Pokemon Conquest DSi and DS Lite

Pokemon Conquest Product Details

Released on 27-Jul-2012

• Pokemon Conquest finally gets UK release date

  The weird and wonderful genre-hopping Pokemon Conquest will reach the UK on July 27th, Nintendo has confirmed. The game has already been launched in Japan and the US.

  The Nintendo DS game, developed by Dynasty Warriors studio Tecmo Koei, mashes up the cute and cuddly world of Pokemon with the historical action of cult strategy title Nobunaga's Ambition, which is set in feudal Japan. It's as much turn-based strategy as role-playing adventure, and earned a hearty thumbs up from the likes of IGN and Nintendo Power earlier this month.

  As a young warlord, setting out to defy the evil Nobunaga, you'll fight through seventeen kingdoms, defeating rival armies and building your own forces. You'll do this by recruiting and training Pokemon, over 200 of the blighters to be exact, drawn from classic Pokemon titles including the recent Black and White.

  Pokemon Conquest is just one of many new Pokemon products headed our way in 2012. Autumn sees the release of million-selling sequel Black and White 2, while the 3DS will gain new Pokemon-related apps later this year as well. There's even something called Pokemon Typing coming in September. But will it be super-effective?
  

• Pokemon Conquest - Review

  
  

  

  Gotta Conquer 'Em All!

  Pokémon: you think you've caught them all, right? You think you know those cute little critters inside out, and you may also suspect that while they're as fun and as colourful as ever, they've lost the ability to really surprise you?

  Prepare to be shocked, then. Pokémon Conquest is here, and it rewrites the rules behind Pokémon brilliantly. All your favourite monsters are included, of course, but this is a bold and inventive off-shoot that really brings new life to the series. Are you ready to take your Meowths and Tepigs into battle? Have you got what it takes to unite the 17 kingdoms of Ransei? Right! Let's get going, then!

  It's super effective!

  Pokémon Conquest blends Nintendo's brilliant collect-'em-up franchise with the Nobunaga's Ambition series of strategy RPGs. (Don't worry if you've never heard of them, by the way - neither had we, and it didn't ruin our fun in the slightest.)

  

  Nobunaga's Ambition is a deep, tactical experience about Japanese warlords fighting for control of territory. Pokémon Conquest takes all that, and throws in handfuls of colourful pocket monsters. You hunt around your kingdom for Pokémon to collect, and then you throw them into battle to win over new lands and new cities. Each territory you gain gives you more Pokémon to hunt for and collect, and eventually you're in charge of a veritable army. And not before time, too. There's a rival general on the move, and he's not as sweet-natured as you are. Time to save the day!

  Battles play out on 3D grids. They're turn-based, but they're pretty hectic with it. Every Pokémon you wield has a standard attack that they can use against the enemy, but their warrior trainer can throw in an additional skill, and they can also rely on items and power-ups. The fighting's great fun, and the environments add a real twist to proceedings. If you're going to be victorious, you'll need to be a master of the land as well as your monsters: make sure you take on your foes from higher ground, for example, and don't allow stragglers to get separated!

  Each battlefield also comes with its own gimmicks, whether it's an electrical landscape prone to dangerous thunderstorms, or a sandy wilderness where you can find yourself caught in traps. The AI's smart, and battles move along at a real speed, too. You'll be surprised how exciting this more strategic spin on standard Pokémon brawling can be. We've been hooked for weeks.

  

  Happy Evee After!

  It helps, of course, that the presentation is amazing. The landscapes are gorgeous bursts of watercolour elegance, the character designs are sharp and stylish, and the Pokémon move and attack with real character. When you're not fighting your rivals, there's plenty of stuff to be done in your kingdom, too, as you shore up defences, train your troops, hunt for new monsters, and load up on gold.

  The campaign should last you twenty or so hours, but that's only the beginning. After that you can expect numerous side-quest scenarios to work through, most of which will provide an entirely new level of challenge. You can also take on your friends using the local wi-fi battling option. Be sure to train up your team first, though, as things are likely to get competitive.

  And of course there are Pokémon everywhere you look, with 200 series favourites to locate and train throughout the game. Choosing who to take into battle can often be a trickier process than the ensuing fight itself, and if you're a fan of Nintendo's franchise, you're going to see a lot of familiar faces.

  Pokémon Conquest isn't just a great Pokémon spin-off, then: it shows that there's still plenty of life in the little critters, while serving as an ideal introduction to the brilliant world of strategy RPGs. If you like this, you're going to love other Nintendo classics like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem - they're deep and colourful and worryingly addictive.

  In fact, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

  Our Verdict: 9.0

  What's Good?

  • Great art style!
  • Great battles!
  • Brilliant multiplayer!

  What's Bad?

  • We want more Pokémon!
  • We could do with a 3DS version!
  • We didn't want it to end!

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