Overall 8.4 Graphics 6.8 Sound 8.6 Addictive 6.4 Story 6.2 Depth 6.1 Difficulty 6
6
Pokemon Team Rocket Edition Redrunelord
"Absolute evil, like great genius, may well be well beyond rational explanation....Perhaps our fascination with evil is that it is often more mysterious than good is, and therefore more compelling." That was said by John G. Stoessinger, and it is by large true. Humans are naturally inclined towards being fascinated, floored, by that in which they are incapable of comprehending. Rationally speaking, some things are impossible to truly understand with the current levels of technology, but they're fascinated regardless. One of these things is evil, but that begs a question: why do video games, for the most part, play as the "good guys?"
Bering in mind that good is largely based on someone's own philosophies, but the general format of a large number of games is that the player is supposed to destroy evil, whether it be a physical format like an evil wizard, or the demons inside of themselves, like in the Silent Hill series. Many of the games that do encourage, or even require, the player to play as a character who is bad to the bone is often criticized for "teaching the kids to kill." Perhaps that is the real reason: media criticism, but regardless...there is an emulated means to play as "the bad guys" in Pokémon TRE: Team Rocket Edition.
Giovanni is a psychologically complicated character should the player try to analysis him, along with how Team Rocket is structured. In the first two generations of Pokémon games, team rocket is often portrayed as a very comically inept organization (for instance, how they uses primarily Pokémon the "two" gym leaders in Saffron could annihilate with ease.). However, now that the player is on their side, does that change anything? How much deeper can it get?
The story line essentially revolves around Jesse and James (presumably) competing for who shall take Giovanni's place as head of team rocket. This is an interesting concept, especially as how Giovanni sets them some challenge to see who is better capable at the end of the day. Shouldn't, instead of relying on sheer strength differences between the two, Giovanni should be focusing on their leadership and strategic potential? Assuming that was done off-screen, why are these two competing anyways? Wouldn't it serve Team Rocket better to have two extremely skilled and devious people working together? There are other things that crops up over time that will make the player scratch their forehead in potential confusion, but the story-line can be summed up with it has potential but it could have been better executed. Another possible story could have been the trio (James, Jesse and Meowth) travelling around performing specific jobs for Giovanni as they slowly take over the region, which would have made an amazing home brew game if executed properly, but that wasn't attempted here.
Graphically, the game is both competent and a mess. Visually, the game follows the styling of the first generation, so perfection is not a requirement by any means. Everything works in that what has graphical feedback is distinguishable, and does not hinder game play in any means. Character's battle sprites do come off as lazy because they are often ill suited for their purposes. For example, your character is (presumably) James, but why does he, in battle, use Professor Oak's sprite? Even more noticeable is that police officers, which acts as a major antagonist, uses grunt sprites? The grunt sprites are NOT a good choice for several reasons (like the whip, the lack of suitable uniform, facial features etc.). New sprites should have been made for these roles and inserted into the game. Recycling a lot of them is fine, but only when they fit. Otherwise though, the graphics are fine, if a bit bland considering it's an almost total overhaul for first generation gaming. The audio is identical to the first generation of games, which is perfectly fine. Some more "evil" sounding forms of audio would have been an excellent addition, but it is absent. Not a lot to comment about with the audio asides from if it works for the first few games, it will work here.
The game play...largely unaltered from the standard first generation Pokémon games. The map has been changed drastically from the original Kanto formatting, which will alter the progression of the game a fair bit. However, in most other regards, only the name will change. For instance, the player still has to capture the insect-collecting inspired critters, the player still has to raise a team, and still they must travel on a seemingly endless journey. The player still has to buy items at the market, they still got to visit Pokémon centers...and, of course, they still must defeat trainers. It is almost entirely unaltered, except for the actual progression...and while for die hard fans this is a good thing, the game is just
lacking. If team rocket is so hated, why is an obvious member of them allowed to walk into the stores and Pokémon Centers unchecked? The only way this should be is if James was an undercover operative, but he is not. Following said logic, that James is a loud and clear member, isn't the last thing that he wants to do is make his location known? What if the player had to hunt down fellow rocket operatives, and buy/sell items through a black market, and to heal Pokémon? Perhaps hackers hiding from prowling police officers could serve as PCs? There is a lot that could have been done to add a more genuine rocket feel, but it is just not there.
