Pokemon Dash – Review

We all knew that the concept would arrive someday. Now, I'm a fan of Pokemon but this game feels to me as if the entire crew of Nintendo got around a big table and decided to try and squeeze a little bit more money out of the franchise.

Basically, you control Pikachu as he races around multiple courses in various locations against other Pokemon. There's no storyline to explain this as such, but that's ok. Most racers tend not to. So we can overlook this minor detail.

Graphics: Very good. The backgrounds look nice and the falling snow and blinding sand do add a nice touch if you take the time to look at them. The other Pokemon are well drawn although they do tend to move somewhat jerkily. However, Pikachu does move very fluidly and the animations concerning him are all presented very well.

Sound: The soundtrack is appealing at first with catchy tunes that you will soon forget, but they do fit the style of gaming presented here very well. The sound effects are quick and instant. Pikachu also makes his own "Pika Pika!"s during significant events. What would have been nice would be to have the other Pokemon racers able to make sounds. Having Meowth growl as you push him out of the way would add quite a nice touch but alas.

Gameplay: Here's where the meat is. The control is original, you slide the stylus across Pikachu to make him run and slide it up the side of the screens to make him fly.
Flying is another new concept. If Pikachu runs over a Diglett then he collects some balloons and can take off at will, simply rub downwards to tell him to dive. You can pop the balloons to make him fall faster but he will be stunned if he hits a solid surface.
The course is a big arena with several checkpoints scattered around. The Player must hit the checkpoints in the correct order in order to progress. The player must use balloons for quick cross country racing and do other actions, like press a switch that allows him to run across forests quickly, or hitch a ride on a Lapras in order to cross the ocean.

Bonus Features: Usually I do not put this in my reviews but I feel that the special functions here should be mentioned. If a player puts a Gameboy Advance Pokemon game into the DS, the player can unlock courses in the shape of his or her own party Pokemon. Then you enter into a Time Attack mode where you attempt to hit two checkpoints per Pokemon in the Time Limit. Although fun for a while the novelty wears off and you find yourself drawn back into the drudgery of the Grand Prix mode.

Final Thoughts: Basically, you can fall into three categories when considering this game. Firstly, if you are a die-hard Pokemon fanatic buy this game, play love it, enjoy yourself.
Secondly, if you think you want to see what all the fuss is about, buy the game, play it, consider keeping it just for the sake of smashing Pikachu's happy yellow face into a brick path over and over again, decided against it, return it.
Thirdly, you never liked Pokemon in the first place. Leave this on the shelf, don't look at the back, scratch that, don't even touch it. Leave it right where it is and buy something else.