There have been loads of Pokémon games that don't fit into the main franchise, spanning a variety of genres and eras. For this bounty, we want you to choose one of them and review it!
Written or video reviews are eligible here, just make sure they are between 500-1,200 words and remember that reviews are meant to analyse and evaluate the game so readers can describe whether it's worth their time.
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Pokémon Sleep, announced in 2019, was thought to have been cancelled and forgotten due to years of silence from The Pokémon Company. However, to everyone’s surprise, during the Pokémon Presents on February 27th 2023, Pokémon Sleep was showcased and was given a release date of Summer 2023.
We are now in July 2024, and the game is celebrating it's 1 year anniversary, but is this Pokémon sleep themed game worth trying out?
Developed by Select Button (also known for Magikarp Jump), Pokémon Sleep is an app created to help promote a healthy sleep pattern. When you first boot up the app, you’re introduced to a new professor called Professor Neroli, who specialises in the field of sleep. He is currently studying Pokémon sleeping patterns and has called on your assistance to gather data about the different types of Pokémon sleep styles.
There is a lot of information that is thrown at you early on in Pokémon Sleep, explaining how the game works and how to document your sleep. The ideal amount of sleep you should be getting according to the app is 8.5 hours, and you can do two sleep sessions each day but they must be 90 minutes minimum.
You can set an alarm in Pokémon Sleep to remind you to go to bed and one to wake you up. You are advised to connect your phone to a charger and lay it next to your pillow so it can track and record your movement and sound. You can also play relaxing Pokémon music via the app to help you doze off which is rather cute, but with only one sound I can imagine it getting irritating after a while.
After you wake up, the app will let you know your movement, noise, etc, and put together a “sleep report” for you which documents the phases of sleep, how long it took to fall asleep, and what sleeping type you fall into (Snoozing, Dozing or Slumbering).
After this, you can then see what Pokémon decided to come and have a snooze around Snorlax during the night, based on how you slept – as certain types show up based on the quality of your sleep. When you start you are initially gifted a Pikachu, and after my own first session, I met a Charmander, Meowth, Flaaffy and two Rattata, representing the “snoozing” sleep style.
Be wary that upon waking up after your first night you will be thrown into more tutorials showing you the ability to cook food for your Pokémon and how to feed them, so I recommend if you have to get ready for work or school that you wake up slightly earlier so you can complete and finish the new tutorials. Thankfully after this, the constant tutorials end.
Pokémon Sleep does come with optional monetisation. You can purchase diamonds with real money at the Shop, which in turn allows you to redeem all sorts of items to feed, level, and befriend more Pokémon. There is also a Premium Pass, which will boost your sleep points.
The app also includes helpful tips about healthy eating and other aspects of your life and will also grade your sleep sessions out of 100, with the goal of being able to work towards a perfect sleep score over time.
If you are looking to work on your sleep schedule in a fun way, then I do recommend checking out Pokémon Sleep. It is a cute way to inspire you to go to bed earlier, and since the app requires to be open, it stops you from browsing on your phone until the early hours of the morning.
(Note: You can read my original review on my website.)
Shiny Hunting on Pokemon Sleep
If you are a shiny hunter like me then you will be happy to hear you can also find shinies while you are asleep. You have a small chance of encountering a shiny in the game which is a lovely treat after you have woken up.
I first started using Pokemon smile as A joke really. I already used a toothbrush app (Oral B) to help brush efficiently but then I saw this being shown on the Pokémon direct thing and thought “let me try it”.
So what is Pokemon Smile then? It’s an app that is designed to make brushing teeth more appealing and fun for kids (but let’s be honest it’s for adults too right?) The app uses your phones front camera to track your brushing and also uses AR to show a cute background display on the screen. While you brush, you have to rescue the Pokemon from the bacteria that causes cavities and basically the better you brush the more Pokemon you catch. The app guides you to what part of your teeth to brush, to brush harder or slower so it’s really good at making sure you get all the areas, it will even remind you to floss too afterwards!
The whole reason this app exists is really simple, it’s to encourage good dental hygiene by finding a way to make that 2 Minutes super engaging and entertaining for you. I think it’s such a brilliant way to motivate people who might find brushing a chore.
The app rewards you with Pokemon to catch and you can even have hats to wear while brushing - and on your birthday you get a special birthday hat which I think is so cool And personalised for you!