The player does have a choice between Ekans, Meowth, and Koffing for their starters, which will impact how easy early in the game is. One shouldn't have a lot of trouble with beating this game after initially getting a few Pokémon, but getting some worthwhile Pokémon right away may be complicated, especially if the player chose Meowth. Meowth isn't a terrible Pokémon, but this Pokémon has a lot of trouble in the first real area to traverse that doesn't have Dodou (yes that is apparently very common contrary to being somewhat rare in the source material). To make matters worse, levels are proportionally higher compared to the equivalent progress in say blue or red (at the equal point in time, the player would be traversing the forest with level 3-5 insects primarily, but here its level 10+ geodudes).
In conclusion, the simplest way to describe this game is that it is adequate, but comes off as lazy. Let there be no doubt that a lot of effort did come in, but the game gives off an aura of being incomplete. The various departments are solid, but they are not refined to the point of being ready for release, and a lot of the stability comes from the source material to begin with. This isn't a terrible game by any means, and fans of the series definitely should look at it, but do not expect the most fulfilling game. A lot of potential, but not quite there yet.
Graphics 6 Sound 10 Addictive 5 Story 4 Depth 7 Difficulty 4
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 09-10-11
Review Replies: 3
9.5
Loved it! Sapple
Overall:
I enjoyed this game. I don't usually play Pokémon's games but as soon as I saw you play as team rocket well.. I think that changed my mind alot.
Graphics:
Well after all it is a Pokémon game. But the main thing I didn't like is that your character is Professor Oak when you go into a battle. I mean why would Prof Oak join team rocket. And mostly the color changing wow that gets annoying.
Sound:
Again its a Pokémon game same music, same sounds and everything else. Only the really changed is story and dialog.
Story:
I like the fact that they changed it from being the good guy to the bad guy, I always wanted to help team rocket badly in the other few Pokémon games I've played. I also like the way Jessie/You're sister, Is your rival instead of your partner I also like the way the start is changed its a little similar with normal games but people are a little afraid of you when they find out your in team rocket.
Depth:
Well the only thing that really changed on this game is some dialog and the starter monsters. You have to do alot of things though and it takes a while to beat.
Difficulty:
Its a easy game to beat but some duels with gym leaders may be a little hard with the current Pokémon you have other than that its pretty much easy if you know what to do and how to play.
Tips:
Choose Ekens as your first Pokémon since it has wrap and that's a pretty strong move
Have fun!
Graphics 7 Sound 10 Addictive 9 Story 7 Depth 4 Difficulty 4
Review Rating: 4.6/5
Submitted: 10-26-12
Review Replies: 0
8.5
An Awaited Title wideblock
I've always wanted to play a Pokemon game where I could play as Team Rocket. (Or any villain for that manner) The game starts out simple where you choose your 3 starters, which have been changed. Even though I consider the starters weak they fit the story fine. The map has been drastically changed which is a great touch.The story truly is just a slightly changed version of all normal Pokemon games, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Although, personally I wished there was a little more villainous actions. (Honestly no one seems to notice your even in Team Rocket) The music is catchy but there is no changes to them, yet I still have to give them a 10. Depths of all Pokemon games are amazing and this is a good example.(I've always loved exploring the new worlds and finding secrets) Sadly this has less exploration then others, but nevertheless it's still entertaining. As for the difficulty it's very hard. Mostly because the levels of all Pokemon, trainers and the wild seem at least 8 levels above you own. Forcing you to grind levels or get a type advantage for everything. Although most people may think this tedious, I see it as a long, yet fun experience. So as I finish up this review I must say it's a great game, not perfect by any means but deserves more then it's credited for.
Graphics 7 Sound 10 Addictive 9 Story 8 Depth 8 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 4.5/5
Submitted: 01-22-12
Review Replies: 0
4.6
Pokemon - Team Rocket Edition! - A Leggy Review legacyme3
I haven't done a review in a very long time... so bear with me for the next several paragraphs.
When I was bored one day in late November, I started looking for games to play to write reviews, since I hit a bit of a minor bump in posting. I figured writing a review would get the juices flowing. I then simply decided to review all the games I own in the RGR. The first on the list just happened to be Pokemon: Team Rocket Edition.
