Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
Encyclopedia
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, released in Japan as , is the second console role-playing game from Nintendo
's Pokémon
franchise for the Nintendo GameCube
. It is the successor of the GameCube game Pokémon Colosseum
. The game takes place in Orre, the setting of Pokémon Colosseums adventure mode. All of the Game Boy Advance
Pokémon games can connect to this game through trading and Battle Mode.
, wild Pokémon had not been available due to the barren nature of the Orre region.
Other notable changes from Colosseum are:
with the introduction of The Hero, (default named Michael) the main protagonist. Michael first meets Professor Krane, his mother's boss, who introduces the concept of Shadow Pokémon, which are Pokémon whose hearts have been artificially closed. The criminal syndicate Cipher is creating and distributing them for their evil purposes. Krane also introduces the Snag Machine, which is used to capture Shadow Pokémon to purify. Krane entrusts Michael with the Snag Machine to capture these Shadow Pokémon and is given the Aura Reader (the eye piece) to identify them from normal Pokémon.
Shortly after this, Krane is kidnapped by Cipher agents. Michael goes after the Cipher Agents to rescue Krane, and soon is lead on many adventures throughout Orre. He must defeat the Cipher Peons and Admins and rescue the shadow Pokémon to save Orre from the evil Cipher. At the end of the game, he must get to Citadark Isle and battle the main villain: Master Greevil, who, in the beginning of the game, was thinly disguised as an old rich man named Mr. Verich. After Michael defeats Greevil
and snags his shadow Pokémon, he must purify all of them, including the (seemingly) impossible to purify Shadow Lugia. After all of the Pokémon are purified, Michael returns home and puts down his snag machine, but he stores it safely in his room to be used if it is ever needed again.
executive Reggie Fils-Aimé said that Pokémon XD would be a new GameCube game, but not a sequel to Colosseum. He said that the gameplay would be more similar to the Game Boy Advance
RPGs Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
.
Japanese gaming magazines Famitsu
and CoroCoro Comic
later gave screenshots and information that revealed that the game would have 3D graphics
similar to those of its predecessor, Pokémon Colosseum. It was also revealed that the game would continue the inclusion of Shadow Pokémon and snagging from Colosseum. Nothing of the plot was revealed, other than the fact that a black Shadow Lugia
was said to play a large part in the story. It was also revealed that the player starts with an Eevee
, and that the levels progress more closely to the main handheld series. The Eevee that you are given by default can evolve into any of five Pokémon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Umbreon, or Espeon. Towards the start of the game when the player must enter the parts shop, there is a man who will give you any of the five evolution-inducers: Sun Shard, Moon Shard, Water Stone, Fire Stone, or Thunder Stone.
Nintendo released two demos to promote the game. In the demo released to retail stores, the player goes through two battles where the player can snag three Shadow Pokémon. The second demo was playable on the "Pokémon Rocks America" tour.
This game features two Sinnoh related Pokémon species from the Diamond and Pearl generation introduced in Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys
, both of which evolve into previous species. They are Munchlax, which evolves into Snorlax
, and Bonsly, which evolves into Sudowoodo
. However, they cannot be obtained in the Advanced series titles, because they lack the Sinnoh Pokédex, although the player can temporarily use Bonsly during one minigame.
The game was commonly criticized for having a large amount of recycled material from Pokémon Colosseum, which included a number of reused areas, almost recycled graphics, and a modified engine from Colosseum. GameSpot commented that "not much has changed since the original". Another common complaint were the Poké Spot areas, regarded as very limited and small compared to Ruby and Sapphire. While discussing the mixed quality of the Pokémon console games, Retronauts podcaster Kat Bailey mentioned it as an example.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
. It is the successor of the GameCube game Pokémon Colosseum
Pokémon Colosseum
is a role-playing video game developed by Genius Sonority and published by Nintendo as part of the Pokémon series. It was released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube on November 21, 2003 in Japan; March 22, 2004 in North America; and May 14, 2004 in Europe...
. The game takes place in Orre, the setting of Pokémon Colosseums adventure mode. All of the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
Pokémon games can connect to this game through trading and Battle Mode.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay is the same as the first game, players travel various areas and talk to NPCs. However, unlike most Pokémon games the player's primary method of acquiring new Pokémon is by using the "Snag Machine" to capture evil "Shadow Pokémon". Shadow Pokémon appear in most battles. When a Shadow Pokémon appears, the player is alerted and a dark purple aura will resonate from the Pokémon. A new element in this game are the "Poké Spots", which are special locations where players can place Pokémon food in an attempt to lure out wild Pokémon. In the previous game, Pokémon ColosseumPokémon Colosseum
is a role-playing video game developed by Genius Sonority and published by Nintendo as part of the Pokémon series. It was released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube on November 21, 2003 in Japan; March 22, 2004 in North America; and May 14, 2004 in Europe...
, wild Pokémon had not been available due to the barren nature of the Orre region.