But that’s enough about the app and why it’s here. What do I think? …
So I have to say, from personal use, it is so effective. The AR feature is really immersive and it’s so cool to see the Pokemon pop up on screen. I find it proper satisfying as-well to remove the purple bacteria. The graphics are really colourful and the art style of the Pokemon is really different but super unique for the app, I think the creators did a grand job of capturing the essence of the Pokemon world perfectly. In terms of the app’s interface, it is so user friendly, super easy to navigate - kids will not have a problem with figuring out how to use this app - it is so inclusive. With the feature of collecting new Pokemon as you brush, it makes you look forward to brushing just to see which Pokemon you can rescuer next.
Also, I am a “words of affirmation” girly, so I love the positive reinforcement messages you get while brushing such as “great job” or “you saved <pokemon> here!” I think it makes the experience even more rewarding and is one of the most standout features. And for kids, it’s very clever to associate brushing with positivity because it’s essential for building long term habits.
Overall, I think Pokémon Smile is a really good, delightful app that has found a way to cleverly combine entertainment with education. It’s a really fun way to turn a boring, mundane task to something that can be an enjoyable routine.
So in conclusion - whether
you are kid or just a kid at heart, Pokémon Smile makes brushing your teeth something to look forward to atleast twice a day!
My most favourite Pokemon Spin off : Pokemon Mystery Dungeons
Now this is where the fun begins. Pokemon Mystery Dungeons, most definitely the best of the best in my opinion. There are games for the GBA, DS, and 3DS, but the one I specifically love and enjoy was Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky for the DS. The mystery dungeon games are always fun, the quests, the dungeons, and well the many aspects of it.
Features
These three games for the Nintendo DS have really great storyline, mechanics, and VERY, Very deep emotional damage that it can give you. I’ve replayed it multiple times since it was really fun, Mystery Dungeon Sky was a bit different, though to me it was only the addition of Spinda’s Café and the Shaymin Village.
The main implication of every mystery dungeon games, whether it’s the GBA’s Rescue team or DS Explorers, are that we the player are a pokemon-turned human without memories. For the playable characters that you can play as, there are the 3 main starter pokemon from gen 1 to gen 4 in addition to pikachu, and skitty. There will be a personality test that will determine the nature of your pokemon and thus your starter pokemon.
Story
The player wakes up on the beach, with no memories whatsoever about who their identities are. They team up with the partner pokemon (that the player chose after their personality test) to form an exploration team. The two of them embark on a journey to find the player’s lost memories and to find out the truth about the partner’s relic that they received.
The Non-Playable Characters are also fun to interact with, be it the guildmaster, your co-workers at the guild, or the pokemon at the town. Inside the town are places where you can purchase items that could help you in your explorations and store the gold that you receive from those explorations.
In this game we got the ORIGINAL Team Skull, Skuntank, Koffing, and Zubat. They’re an annoying bunch but they are one of the aspects of what makes the game fun and interesting. On occasions during your explorations they would hinder your journey to make you go the longer and more dangerous route.
Overall the story is filled with twists, memorable characters, and moments that resonate deeply, making each playthrough impactful.
Gameplay Mechanics
For gameplay, the game is mostly a turn based game that involves diving into randomly generated dungeons and completing various quests from the board. The turn based system makes the player have the need to strategize for each boss battle and each dungeon. Some of the quests requires you to escort a pokemon to a specific dungeon floor, and others requires you to rescuing someone out of a dungeon. In each dungeon sometimes contain a shop owned by a keckleon, you can buy from them, sell, or even steal. There is a recruitment system in the game, once you beat a pokemon in the dungeon there is a chance for you to recruit them to your exploration team, and you can add them to your roster allowing for a more diverse and strategic planning.
During your explorations, there are times where you enter a minigame for that day. The minigame in question asks you to guess what pokemon are trying to enter your guild by their footprints.
Graphics and Sound
As expected of a pokemon game, the graphics are very vibrant and charming. The sprites for each pokemon are really great, the environments that they inhabit were wonderfully appealing. The sound design and music are exceptional, the soundtracks perfectly complements the game's emotional and adventurous moments.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky, Time and Darkness are an extraordinary addition to the pokemon series. With engaging storylines, strategic gameplay, and emotional depth, they offer an unforgettable experience, making these games definitely worth your time.
I have always wanted to see what would happen if Pokémon created a fighting game, where you play as the actual Pokémon and not just the trainer. Fortunately, Pokkén Tournament (DX) exceeded my expectations and more.
Created and developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment and Nintendo, Pokkén Tournament (DX) is a fighting game that pits two Pokémon against each other with two supporting/assist characters.
