There are lots of Pokemon spin-off titles, and quite a few of them have been pretty good. Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Conquest being a couple of examples of ones that I’ve had plenty of enjoyment with. Then there’s Pokemon Rumble, which had it’s start on Wii and had a sequel on 3DS. A bit more simplistic in terms of Pokemon spin-offs, where you control toy versions of Pokemon and battle it out against multiple waves of other toy Pokemon. With Pokemon Rumble U, the Rumble series makes its debut on Wii U and continues that simplistic trend, perhaps being the most simplistic version so far.

Like past Pokemon Rumble titles, you’ll assume control of a toy Pokemon. These toy Pokemon will have a power level to determine their overall strength. They will also come equipped with an attack that can be used with the press of the A button. A second attack may also be available, which is performed with the B button. The main premise of the game is to survive waves of toy Pokemon by moving around and attacking. And like typical Pokemon, certain types of attacks will be super effective on other types. There is also a special touch attack that will be available once a meter is filled, that will let out a power blast as you touch the gamepad screen. Given the simple two button setup, this is a very mash heavy game.

Levels take place on a fixed arena, with your toy Pokemon along with three others that can be controlled by friends or the AI. The stages will vary in size and the Pokemon that you’re pitted against. You’ll face off multiple waves of Pokemon, until a boss encounter at the end. Bosses are basically larger versions of toy Pokemon and will have more life and strength, along with their own group of smaller toy Pokemon to deal with.

As you do battle in each stage, you’ll come across capsules that you can pick up. This is how you earn more toy Pokemon to use. You won’t know what Pokemon is in the capsule until after the level. Also with each stage is a list of challenges. These challenges may include obtaining a certain combo amount, using a particular type of attack, and even completing the stage on a certain time of day.

The Good: There are lots of Pokemon to be found in Pokemon Rumble U. Pretty much all current generation Pokemon. Aside from the new Pokemon that have been announced for Pokemon X/Y, you’ll find every Pokemon from the first generation (Red/Blue) to the fifth generation (Black/White). That’s a lot of Pokemon to find and collect. So if you’ve got an itch to catch ’em all, you’ll have plenty to do.

Pokemon Rumble U will be the first Wii U game to make use of the NFC tech that’s found on the Wii U gamepad. Physical versions of the Pokemon toys can be bought at a Gamestop store (only 18 available so far), and you can use those figures in the game. They operate the same as other toy Pokemon, but you’ll have the ability to customize them.

It’s a cute looking game.

As you complete levels, you’ll earn money. You can then use that money to purchase upgrades for your Pokemon figures, like upgrading its power level and giving it new moves. That data will then be saved onto the figure and can be brought to another Pokemon Rumble U game with it’s stats left intact. The tech works great and having the ability to customize your own Pokemon is a neat feature to have.

With this game being on the Wii U, Pokemon Rumble U is no doubt the best the series has looked. A very colorful game that holds up very nicely with all the action going on screen in these arenas. I also found the music to be catchy and found it to fit well with the overall atmosphere of the game.

The Bad: In the previous titles, there was a bit of adventure involved and the stages had multiple areas to them. While a story is still present in Pokemon Rumble U, it’s not presented in an adventure like format that was seen in Pokemon Rumble Blast. Instead, you get some 2D images with text. There’s still a story to be found, but it’s not as presentable as it was on 3DS.

Pokemon Rumble was always fairly simple, but it’s much more simplistic on Wii U. There is some good in that, but there was also parts that were taken away. The areas don’t feel as varied as they did on 3DS, so playing through the multiple arenas on Wii U, just made the game feel much more repetitive. And with the story not as engaging, the experience can get bland pretty quick.

In previous games, you could see what Pokemon you were collecting. With Pokemon Rumble U though, you get capsules and don’t know what you’re getting. So you’ll be replaying lots of stages over and over again, hoping to get lucky and catch something new. This also applies to the physical figures you can buy. They come in capsules, and you won’t have any idea what you’re getting inside until you open it (or scan it with the gamepad). I don’t mind the blind packs that much, since it reminds me of picking up a Pokemon TCG booster pack. However, I can see the frustration of receiving multiples of the same figures, since these do cost money and you can’t really do much with two of the same figure. Unless you have a playing partner who likes that same Pokemon too or want to have two different set-ups going on.

The action can pick up really quick.

The Ugly: Even though they do enhance the game, the figures cost money. So that means in order to even have the function of upgrading and customizing your own Pokemon, you’ll have to invest more money into the game. Without it, you’ll have to just keep switching around Pokemon in order to have something strong enough to overcome the level. And all that money you’re collecting is basically useless. It is only $3.99 for one figure though, so we’re not talking a huge amount. However, I still dislike how that function couldn’t have at least been included in the game in some fashion. Perhaps not for all Pokemon, but for rare ones or something. Especially since obtaining a figure in a store wasn’t an easy task for myself, with several stores being sold out quickly.

Overall thoughts: Pokemon Rumble U takes away the adventure found in Rumble Blast and focuses more on the action. It’s simple and repetitive, but has tons of Pokemon to face off with and collect. The NFC figures add more to the game, so I highly recommend purchasing a couple figures to check it out. The game is fully playable without the figures too. Up to four players can join in on the fun, which does make the experience more enjoyable as a party game. It doesn’t take too long to get through all the stages, but there’s reasons to go back and replay levels. It’s a simple fun game, but you’ll have to have a love of Pokemon to really get the most from this game.