You start the game as usual... you get an edited version of the beginning speech, and the creator obviously spent most of his time on that and other dialogue changes. We'll see if that ruined the game more than it helped it.
Graphics - 6
There isn't a whole lot to say when it comes to pokemon graphics. Either it looks like pokemon or it doesn't. I more or less judge pokemon hacks graphics scores on the number of graphic glitches like the one shown below.
I wasn't stuck, so I was able to get out. But I encountered several minor glitches like this that drop the score down to as low as a 4. I wasn't even actively looking for glitches. I was just running around minding my own business when I accidentally slipped onto that tile.
Another complaint graphics wise were the sprites in battle.
I've played a lot of pokemon hacks, and I know it's possible to hack in custom trainer images. So why did he not go the full 9 yards? Instead of Jessie vs. James (which is by the way the focus of the game), I get treated to a camping girl against Professor Oak. That kind of hurt it for me.
Sound - 7
As always, the traditional music is in this game. There's not much one can say about sound either, as all pokemon hacks are inherently the same in terms of sound. I heard very few sound glitches, and all of them were probably from me pressing space bar as often as I did. (If you can't tell by now, I didn't really enjoy the hack all that much. I held spacebar through all the battles to get out of the game as quick as possible.
Addictiveness - 3
This is a rare score from me. I love pokemon games, I love pokemon hacks. I love pokemon. As such, I expect to spend a fair amount of time playing the game. I didn't get that same feeling out of this game. The creator forced a lot of stupid stuff on us. Examples include the lack of thought made when placing pokemon at certain points (one area is all fire pokemon. One is all water pokemon. One is all grass pokemon. One is all Bird pokemon... how creative). Another minor complaint was the amount of leveling one has to do to fight the pokemon in the next area unless you have a major type advantage. Often times, I'll go to the next area and find the pokemon are like 8 or 10 levels stronger than they should be.
Another complaint is that the first gym you fight is a water gym. That is, unless you KNEW you could go to the next city and fight an easier gym. But the majority of people are going to see the gym (located at the end of town... you literally cannot miss it.) and think they have a chance.
Above was the first team of 6 I assembled. Obviously I toughened them all up before I took on the gym... but this was literally the best party I could make in the surrounding area.
I am the rare sort that kept fighting the leader until I beat her despite the type disadvantage. It will kill the game for many people.
Story - 6
This is the one thing that kills me. I wanted to give this an 8. I really did. The people have different dialogue, there are newish characters, new roles, it's a different experience.
Here's the problem. It's not a good experience. The characters, dialogue, and creative thought with the characters in general is good...
Take a look at this.
- Good
- Bad
- Ugly
The map is the absolute worst thing I've ever seen. It's rarely clear exactly where you are supposed to go next. Without the spacebar, I'd have spent so much time looking everywhere. This is a horrible design flaw. Absolutely horrible. I like that the creator took the time to make a new map, and they even made a design for it. I don't like that the map is a mess, and there's little indication of where to go.
And I'm a 19 year old man. Imagine a 6 year old or an 8 year old playing this and asking their big brothers for help. And the big brother is confused.
Just bad.
Depth - 6
It's sad when this is really the only thing I can say that's unique about this hack is a lame looking version of a pokemon that already existed.
It's even sadder when they feel the need to do it for the other fossil pokemon.
I guess you could say it's not all bad though... I mean, check out my "awesome" party
That is my party after 7 of 8 gyms. I no longer have the desire to finish this game, as I'm pretty confident it will be more of the same. This is bad. When I of all people don't want to finish a pokemon game, what does it say about the product? It's lazy, unfinished, unrefined, and in need of a major overhaul.
Difficulty - 3
Pokemon will never be hard. No matter how hard you try. The only way this game is difficult is if you do a Nuzlocke Challenge. And if you do, expect to be playing this game long past the time it loses it's fun appeal.
Another pointer. Raising levels of pokemon doesn't make the game harder either. It just means I can now train beyond how much I normally would, since the experience levels are ALSO higher.
The hardest part of this game is probably navigating the clumsy map, which is why it gets a 3 and not a 1.
Getting 2 extra points because of a terrible map is terrible.
Overall - 4.6
This game is terrible.
I said it. This game is terrible.
There's very little that's redeeming about it, and none of the redeeming parts are even unique to this hack. If you want to play a good Team Rocket hack, play Toxic Purple or something. It may be unfinished, but at least it's fun.