The game also includes a variety of characters/Pokémon to choose from. From Pikachu (normal and Libre), to classic fighting types like Balziken and Lucario, to the legendary psychic type Mewtwo. Certain Pokémon can even Mega-evolve to give players that extra boost in order to win a match.
The soundtrack is incredible, from the chill main menu ost to the music for Ferrum Stadium. It has that classic fighting game music tone, whilst also staying true to its Pokémon music roots. Hiroki Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Kawada, and the other members of the music team put a lot of effort into this game.
The game's fighting mechanisms take elements from Bandai Namco Entertainment’s popular fighting game series; Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, and Tekken. As you play the game you can see how both series have influenced it, Pokkén incorporates assist characters like in the Ninja Storm Series, and some Pokémon incorporate fighting styles or fighting poses like the characters in the Tekken franchise, for example, Pikachu has a pose and fighting style that is similar to Heihachi Mishima’s fighting stance from the Mishima Karate style, and Blaziken’s movements and stances incorporates the fighting styles of Hwoarang, Marshall Law, Bryan Fury, and Lee Chaolan. Mechanics that are shared in both Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm and Tekken, that can be seen in Pokkén Tournament (DX) are the use of team battles where you play as a team of up to 3 characters, as seen in the Ninja Storm series and Tekken Tag Tournament series.
Overall, this is probably one of the most popular/creative Pokémon spin-ff games that have been made, I hope that we get a sequel or a spiritual successor in the future.
This spin off not only redefined the idea of what a spin-off Pokémon game could be, but also what a mainline game could be too, with gameplay mechanics and new features that would later be welcomed by many trainers, including myself! The fact that we're getting another Legends game is a good sign of this game doing things right and offering so much for what is technically a spin-off.
One thing I really enjoyed about Legends Arceus was the focus on being more of an action-based game which made for a more exciting way to explore the Hisui region, being able to sneak up on Pokémon in a new way, weaken them by throwing items to make them easier to catch before even battling them or even physically running away from a battle, which can be genuinely terrifying sometimes!
What makes this first Legends game so great is that it not only serves as a spin-off to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl but also as a prequel, set in a region that would later become Sinnoh, which satisfies the demand for a fully realised 3D remake of the Sinnoh games while also doing something different. The locations, characters and music all reference Diamond and Pearl in creative ways that fans may recognise as they play through the story and learn more about the characters and their motives, with some not being what you might expect...
The expanded mechanics of crafting items and Pokéballs may be annoying for some if the resources aren't available or enough to craft with but as the story progresses, you do unlock more and more items to purchase from merchants, so as long as you have the coin, you have options, but it is an exploration game so hunting for resources is just as much a part of the game as catching is, especially because one helps with being able to do the other, but the more research tasks you complete for the Pokédex, the further the story progresses.
The way I see this game is it finally gives trainers the freedom to explore a region and immerse themselves in the world of Pokémon in a new way, interacting with the environments and the Pokémon themselves in ways never before realised in the games, which may not be for everyone but for people looking for a new Pokémon experience with a familiar feel, especially one that ties into Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, this is that game.
It's 2024, and reviewing a game that recently celebrated its 8th anniversary might seem outdated. However, Pokémon Go has undergone many meaningful changes over the years, and I’ve recently gained a fresh perspective. This review offers personal insights and an evolving perspective on the game.
I started playing Pokémon Go back in 2016, like probably millions of others, out of curiosity. AR was a hot topic then, with few alternatives except for a couple of quirky shooters. Pokémon Go offered a collector's game tied to a precise geographic location, wrapped in the popular Pokémon IP. However, after a few weeks, I got bored and dropped the game without making significant progress. I wandered around with my 5-year-old daughter, collecting iconic Pokémon, but the game lacked content beyond the core AR mechanic.
This year, with the opening of a JA Pokémon community and a few bounties related to the brand, I decided to give the game another try. To my surprise, the game has changed significantly, adding many layers of gameplay. Now, you can not only wander around the neighborhood but also play at home, participate in raids, engage in PvP battles, and enjoy enhanced collecting and leveling systems. Pokémon Go has evolved from an AR MVP into a polished final product.
Many tools, services, communities, and websites have arisen around the game, confirming its continued popularity and demand. I invited my son, who is now also 5 years old, to play, and over the last three weeks, we’ve walked over 100 km together, having fun. He’s the type of person who is nearly impossible to drag away from the local playground. Now, instead, he studies maps and plans routes to check for rare Pokémons. This game has turned him into an explorer, enjoying the thrill of the 'Pokémon hunt' and discovery in general. He also seems to enjoy min-maxing in video games like I do, by looking for optimal stats and skillsets.
