Pokemon Trading Card Game

The Short


Pros
- Successfully emulates both the trading card game and the regular Pokemon formula
- Lots of bosses/Gym leaders to fight, cards to unlock, and decks to make and manage
- The inclusion of RPG elements and unlocks help the game retain some replayability

Cons
- Looks kind of ugly
- If you don't like the Pokemon Card Game, you'll pretty much hate this
- No cards from Gold/Silver, despite coming out the same year
- Is basically just a bunch of boss fights you can repeat for more cards, until you get to the last boss

We are really getting in deep now

The Long

So...trading card games. Something I've always had a fascination with, but never got too deep into. Oh, I've had several decks of Magic: The Gathering cards. I also had two decks of Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and that Vs. Battle thing that had Marvel heroes or whatever in it (I've also played Killer Bunnies with all the expansions, which is nuts). For some reason these games fascinate me, but I don't get invested because it's too expensive, and eventually you'll hit that rich kid who bought all the best cards with his parents' money and then your life is over because you'll never, ever beat him (or her). 

Anyway, I'm exactly the kind of person who things like Pokemon Trading Card Game...the game appeals to. There are no boosters to buy, no rich punks to outwit, and if you hit an enemy who is too hard you can usually just keep fighting the weak guys until you unlock better cards, then get the sweet satisfaction of crushing him. All without having to spend $4-$5 on the chance you'll maybe get a rare card you need. 

This is also why I played Yu-Gi-Oh on the GBC, and am currently addicted to Magic 2012 on the Xbox 360/PS3, but I digress.

But he didn't have to buy it, and that's what matters. 

Pokemon Trading Card Game (yes, that's the title, no colon or dash or anything) is exactly what it says it is: its the Pokemon trading card game that was all the rage in the late 90s/early 2000s. If you are unfamiliar with it you might just think this game is Magic: The Gathering, but it's actually its own beast (or pocket monster, right guys? Guys?). You draw creature cards (aka Pokemon cards), energy cards (aka mana or lands for the Magic: The Gathering crowd) and abilities (like spells or traps in Yu-Gi-Oh). Unlike Magic, however, where you tap from a pool, Pokemon's emphasis is on (not surprisingly) the Pokemon themselves. Instead of assigning mana to an overal group, you attach it to your pokemon (you get a team of six, as usual). You can also evolve your pokemon or use items to swap them in and out. Pokemon battle one at a time (again, like the actual game) until you've fainted six of your enemies, and then you win. It's essentially like Magic: The Gathering light, since the items are all free (don't cost energy), and you put energy directly on the pokemon themselves. Still, like the real game there's strategy to be had here (as well as the usual weaknesses), and while it isn't the best TCG, it's certainly a competent one.

For some reason, the main character reminds me of somebody from a Dragon Quest game. 

The plot is simple: you are on Trading Card Game Island (really. That's the name of the place. I'm not making this up). Here they have multiple Clubs (not gyms!), each devoted to a specific type of pokemon. You basically go and boss-battle your way through these idiots, getting more cards and building a better and better deck. After a while you get to fight the Grand Masters (not the Elite Four! Even though there are four Grand Masters!) and then the Champion (not the Champ - wait.). And then you are free to go fight against them again with upgraded cards until you own every card in the world and are KING OF THE PLAYGROUND HA HA HA.

I WILL RULE TRADING CARD GAME ISLAND WITH AN IRON FIST

It's a pretty shallow premise, but if you think about the actual Pokemon games they don't have much depth either. What's somewhat disappointing is that all you do is battle cards. There's no exploration, no feeling like you are on a quest, nothing. And while I'm all for stripping down the crap (see my hate-filled reviews of Ruby and Diamond generations with their awful pokemon dance parties and whatnot) it seems like they went too far.

They also didn't include any cards from Gold/Silver, which is too bad. I know Gold/Silver wasn't out for another four months, but then maybe you should have waited since everybody who bought this game felt dumb because they were missing both 1. New pokemon and 2. The two new element types (dark and steel). Thanks, Nintendo.

"It's time to duel!" Wait...wrong franchise. 

So...is the game fun? Well, if you like the card game then...sort of? I think the card game is fine, except the part where I have to buy cards and find someone to play with me (especially now that I'm 26 and all old), so hey...sign me up for Pokemon Trading Card Game the game! The "sort of" comes from two key things: the graphics are fugly (look up at that! It's like a giant brown turd!) and the UI itself is weak. They couldn't have like...put cards in front of you? They just show whichever one is battling, hiding the rest of your team. I guess that works because it's more like the real Pokemon games, but if you are going to alter your UI so it shows these giant images of the Pokemon, why the crap would you use such ugly ones? And what was wrong with the pictures from the original games? Those at least looked good!

Oh look, secret plot. 

The graphics outside of battle are ok. They look decent on the Game Boy Color, but this is no Pokemon Gold/Silver. It's clear they only put the minimal amount of effort into these things. The music is also just ok, lacking any real Pokemon flare but still being ok background noise.

Fat Pikachu returns. And wtf...GNAW? Gnaw isn't a Pokemon move!

So...my final thoughts. Well...if you like the Pokemon card game, this is really your own choice for a game version. A sequel came out in Japan, but I guess we were already over it so it didn't make it over here. As it stands it's an ok game, successfully emulating the card game, and the progression system is nice. But on the flip side it's ugly, simple, and not particularly enthralling if you don't like card games.

So it really boils down to this question: Do you like trading card games? And specifically, do you like the Pokemon card game? If so, pack your bags for Trading Card Game Island, because we've got a vacation for you. If not, don't bother.

I think the Pokemon card game is alright (though I haven't played it in probably a decade), and I like Pokemon a lot anyway, so we'll give this a two out of five for me. As a representation of a card game it's ok, but it could (and should) have been way better. If you like Magic but are on the fence, feel free to knock a star off. If you hate Pokemon, card games, or both, just take all the stars away and toss them aside. This isn't for you. 

Trading Card Game Island...good grief. And I thought some of the pokemon's names were dumb.