Game Boy series and gamers were limited to only around 40 of them. That's all about to change.

In Pokémon Stadium (2), large-scale battles are now possible with the full 151 Pokémons -- and you will even be able to have them participate in mini-games and snap pictures of them. Like the Japanese version, the US Pokémon Stadium will ship with the Transfer Pak packed in (the Transfer Pak will also be sold separately). The device plugs into the Nintendo 64 controller pak slot and enables Pokémon enthusiasts to exchange monster data between the Game Boy Pokémon titles and Pokémon Stadium.

While you can still play Pokémon Stadium if you don't have the Game Boy games, keep in mind that the title was designed with "Pokémon transfer" in mind. Players can do battle using the game's built-in "Rental Pokémon", but it's all about seeing the creatures you captured and trained in Pokémon Blue, Red or Yellow step into the limelight and beat the living daylights out of your friends' wretched monsters.

Battle commands are executed using the A, B and the C Buttons. A brings you to the attack selection screen, where you pick from your Pokémon's four featured attacks by pressing one of the C Buttons. For example, pressing C Up when using Jigglypuff triggers her song, C Down is a tackle, C Left is a fire ball attack, and so on. These attacks of course vary depending on which Pokémon you're using as well as its level of experience. In true RPG fashion, the monster type also has an impact on how much damage any given attack causes. For example, a grass Pokémon is weak against a fire Pokémon, fire attacks are strong against ice creatures, etc.

In addition to physical, hitpoint depleting damage, some attacks can also cause lasting damage. If you've played Pokémon before -- or any other RPG for that matter -- you know what to expect. Poisoned Pokemon take damage every round, confused creatures attack themselves, whereas sleeping Pokémon can't attack until something awakens them.

If one of your Pokémon is dangerously low on hitpoints (or it is being confronted by a type of Pokémon that can easily obliterate your monster type with one attack), players can hit the B button, forfeit their turn and switch it against another one. The only catch is that you need to pick your Pokémon team before you enter the battle arena -- so if you picked only grass-type Pokémon and your opponent is bringing out a fiery Charizard, you're pretty much screwed.

Pokemon Stadium features a variety of different game modes:

Battle Now!
This mode is easy to play even if you're not familiar with the Pokémon games. This is a kind of learning mode, to break you gently into the game and teach you the basics, so you can later graduate to fighting with your own monsters. You can only pick rental monsters of equal level in this mode.

VS Event Battle
The Pokémon league mode, set against a time limit. The two settings you can control are the "fight time-limit" and the "technique-entry time-limit." Fights can be set to last from 5 to 90 minutes and you can give yourself (and opponents) anything from 10 to 90 seconds in which to enter their next technique (fighting move) . If you're both still standing when the fight time runs out, the monster with the most HP remaining wins the bout.

Gallery
This mode is exclusive to the US version. Here, you can take pictures of your Pokémon, store them on your cartridge, view them in hi-res and even create stickers. You select from a 4x4 or 16x1 sticker setup -- then take your cart to a local Blockbuster to have them printed out.

Pokémon Lab
This mode allows you to organize a Pokémon album and load monster data with your Game Boy. Plug the Game Boy Pokémon cartridge into the Transfer Pak and load the monster data, then view the monsters in full polygonal 3D. You can also move items and creatures between your Game Boy's storage boxes and the N64 cart. You can even trade Pokémon with your friends using an on-screen "trading machine".

Pokémon Stadium
This tournament mode sees you do battle six trophies with Gym Leaders from the Game Boy game. Pit six of your monsters up against six of your opponents at various difficulty levels.

Kids Club
There are nine types of mini-games in this mode. Like the regular battle mode, you don't need detailed knowledge of the Pokémon universe to enjoy them. You can participate with up to four players, and you don't even need to use the Game Boy cartridge to play this mode. If there are fewer than four of you playing, the CPU makes up the numbers.

Free Battle
A tag-team battle mode for up to four players, this mode is the sequel's star attraction. Pitching players in a 2 Vs 2 tag-team match, each person gets to choose three of the fighters from a team of six. With up to 12 different types of Pokémon in the field, it's essential to have a good all-round knowledge of the different monsters' capabilities.

GB Tower
Here, you can play the Game Boy Pokémon games using your N64. Essentially, the GB Tower is a software emulator that displays the action of the Game Boy game on screen in limited color, similar to a Super Game Boy. Remember that it will only play Pokémon Blue, Red and Yellow, though.

Hall of Fame
See a listing of all the tournament winners, sorted by creature type.

Pokémon Stadium 2 is set to pump out the same excellent 3D, 60fps visuals as its predecessor. The Pokémon square off in various fighting areas where they will pull off amazing attacks, such as Pikachu's lightning bolts that will literally light up the screen with its 11,000 volt glory. Developer HAL created simplistic stadium backdrops (based on locations that appear in the Game Boy titles) in order to free up a lot of polygons for the actual monsters themselves. Using soft-skinning technology and super-smooth animation (including some pretty impressive morphing routines), the Pokémon move even more realistic than in the anime series. Finally, the game will also utilize Factor 5's patented M.O.R.T. voice compression to give the stadium announcer a huge vocabulary to accurately describe what's going on in the arena. Sadly, the number of Pokémon voice samples is limited to "Pika!" and generic monster screams.

Outlook
Pokémon Stadium was fun, but it was limited by its small selection of monsters. Pokémon Stadium 2 promises to fix all that and up the ante with a number of new modes. While it's not scheduled to hit the U.S. until March 6, 2000, Pokémon Stadium has a buzz that'll last through the winter. As one of the few games that makes use of the (64GB) Transfer Pak (Perfect Dark being the another), Pokémon Stadium is bringing more than just Charizard and Kakuna to the N64 in full 3D splendor. Pokémon fans will already want to put aside $50 bucks for this game. For everyone else, this may be the perfect time to grab a copy of Pokémon Yellow and start training your monsters for the big battle.