This entry is dedicated to the Pokemon Mini, Nintendo's forgotten handheld system, about halfway between a Pokemon Pikachu 2 and a Game Boy Pocket. It's roughly 2" x 3", with an inch-and-a-half B&W screen, and has four swappable cartridge games... all Pokemon-based. The system also has an infrared port for multiplayer gaming, a rumble feature, motion sensor, D-pad + 3 buttons, and a pleasingly chunky post-iMac plastic design aesthetic.
In the US, you can only get this at the NYC Pokemon Center store (or via their website.) When it was first released in 2002, a complete set of Mini + all 4 games cost over $90. Last December, they kicked it down to $40... plus they threw in all kinds of crazy Mini crap, like a pillow, bath towel, lanyard, notepad and bracelet charms.
Nice price. Mine is in Wooper Blue (as opposed to the purple and green models.)
I had read some pretty lousy reviews of the Mini back in '02, so I never thought much about it. And the Mini "sampler" you can play inside the sleep-inducing GameCube title Pokemon Channel didn't sell it to me very well. But $40 in my wallet has a way of spending itself almost without my knowlege...
And you know what, it's not bad at all. Here's how the games fall out:
Pokemon Party Mini: This one comes with the system, and it's easily the worst. It contains a bunch of simplistic games that usually revolve around timed button presses. Almost like Wario Ware if Wario Ware sucked. One game changes it up by having you shake the whole unit instead (so you freak out the motion sensor), but it's still boredom city. Toss it.
Pokemon Pinball Mini: It would seem difficult to screw up pinball. This cartridge does a pretty decent job at attempting that. First of all, it's not what you're thinking. This "pinball" is actually a very small playing field filled with holes, and you use a plunger (usually positioned bottom center) to launch the ball into the holes. Each board is timed, so if the randomness of pinball goes against you, you're out of luck. One nice thing is that you can play this one with only one hand, because the C button does everything. Erm.
Pokemon Puzzle Collection: Now things start getting good. There's four types of puzzles, mainly of the sliding tile type. Shadow Puzzles have you arranging opaque tiles to fit a form. Motion Puzzles lets you swap tiles to create an image, but the image is constantly moving. Rescue Mission has you shifting tiles to create a path for a trapped pokemon. The fourth type (an unlockable!) requires you to arrange tiles to complete an electrical circuit. There's only 20 of each type, however, so there's limited play value here.
Pokemon Zany Cards: Four card games, but only three are playable by one person. (Two support up to five players, and one requires two players... and all players must have their own Mini, so good luck with that.) One game is strikingly like Texas Hold 'Em, just with Pokemon-themed winning hands. The second game is an Uno clone. And there's a unique Solitaire variant. All three of these are quite good, and the cartridge lets you save at any point just by turning the Mini off. Zany Cards is also the most graphically interesting of the bunch, with lots of different animations based on the cards you play.
Overall, not a bad little portable for $40. (Use coupon code P4E33 to save another $5 on your online order, by the way.) Given that my mobile GBA collection has to be carried inside a small backpack these days, it's nice to have the alternate choice of an even smaller complete system tucked into my shirt pocket. There's another couple of games available in Japan, but I highly doubt we'll see english versions of them, given the absolute rarity and frivolity of the Mini. One of them is freakin' Tetris, which would be spectacular. I wonder if there's a region lockout on Mini cartridges...
This entry is dedicated to the Pokemon Mini, Nintendo's forgotten handheld system, about halfway between a Pokemon Pikachu 2 and a Game Boy Pocket. It's roughly 2" x 3", with an inch-and-a-half B&W screen, and has four swappable cartridge games... all Pokemon-based. The system also has an infrared port for multiplayer gaming, a rumble feature, motion sensor, D-pad + 3 buttons, and a pleasingly chunky post-iMac plastic design aesthetic.
Nice price. Mine is in Wooper Blue (as opposed to the purple and green models.)
Pokemon Party Mini: This one comes with the system, and it's easily the worst. It contains a bunch of simplistic games that usually revolve around timed button presses. Almost like Wario Ware if Wario Ware sucked. One game changes it up by having you shake the whole unit instead (so you freak out the motion sensor), but it's still boredom city. Toss it.
Pokemon Pinball Mini: It would seem difficult to screw up pinball. This cartridge does a pretty decent job at attempting that. First of all, it's not what you're thinking. This "pinball" is actually a very small playing field filled with holes, and you use a plunger (usually positioned bottom center) to launch the ball into the holes. Each board is timed, so if the randomness of pinball goes against you, you're out of luck. One nice thing is that you can play this one with only one hand, because the C button does everything. Erm.
Pokemon Puzzle Collection: Now things start getting good. There's four types of puzzles, mainly of the sliding tile type. Shadow Puzzles have you arranging opaque tiles to fit a form. Motion Puzzles lets you swap tiles to create an image, but the image is constantly moving. Rescue Mission has you shifting tiles to create a path for a trapped pokemon. The fourth type (an unlockable!) requires you to arrange tiles to complete an electrical circuit. There's only 20 of each type, however, so there's limited play value here.
Pokemon Zany Cards: Four card games, but only three are playable by one person. (Two support up to five players, and one requires two players... and all players must have their own Mini, so good luck with that.) One game is strikingly like Texas Hold 'Em, just with Pokemon-themed winning hands. The second game is an Uno clone. And there's a unique Solitaire variant. All three of these are quite good, and the cartridge lets you save at any point just by turning the Mini off. Zany Cards is also the most graphically interesting of the bunch, with lots of different animations based on the cards you play.
