So I know what you’re thinking. “It’s about time.” Yes, it’s about time Nintendo finally decided to make an actual adventure game in the Pokémon world. While this game has been out in Japan and even Europe for a good deal of time now, it’s finally making its way to the other territories. Which only means one thing. The inner Pokémaniacs are screaming in joy.

So, as the name implies, you play as Pokémon #025, Pikachu, in the magical land of Poképark, a huge and varied utopia for Pokémon of all shapes, types, and sizes. The original original, Mew, comes to Pikachu in a dream and tells him that the ol’ electric rat has to find the pieces of the mythical Sky Prism, and gather them together in order to save the very spirit that keeps Poképark together. After having been split apart from friends Charmander, Chikorita and Piplup, Pikachu finds himself in a small forest, and after meeting Chatot, sets out on a grand adventure to restore the Prism!

Pikachu can use a variety of moves in order to take on Mew’s task, of course. In addition to standard running and jumping, Pikachu can use a strong Dash tackle that enhances both movement speed, and allows him to attack targets. He can also unleash a mighty Thunderbolt to take down foes in battle. He can also learn the anime-popularized Iron Tail to deliver a powerful close-range attack, but this isn’t until he learns it later.

The land of Poképark is sanctioned off into five sects, all joined together by a Meeting Ground. The first of these lands is called the Meadow Zone. You will find mostly Normal and Grass type Pokémon to befriend here. The second is the Beach Zone, which houses mostly the Water type; beyond this is the Iceberg Zone, which features the Ice type. The third is the Cavern Zone which features the general cave variety (Rock/Ground/Fighting, plus Zubat and the like…also Snorlax!), which also joins with the Fire type-based Lava Zone. The fourth is the Haunted Zone, which, along with its own Haunted House, features Ghost and Dark type monsters. The last is the Granite Zone, which deals in the typically “mythical” Pokémon along with connected Flower Zone and Sky Garden, such as Dragon-types and the pseudo Legendaries such as Absol and Lucario that have featured in the movies.

Along with the restoration of the Sky Prism, Pikachu is tasked with befriending all the Pokémon in the land, allowing for peace to be restored throughout the hearts of the land’s inhabitants. This is the core aspect of the game, in that most of the Pokémon require a game to be played in order to accept your proverbial friend request. The most common games are Chase, which requires Pikachu to dash after the Pokémon and “tag” them (basically, dash into them, probably causing some level of pain) and Battle, which acts as a real-time…well, battle. There are other games that some Pokémon may require you to accomplish. Some make you simply jump from platform to platform in an Obstacle Course, some may ask you three questions in the form of a Quiz, some might ask you to be fed with Big Berries found in crates, some will play Hide and Seek and require you to find them in the surrounding area, and some might just befriend you just because. Some Pokémon may need some convincing to even let you challenge them to a test, as well. For example, the Eevee line all require you to have a certain amount of existing friends, and some of the more skeptical and stronger Pokémon may require you to have won a set amount of these games in a row in the current area.

There are other games some of the bigger and more authoritative Pokémon have you perform, and these are called Attractions. You can choose between a few Pokémon you have befriended in order to accomplish them, some more suited to the task then others. For example, the first Attraction is a simple foot race. Faster Pokémon will naturally make it easier to win (ironically, in order to cross a bridge shortly after, you have to redo the game with the quite slow Turtwig). Each Attraction charges a set amount of Berries (the game’s currency) to attempt, and each Attraction won nets you a Sky Prism piece, as well as approval to move on (and in some cases, friendship with the Pokémon) to the next task at hand. While the goal score to pass each Attraction remains constant regardless of who you pick, each Pokémon has their own “bonus” score, raised or lowered from the actual goal depending on how well they perform in the game. Hitting the bonus on your Pokémon of choice, regardless of if you hit the goal score, scores big on some berries. If you befriend all the selectable Pokémon and reach each bonus score for an Attraction, you will unlock a secret Legendary Pokémon (or just incredibly suited to the task) to play in the game. These are generally the best Pokémon to use, but of course, it’s quite a task to unlock one, let alone them all.

The Meeting Ground starts out simple, but grows overtime as you befriend Pokémon from all the zones. Misdreavus runs a photo shop that allows you to take pictures, both in first-person and in third-person, on your adventures, and even save them to your SD card. Drifblim runs a taxi-balloon service that will take you to any place in which you have already activated Drifblim points (one in each zone). Electabuzz will power up your Thunderbolt. Though they are not present until later on, Ponyta enhances Pikachu’s dashing abilities, Bibarel raises Pikachu’s health, and Primeape (somehow) teaches Pikachu the move Iron Tail, and can subsequently power it up after. Chikorita also builds a treehouse that slowly gains popularity and new Pokémon to talk to and befriend overtime.

The mini-game concept is both the biggest strength and weakness of the game, natural in that it’s by far the primary aspect. Befriending the Pokémon in these ways is both the core game and its priamry source of replay value. There is a story here, but it’s not much to write about. It’s pretty much a mini-game collection targeted for kids. Though the amount of actual mini-games is minimal, they all can become much more challenging as the game goes on, though nothing criminal. That added with the fact that there’s no real penalty for losing, as you can simply try again right after (the only true penalty is for those skeptical Pokémon that require you to win 5 of these mini-games in a row; that said, if you lose against one said more demanding foe, this doesn’t require you to go back and play 5 more games for a rematch. The game is very easy and is just as friendly to kids and inexperienced gamers as, say, Kirby’s Epic Yarn. That is to say, very friendly. There is no way to “die”; you only have to redo any failed challenges and seek out all the Pokémon for a complete Pokéde–err, friends list.

A definitive flaw, shared with the aforementioned Kirby title, is that it’s a very short quest, clocking in about 6-8 hours for an initial run, with a couple more hours added on for meeting all the Pokémon in the game (193, 300 less than the full cast [not counting the 5th generation collection, which this game doesn't include]), including the task of beating each Attraction with each applicable Pokémon and reaching the goal scores to unlock the hidden Legends. Also ailing this game is the console’s regular price tag, $50. To be honest, this game feels like a downloaded game, and just doesn’t offer too much variety and substance considering the price. It’s a fun waste of a few hours if you don’t mind the repetition, and there’s of course a certain charm for those of us that never really gave Pokémon up. So if you’re a veteran fan, this might just be the game you’ve been waiting for since your first eight badges. This game also makes a great gift for younger gamers as well, as its simplicity is sure to keep them entertained without the frustration of other games. Just remember, once you’re actually playing it, it’s going to feel like a $15 WiiWare title. Fun little game, but as a single player Mario Party-esque collection of games at heart, there’s not too much to last you any more than a 2-day rental.