In three weeks, we both reached level 32 as free-to-play players and started doing raids, taking on more challenging bosses. As part of our outdoor journeys, I decided to reinforce his interest by watching the Pokémon anime, starting from season 1. This gave the game an even better boost, as now he sees animated Pokémon and their evolutions that are already in his Pokedex.
If you tried Pokémon Go and then abandoned it, I urge you to check the game out again, especially if you have kids. The game offers a solid child-parent bonding experience and is absolutely worth your time and effort.
On July 6th 2016, my world and the whole world of gaming changed forever. This was the day before the game released in the UK but it released in Australia and I managed to get my hands on the application. 8 Years later, 6700 Kilometres travelled, 78,924 pokemon caught and over 30k Pokestops Visited, This game literally changed my life
This game single handedly brought about some world peace in the Summer of 2016, every child who grew up with pokemon in the late 90's/early 2000's was a working Adult at this point, and EVERYONE was on pokemon go no matter where you were. This game allowed you to walk around in the real world and capture pokemon using Googles Maps application along with it. It was the first game in the world in my opinion which sucessfully brought gaming and exercise together. You can't sit down in one place and catch them all like you could in Red Blue Yellow up to Violet & Scarlet. This game requires you to GO outside and search in the real world for pokemon.
The Pokemon Go game brought out a team system, Instinct, Mystic & Valor, essentially a three team capture the flag game was brought out for Pokemon Gyms in your local area. You have to physically travel to the gym and knock out other pokemon to keep the gym for as long as you can and you get rewarded with Poke Coins which you can spend on items such as incenses, star pieces and incubator. This is the game where you are not punished for free to play. You can earn a good amount of coins which is limited to 50 a day, encouraging you to play daily. To hatch a 2k egg you have to walk 2k in real life. This game incentives exercised 10,000x more than the Wii Fit ever did!
Who's going to walk 2k to benefit your "health and wellbeing" pfft, I wouldn't. But I would walk 2k to hatch a charmander! This game perfectly brought together a world full of pokemon nostalgia and exercise
Throughout the years the game has had signiciant quality of life updates
Community Days
Once a month since 2018 a pokemon is chosen to spawn one day a month for 3 hours. During this specific 3 hour period you have a 1 in 25 chance for that pokemon to be shiny. Shinies are rare alternate variants of pokemon which are differently coloured and sparkle, sought after for their rarity. Think red gyrados!
These days you will always see people playing in your local town centre and it is a great way to make new friends and pokemon trainers!
Daily Incense
This daily free to use incense lasts 15 minutes and the more you walk during this time period the more pokemon spawn! These spawns are random but are different to the map and generally are a little bit rarer, Thus encouraging you to go for a daily walk. Even exploring areas in your local neighbourhood that you never would have explored! Your local park tends to be more saturated with pokemon and pokestops to restock on those pokeballs
Trading
You could never catch them all on one pokemon game could you! Pokemon go LEGIT has continental variants. Mr Mime does not spawn in the USA but it spawns in the UK, and vice versa with Tauros. Therefore to catch them all you legit have to travel the whole damn world OR you make friends with new people and help each other out. Sticking to the whole basis of 2 versions in the original pokemon Games
Go Fests
A few times a year the company that runs the game Niantic will do an extra special weekend event in cities across the world such as Barcelona, Los Angeles, even Liverpool before it got cancelled due to COVID. Thousands will travel to these events for extra special spawns of pokemon, higher shiny chances and for a great atmosphere to meet new people
There's many more Quality of life updates including raiding, weekly adventure eggs and even PVP and I could go on forever! But overall Pokemon Go is the highest franchising mobile game of all time and that is sheerly because new content and events get added basically every couple of weeks. New community days mean new shinies, new events mean new pokemon! You essentially can never complete this game which means you can always be seeking out new things when you play!
If you enjoyed my review and play the game, Please give me an add. My friend code is 3199 8712 1093
Hey MarcustahaSturmer, thanks for the effort you all took in entering this bounty. Unfortunately, your entries didn't meet the 500-word minimum criteria we stipulated in the description for this bounty, so while I enjoyed reading your reviews, they were too short to be eligible for a prize. I'd definitely recommend reading bounty descriptions thoroughly before entering them, especially when they're as high value as this one, to ensure you stand the best chance possible at winning a prize. Do shout if you have any questions! ✌
