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Pokémon Trozei! Pokemon Trozei! (or Pokemon Link as it is called in Europe) is the latest in a long line of Pokemon spinoffs. I guess a more accurate description would be that it is a puzzle game with the Pokemon license tacked on. The actual Pokemon elements are purely superficial and apart from the traditional "catch 'em all" Pokemon elements this could have been done using any other popular license.
The plot is nothing to write home about and features the hitherto unheard of group of bad guys, the evil "Phobos Battalion," kidnapping scores of Pokemon. Players follow the adventures of Agent Lucy Fleetfoot, operative for the Secret Operations League as she infiltrates the enemy locations and thwart their plans. Kidnapping Pokemon to power a super weapon makes more sense than the usual harebrained puzzle game plots but don't expect the storyline to offer anything memorable. Lucy simply makes her way from one storage location to the next before taking on an enemy general in a boss battle. The story mode is quite short and uninvolving with your reward for completing it simply a harder mode to play it in. The gameplay mechanics are very straightforward and all players have to do is line up blocks shaped like various Pokemons heads in groups of four or more similiar ones. If you've ever played games like Columns, Bejweled or Puy Puyo you will be in familiar territory. The twist is that blocks rain down from the top of the screen in droves instead of the more usual sedate one at a time so don't think you will have time to sit and leisurely plan your next move. Line up four or more blocks that are teh same and you'll score a "Trozei" making the blocks disappear and giving you a few seconds in which groups of three similar linked blocks will vanish. Manage this and groups of two blocks will vanish next for a limited time. Miss any of these windows of opportunity and you'll have to get a trozei again to get the combo started. You'll need to remove a certain amount of Pokemon on each level in order to complete it but the game is so fast paced it often comes down to luck more than anything else. While the normal levels are fairly straightforward and easy the boss battles are another matter. These guys have all kinds of dirty tricks up their sleeves that range from turning all the blocks into silhouettes making it very tricky to judge what is what and they also drop "jammer balls" into the play area to take up valuable space. You better pull off some good combos against these guys as it will not just stun them for a short period of time but also prevent them from pulling cheap moves like increasing the amount of Pokeballs required to clear the level by fifty every time you are close to completing the level. Like I said the levels, especially the boss battles are very fast paced and on a lot of them you start with the playing field practically filled up already, giving you seconds to react and avert disaster. A lot of the Pokemon heads look quite similar as well (especially if you are not that big a fan) making it tricky to quickly distinguish the right ones to line up for a trozei. Those that favour speed and reflexes in their puzzle games will enjoy this but it is bound to frustrate some players. I've also found the game isn't quite as addictive as most puzzle titles which can be either good or bad depending on how much free time you have at your disposal. With some perseverance the story mode can be easily completed as there are no exploration or role playing elements. The overhead map consists of four screens and while you can choose your next destination, one secret storage area looks pretty much idetical to the next. You can "capture" Pokemon to add to your Pokedex by simply getting a trozei using the desired Pokemons blocks. Coins earned while playing can be sent at "Mr Who's" den which will be revealed in the latter half of the story mode. Here you are given a larger playing area and two minutes in which to try and capture some of the more rare Pokemons. Those that want to round out their Pokedex will spend a lot of time here but for everyone else it will just be a brief diversion. Apart from story mode you have the obligatory "endless" mode where you can keep playing until you lose and a few multiplayer options. The nice thing is that you can send a mini version of the game to a friend and then play against them. They will be able to endless and multiplayer modes until their DS is switched off. Playing either against or with a friend is fun for a while but with no WIFI mode you are stuck battling people around you and unable to compete across the internet. The lack of gameplay modes definitely harms the replay value of this title. The graphics in Pokemon Trozei! is bright and colorful but quite a departure from the other Pokemon games and television shows. Instead of using the traditional Japanese manga style, the artists have opted for a much more American look. The characters look like they are straight out of a Kim Possible, Samurai Jack or Powerpuff Girls cartoon instead of what you would expect in Pokemon. The Pokemon all look nice and detailed and there's even some cool cut-scenes interspersed with the action. These show off some nice 3D renders as well as traditional 2D animations. There's not much that can be said about the audio as the music is pretty unremarkable. You have a frantic "danger" tune that plays when you are close to losing which means you'll be hearing it almost constantly on later levels. This, coupled with the limited amount of tracks didn't do much to endear me towards the sounds. There is no speech and the sound effects do their job and not much else. Thankfully the Pokemon never scream out their names like in the cartoons which is a blessing. The entire game is controlled with the stylus which works great considering the fast pace. Instead of individual blocks you can only move entire rows left, right or downwards. Individual blocks can be moved one space upwards but if no connection can be made there they will drop back down. Blacks that are shifted off the screen will reappear on the opposite side which calls for a bit of lateral thinking. While Pokemon Trozei! can't really compete with the big names like Tetris, it will still appeal to fans of the Pokemon franchise and those looking for a fast paced puzzle game. As long as you don't expect too much from it you will have fun but don't bet on it lasting as long as other games in the genre. |
TAGS: Pokémon Link!, Trozei!, Puzzle, Touch Screen, Collect, Phobos Battalion, SOL, Lucy Fleetfoot, Agent Cards
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