Other notable changes from Colosseum are:
- Saving is now on-demand, like most Pokémon games, rather than at a PC, as in Colosseum
- The protagonist is no longer a veteran, and must go through the usual tutorials of most Pokémon games
- Pokémon start on level 5 rather than level 20. They are also purified much more quickly
- The "gifted partner" in Colosseum has been replaced with the Aura Reader, which activates automatically
- The difference between breaking news and a repeat broadcast is made more apparent
- The purification shrine is accessed much earlier in the game than in Colosseum
- Calling a Pokémon that's not in "reverse mode" (changed from "hyper mode") will increase accuracy (it had no effect in Colosseum)
- Shadow Pokémon now have "Shadow Moves" instead of just the single attack Shadow Rush
- The protagonist uses a scooter instead of a motorcycle
- The starter Pokémon is now Eevee instead of Espeon and Umbreon (although it can evolve into either later in the game)
- Most of the recycled locations have been redesigned
- The P*DA announces when a Pokémon is ready to be purified
Story
The story begins five years after the events of Pokémon ColosseumPokémon Colosseum
is a role-playing video game developed by Genius Sonority and published by Nintendo as part of the Pokémon series. It was released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube on November 21, 2003 in Japan; March 22, 2004 in North America; and May 14, 2004 in Europe...
with the introduction of The Hero, (default named Michael) the main protagonist. Michael first meets Professor Krane, his mother's boss, who introduces the concept of Shadow Pokémon, which are Pokémon whose hearts have been artificially closed. The criminal syndicate Cipher is creating and distributing them for their evil purposes. Krane also introduces the Snag Machine, which is used to capture Shadow Pokémon to purify. Krane entrusts Michael with the Snag Machine to capture these Shadow Pokémon and is given the Aura Reader (the eye piece) to identify them from normal Pokémon.
Shortly after this, Krane is kidnapped by Cipher agents. Michael goes after the Cipher Agents to rescue Krane, and soon is lead on many adventures throughout Orre. He must defeat the Cipher Peons and Admins and rescue the shadow Pokémon to save Orre from the evil Cipher. At the end of the game, he must get to Citadark Isle and battle the main villain: Master Greevil, who, in the beginning of the game, was thinly disguised as an old rich man named Mr. Verich. After Michael defeats Greevil
and snags his shadow Pokémon, he must purify all of them, including the (seemingly) impossible to purify Shadow Lugia. After all of the Pokémon are purified, Michael returns home and puts down his snag machine, but he stores it safely in his room to be used if it is ever needed again.
Development and marketing
In March 2005, Nintendo of AmericaNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
executive Reggie Fils-Aimé said that Pokémon XD would be a new GameCube game, but not a sequel to Colosseum. He said that the gameplay would be more similar to the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
RPGs Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
are the third installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing games, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The games were first released in Japan in late 2002 and later released to the rest of the world in 2003 . Pokémon Emerald, a special edition version,...
.
Japanese gaming magazines Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
and CoroCoro Comic
CoroCoro Comic
is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan, starting on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen manga...
later gave screenshots and information that revealed that the game would have 3D graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
similar to those of its predecessor, Pokémon Colosseum. It was also revealed that the game would continue the inclusion of Shadow Pokémon and snagging from Colosseum. Nothing of the plot was revealed, other than the fact that a black Shadow Lugia
Lugia
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Lugia first appeared as a central character in the film Pokémon: The Movie 2000, and later serves as the version mascot of the video game Pokémon Silver and its remake, Pokémon SoulSilver, appearing on the...
was said to play a large part in the story. It was also revealed that the player starts with an Eevee
Eevee
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Eevee first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels...
, and that the levels progress more closely to the main handheld series. The Eevee that you are given by default can evolve into any of five Pokémon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Umbreon, or Espeon. Towards the start of the game when the player must enter the parts shop, there is a man who will give you any of the five evolution-inducers: Sun Shard, Moon Shard, Water Stone, Fire Stone, or Thunder Stone.
Nintendo released two demos to promote the game. In the demo released to retail stores, the player goes through two battles where the player can snag three Shadow Pokémon. The second demo was playable on the "Pokémon Rocks America" tour.
This game features two Sinnoh related Pokémon species from the Diamond and Pearl generation introduced in Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys, originally released in Japan as is the seventh film in the Pokémon series, complementing the seventh season . It is the second film released under Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation in Japan. The original Japanese version was released in theaters on July 17, 2004...
, both of which evolve into previous species. They are Munchlax, which evolves into Snorlax
Snorlax
Snorlax, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Snorlax first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed...
, and Bonsly, which evolves into Sudowoodo
Sudowoodo
Sudowoodo, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Sudowoodo first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed...
. However, they cannot be obtained in the Advanced series titles, because they lack the Sinnoh Pokédex, although the player can temporarily use Bonsly during one minigame.
Reception
Pokémon XD received mixed reviews, usually scoring 6—7 out of 10 (8.6 out of 10 was its highest score), mostly positive.The game was commonly criticized for having a large amount of recycled material from Pokémon Colosseum, which included a number of reused areas, almost recycled graphics, and a modified engine from Colosseum. GameSpot commented that "not much has changed since the original". Another common complaint were the Poké Spot areas, regarded as very limited and small compared to Ruby and Sapphire. While discussing the mixed quality of the Pokémon console games, Retronauts podcaster Kat Bailey mentioned it as an example.