20 years ago there was a Pokémon game that changed everything and it was thanks to the fact that its creators knew nothing about the saga. Colosseum has been forgotten, but it deserves more

It is one of the most interesting games that history has left us. saga Pokemon and also one that has been unjustly forgotten. I am sure that, if he came out today, we would not tire of praising his proposal. We would say that the franchise has finally matured, having found that sweet middle ground between offering a friendly experience for younger audiences and an enjoyable one for those of us who have been hooked for decades. Pokémon Colosseum It went down in history as the first RPG in the franchise that we could play in three dimensions. However, it was much more than that. Partly because it was done by a studio that knew “nothing” about the saga and partly because it was a parallel project to the main installments, the result was one of the most pleasant surprises we have received never fans of this intellectual property.

A Pokémon game without the creators of the saga

To find differences between games from a franchise that has been on the market for so long, we often have to resort to details. However, that is not the case with Pokémon Colosseum. Where do you want me to start? The game was set outside of Japan, which at the time was already a novelty. Not only that, but their world was practically post-apocalyptic. This could be seen in the practically desolate environments that we explored during the adventure, but also in a much more significant detail for the saga: wild pokémon did not exist. Life had practically disappeared from the region and, although we are now entering that, many humans mistreated their pocket monsters, reducing them to fighting machines to achieve their selfish goals.

If this is enough to get your attention, know that the best is yet to come. The story of our character is far from following the standard of the saga. We were members of the villain team and we had spent half our lives stealing Pokémon from other trainers, but we defected. The adventure is a journey of redemption in which our former partners in misdeeds are now chasing us across the region. All this because we have stolen an artifact capable of modifying Poké Balls so that they can be used against other trainers’ creatures. The objective, this time, is to deliver justice. We have become a kind of Robin Hood that takes away Pokémon alone those who are mistreating them.

It is in this installment that the concept of “Dark Pokémon” was born, which has been present in the game ever since. Collectible Card Game o Pokémon GO. They are creatures whose “hearts close, turning them into fighting machines without feelings,” just as it is described by WikiDex. Beings practically without will and full of rage because of humans who have only used them for their own benefit. In some ways, the plot is similar to that of Pokémon Black and Whitealthough somewhat more exaggerated and with the difference that Colosseum arrived seven years early. Just with these two mentions, that of the dark creatures and the fifth generation games, you can begin to intuit the influence that the title had on the future of the saga.

One of the things I like the most is that the developers of Pokémon Colosseum have given more meaning than anyone else to one of the main premises of the saga. In the games of Game Freak One of the objectives is to form meaningful bonds with our creatures, but because of the way they are designed, the idea is never fully applied. We do forge stories with our team, but rarely with that Rattata we captured on the first route of the game. Here there is a much greater commitment to that idea. We can only get 48 different creatures and all of them are dark Pokémon. You have to spend time with them and use it in combat to eliminate their darkness so they can be happy again. There is a prize, of course, although it is the story itself that motivates us the most to do it.

Battles in Pokémon Colosseum were played in a 2 vs. 2 format.

In terms of gameplay, All battles were fought in a two-on-one format. of the, being somewhat more complicated than usual. However, the truly difficult game was not Pokémon Colosseum, but the sequel that arrived three years later. It was called Pokémon XD: Dark Tempest and it was an improved version of the first installment. I would not only recommend this to fans of the franchise who want to explore a different title of immense quality, but also to those looking for a challenge. They are present in it some of the toughest fights in the saga. With special mention for the game’s most advanced challenges that are on par with those of any other RPG of the time. Yet another anomaly for a title in this franchise.

Pokémon Colosseum was a historical anomaly

To understand why Pokémon Colosseum was such an atypical installment in the saga, we must take into account the historical context. Video games were coming into a pretty edgy time y Nintendo He wanted to be the spearhead of this rebellious spirit. Some time after this game, products such as the Game Boy Advance SP Tribal Edition arrived. The design of this console is now a candidate for a museum of horrors, but at the time it was an attempt by Nintendo to convince teenagers. This installment of the saga was intended precisely for that audience and that helps explain many things. This era deserves its own article in the future since other companies, especially Ubisoftthey tried similar moves.

Although it’s partly because I thought so as a child, the Pokémon Colosseum vehicles have always reminded me of Star Wars.

Another element that contributed to the rarity of Pokémon Colosseum and its sequel Pokémon XD: Dark Tempest was the fact that They were not developed by Game Freak. The work was entrusted to Genius Sonority, a studio newly formed by Nintendo that aimed to create a title that would boost GameCube sales. The truth is that the company invested a fortune in hiring tremendously talented workers. However, he did not ‘sign’ anyone who had worked on previous projects in the saga. This, which could have been bad, allowed them to contribute their own ideas without being tied to the customs of the franchise.

The top managers of Genius Sonority They mixed Pokémon with their previous experiences. They mixed the saga with ideas from the franchise Star Wars, which at that time was once again on everyone’s lips with the premiere of its second trilogy. In fact, one of the people most responsible for the title was Shinichi Hiromoto, who created the manga adaptations of Star Wars. It was a novel vision, achieved thanks to the fact that at that time the intellectual property was not the almost sacred franchise that it is now. It was a much more malleable product, one that could still be experimented with, and which stumbled upon a somewhat turbulent time in the video game industry.

In short, Pokémon Colosseum was a child of its own time. That’s why it’s probably unrepeatable. However, I have something clear. The more years that pass since the launch of this video game, which premiered in 2003, the more I want those responsible for the saga to risk doing something similar again. It sold well (among the ten most successful on GameCube) and had plenty of quality, so why not dream that one day it will be possible again.

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