The past, present, and future. These are the three parameters of the loosely based concept of time in which humans have devised in order to try and explain the movements of the heavens above them, and to explain what is the great cycle of life. The past, present, and future are intertwined in a manner that one can not exist without the other two co-existing in harmony. Humans often fail to recognize this when they make statements wishing one of these three would pass more quickly, more slowly or skip over certain spots altogether. Some people has an undying loyalty to the past, some has an unalterable opinion of the future, and some lives for the present and no other time. Some will also say that the key to the future is in the past, which Nintendo recognized as a plausible belief with the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

A large percentage of people who engage in video games as a leisure activity did not realize Nintendo was not always a video game manufacturer: they actually had their roots in card and trading card games. The Pokémon trading card game was one of Nintendo's adventures, not for innovation for a growing franchise, but for a reminder of their past, present and future. It was, and is, a popular game as an alternative to Texas hold-em or cribbage. However, in a manner to continuously unabated towards the future and beyond, this card game found its way onto the Game Boy Colour.

The objective of this game is identical to that of the card game: eliminate your opponent's bench of Pokémon or take all the prize cards (basically each prize representing a Pokémon you defeat) with your deck of 60 cards. This particular rendition of this popular game can not be properly explained in brevity through this documentation; the best place to learn the intricacies of this particular game is through the in-game tutorial which has been done excellently. The only issue that one could comment on with this tutorial is that while all the text for learning the game is not mandatory, the practice match is. This could infuriate players wishing to start a new game, as the player do not get to do anything until they can choose their deck. If there was an option to skip over this tutorial, but return to it later, then it would not be the inconvenience that it has manifested itself to be.

Before this tutorial is presented to the player, they are treated with a brief story line: the legendary Pokémon cards are looking for a new master, and the player you control wishes to inherit them. To inherit them, the player has to defeat all the club leaders (8) and rise as the
champion in the final tournament. This storyline is a largely butchered version of the classic Pokémon storyline, but it largely does work for the game. It is actually quite reasonable to expect a tournament for a card game, and for there to be clubs throughout the country / county / state / province / whatever, but the Pokémon card laboratory is a little absurd considering the context. It would have been better suited to
change the Pokémon laboratory into a sort of academy type situation, or another club that is devoted purely for strategy and getting players started. Overall though, this storyline should either provide comedic relief or be irrelevant beyond these musings as it is not integral for game play.

Before the game-play should be addressed, it should be worth noting hope the A/V department has fared. Visually, the game is largely on-par with any first generation Pokémon game which is acceptable. The Pokémon cards are distinguishable and works reasonably well, but some gamers may or may not be attracted to the blocky style the cards are represented in. Overall, however, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and whether they are a beauty or a beast, they are competent. As for audio, it is virtually non existent in two of the emulations, so if the player desires to hear the sound, play the emulator running off of the Vizzed Plug in (please note this particular statement will vary from emulation to emulation). The audio here is based off of the music in the main Pokémon games, but is ill suited for where they're applied. The battle music in particular is out of place, and does not pump the player up. The fact is since it is Game Boy Color and there have been much superior soundtracks, there is no excuse why this soundtrack lags behind of its peers. If you do not wish to hear this music, turn it off if it is enabled and play the soundtrack of Doom for SNES or 3DO and mix it with AC/DC.

Unlike other card games that is ported onto hand-held systems, the control is very straightforward in comparison. Some games takes a long time to figure out what buttons does what action, what you want to do each turn etc. But the control is decent and does not hinder game play. Outside of the games against the AI, your movement is a cross between Mario Brothers 3, and the main Pokémon games. The player travels between each of the locations (mainly clubs) using a map screen that was influenced by Mario 3 whereas the actual movement in these locations mirrored the classic Pokémon styling. Saving and whatnot works in an identical fashion to the Pokémon games, but through the emulators will require saving in-game then saving through the emulator (2 of each is recommended to ensure it saves properly). Building the deck may be somewhat awkward initially through the emulator, but it is one of those quirks that the player grows accustomed to. The fact that the player is able to own up to 5 decks simultaneously, depending on the 

Challenging other players has been positively altered somewhat from the main series of Pokémon games. In both of these series you could challenge other players by talking to them, but this time around players will not automatically challenge you if you walk in their paths. As well, you are given an option if you wish to challenge a character which is immensely helpful should you press the wrong button and challenge them by accident. What is the single greatest improvement, however, is the ability to challenge each AI gamer repeatedly and as frequently as the player sees fit which can help boost replay value. The battle system works well except for a single flaw that could effectively bring this game from a gem of the GBC library to a mere spec of dust in the barrel for some players:

The coin and card draws.

Essentially, the core issue that some players will find is the seemingly random nature that they are subjected to abide by. When you're drawing the cards you may get all the wrong cards at the wrong times, but this is a factor in virtually every card game. A certain quote that "it doesn't matter what cards you're dealt but how you play them" comes to mind, as it is applicable. As well, depending how the deck is built, you can limit the effects of a poorly timed draw. The coin flip, however, is the true master of the game here. The coin flips follows a seemingly random nature, but in reality is actually prearranged based on a certain type of coding, but not in a predictable manner. The bottom line is, however the coin flip lands controls the entire game due to a significant number of moves and actions requiring the coin's (dis)approval. It could prove quite infuriating when the player, despite having a good plan and getting the right cards, could lose the game purely because a coin flip goes the wrong way.

How hard this hits the player depends on what kind of games the player enjoys. If the player enjoys a lot of card games, or other luck oriented strategy games (which is what this particular computer generated game is), then the coin flips probably won't bother them too much. What lessens the sting in losing a game due to luck is the player isn't hurt much if at all. You're exactly where you were before with all the cards you had before being eliminated by the unreachable power of the Pikachu coin. However, when you do overcome what may appear surmounting odds, it may leave a feeling of pure satisfaction that you are the true champion.

To conclude, is this game a gem of the GBC library, or the Shaq Fu of Pokémon games? The game is rather competent in most regards, and if it provides entertainment or results in the defenestration of the cartridge depends entirely on how the player treats luck oriented games. If the player do not mind the luck factor involved, however, it could easily be a very enjoyable game, especially once you beat the game and got total control over what cards you got. This is an excellent simulator for deck designs, and a good means to practice the Pokémon Trading Card Game by yourself before wagering five dollars or a Coca Cola (Pepsi if that does not seem adequate) over pure guesswork. In the words of William Earnest Henley, "[I] am the master of my fate: [I] am the captain of my soul." These words leaves the final question, and the final decision of whether or not this game becomes a lethal weapon in the arsenal of enjoyment, an oriental blade made specifically for display, or a neglected possession thrown away in the hands of the player.

A trading card game for the gameboy color? hmm...does sound pretty interesting, I might check it out, who knows, it might be pretty fun. I'll check it out some time.

I've played this game and honestly it wasn't good. Not what you expect from a Pokemon game,

Hello

Thank you for the replies. Yeah I can see why you would not like the game, and admittedly I'm not overly fond of it, especially initially, but it could be a lot worst. This was a harder review to do objectively, but it was interesting to finally write about this game as it was one I wanted to cover for a while. 

Hello

Thank you for the replies. Yeah I can see why you would not like the game, and admittedly I'm not overly fond of it, especially initially, but it could be a lot worst. This was a harder review to do objectively, but it was interesting to finally write about this game as it was one I wanted to cover for a while.