Let's recap the 3 best and worst parts of this game.
Best
1. My Party
2. Dialogue
3. I'll get back to you on this one.
Worst
1. Map
2. Clumsy Story Telling
3. Everything else.
If there's anything I failed to point out, please comment below.
I don't reccommend this game though. At all.
-Leggy
Graphics 4 Sound 7 Addictive 3 Story 6 Depth 6 Difficulty 3
Review Rating: 4.2/5
Submitted: 01-01-12
Updated: 01-03-12
Review Replies: 3
10
Cool AuroraNebula
Who hasn't wanted a Pokémon game where you play as Team Rocked before? Well, this is it. I like this so far, but I have to admit; the starter Pokémon aren't too good, I picked Meowth and he's okay but there could have been better starters. Another thing is some of the Pokémon that can be caught in the beginning take forever to learn new moves because they were meant to be obtained later. To fix this issue, the hacker could've hacked the movesets for these Pokémon so they're not stuck with one move until level 20 and etc. Like for example, have Growlithe learn Ember at level 10 instead of 18. Mine was stuck with just Bite and Roar for a while. This game also requires a lot of level grinding or else it'll be very hard, but I don't mind because I actually enjoy doing that unlike most people. Overall, pretty good hack. I like it.
Graphics 6 Sound 8 Addictive 9 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 2.8/5
Submitted: 08-24-11
Review Replies: 1
5
has potential gamercody
Okay let me start off by saying my review may be harsh. I read reviews and checked it out before trying it. Your starters are Ekans, Meowth, and Koffing. You are presumably Jessie and James competing to run team rocket. In the first section Dodu everywhere. Standard quest bringing a package back to Giovanni then you get your pokedex and really start your quest. The first real area came with some interesting Pokémon. I encountered a Ponyta, captured, and a Magmar on my way out. Time to test out the Ponyta, I enter another battle and that is where bugs made the game unplayable. Trying to switch to my Ponyta caused problems, telling me I was trying to send out my Koffing instead. Clicking Koffing sent Ponyta out, I tried to use ember and clicking only made a sound effect. Item and Fight both led me to my attacks menu. The same for Pokémon and Run taking me to the Pokémon menu. Not being able to use my other Pokémon I just gave up playing the game. Will maybe try it again after an update
Graphics 7 Sound 8 Addictive 4 Story 4 Depth 3 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 2.7/5
Submitted: 05-14-13
Review Replies: 2
9.4
Pokemon TRE ddub117
It seemed to be a pretty entertaining game. Though you wish you could steal someone's Pokémon the amount of fire Pokémon you can catch at the beginning of the game as well as Charmander is awesome! Maybe add in some stealing and add in goals that you can achieve like steal so many Pokémon and see Giovanni for a special goal and get something like money or even rare Pokémon.
Graphics 9 Sound 7 Addictive 8 Story 7 Depth 6 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 2.3/5
Submitted: 06-10-11
Review Replies: 0
8.5
Pokemon Team Rocket Edition Review. Blue
This game is a lot of fun, the story is interesting, you get a nice dose of nostalgia and when the "bill" clone gave me the WEAPON, I was pretty surprised.
However, this game could have used a bit of polishing. In both Blue and Red versions many of the pokemon that appear at the beginning of the game in TR edition, appeared later on. Because of this, It takes a long to before certain pokemon learn new moves. The game also doesn't supply a sufficient amount of experience for wild pokemon, making leveling up difficult. Not to mention how high the levels of other trainers pokemon are and the fact that pokemon don't evolve when they are supposed to. It just means that you will be walking around aimlessly in grassy areas for a good portion of your journey.
That aside, it was nice to see the original starter pokemon in the wild. Along with many pokemon only obtainable through trades. This is a big bonus for me because I was never able to trade with friends. I keep coming back to play this game despite a few problems. It's really growing on me.
Here is a tip. Use ekans for a starter. Because it has wrap to start with, as long as the attack doesn't miss, (85 % accuracy) You can make it through many battles without receiving damage.
Graphics 5 Sound 7 Addictive 10 Story 9 Depth 10 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 2/5
Submitted: 05-20-10
Updated: 04-20-11
Review Replies: 0
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-2-full.png "Pokemon Pink (red hack)")
