First Impressions: PokePark 2

After surprisingly enjoying the obviously child-targeted PokePark Wii, I decided to get the sequel and see how it holds up. So far, it's doing alright.


Both PokePark games are infuriatingly cute. This is not the kind of game that is targeted to kids and adults, or one that's targeted to a younger audience but adults can still get it. This is a kid's game through and through. It takes an immense love for the Pokemon universe and characters to enjoy this game at my age. I guess I meet the criteria.

The overall premise of the game is to explore a region called the PokePark, befriending the Pokemon who live there, while attempting to solve an overarching mystery plot. The plot is nothing to get too excited about, but it's not the reason I play the game, so I won't talk about that in my review.

I like befriending Pokemon. It's the primary reason I played the first game. One of my complaints with the first game is that there is only a small number of ways you can go about befriending a Pokemon. Most of the time, you either have to chase the Pokemon, defeat it in battle, find it, or solve a quiz. With hundreds of Pokemon, this can get quite stale. PokePark 2 has expanded on this somewhat by offering new ways to befriend Pokemon, such as carrying/escorting them to a destination, giving them a certain item, or reaching a checkpoint. Overall it leads to a much more interesting experience.

During normal gameplay in the first game, you can only control Pikachu. Pikachu is fine, I like Pikachu, but is anyone else getting tired of it? PokePark 2 introduces Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott as additional playable characters that you can switch between. Each are capable of battling, and type effectiveness plays a role. You can also choose to upgrade the characters individually, improving their HP, speed, and each of three different modes of attack.

I found battling to be one of the most entertaining aspects of PokePark. It's real-time, you can dodge the enemy attack and execute your own. I wish they would take this concept, expand upon it, and make a full-fledged real-time action Pokemon game. Despite controlling exclusively Pikachu, I found battling to be quite thrilling, especially against some of the tougher opponents. (Ground types like Garchomp and Mamoswine are particular challenges). PokePark 2 delivers similar battle gameplay, naturally expanded to include the aforementioned Unova starters. So far, it's not that challenging yet, but I'm still early on. They also added the ability to summon your friends when your health gets low. A random Pokemon friend from the area you're in will come to your aid and execute an attack. Unfortunately, you cannot control them directly.

The other thing I really liked about PokePark was the attractions, of which there were 14. They are minigames that range from target shooting to racing to pinball, and you were allowed to choose from many possible Pokemon among the ones you had befriended. Unfortunately, the attractions have been scaled back considerably in PokePark 2. Again, I'm still early in the game, but logic dictates that there are 4 attractions, which is a big disappointment. They did add multiplayer to these attractions so you can play with friends, but the lack of variety is saddening.

I would still recommend this game to someone who enjoyed the first. If you've played neither, they're both about the same, so this recommendation goes for both. If you would play/buy anything that has the Pokemon branding just because it's Pokemon, then this is worth your time. It's very shallow and silly, but still fun, in a "connect with your inner child" sort of way.