Pokémon Stadium

About Pokémon Stadium

Pokémon Stadium (1999) is Nintendo's 3D turn-based battle game for all 151 original Pokémon, which used the Transfer Pak to bring players' own teams in from Red, Blue and Yellow.

Pokémon Stadium in Depth

Built around 3D turn-based battles using the 151 Pokémon of the Game Boy's Red, Blue and Yellow, it has no story. Players pick a party of six, using either Pokémon uploaded from the Game Boy games through the bundled Transfer Pak or rental Pokémon with set movesets, and choose three for each battle. The Pokémon are shown in 3D with their own battle animations, and an announcer comments on the action.

The Stadium consists of four Cups, tournaments of three-on-three battles against set line-ups, eighty battles in all, each with its own rules and restrictions. Gym Leader Castle pits the player against the eight Kanto Gym Leaders, the Elite Four and the Champion. Minigames add variety, and the Transfer Pak also lets players view, organise, store, trade and battle with their Game Boy Pokémon. Critics praised its visuals and its connectivity with the Game Boy games, GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann calling the latter its "main hook", but criticised its audio and repetitive play.

Making Pokémon Stadium

Nintendo EAD developed it and Nintendo published it for the Nintendo 64 in Japan in 1999 and in Australia, Europe and North America in 2000. It became one of the best-selling N64 games, scoring 78.60 per cent on GameRankings, and was followed by Pokémon Stadium 2 in 2000. IGN, like GameSpot, considered the Game Boy connectivity a highlight, while the game's audio quality and repetitive battles drew criticism.