Pokémon Conquest Nintendo DS Nintendo Review

There have been many spin-offs from the immensely popular Pokémon series over the years, from racing titles to pinball, to dungeon crawlers and puzzle efforts. However, this is the first Wartime Strategy effort, and going off the quality of the final product, hopefully it is the first of many. An old tale tells of how anyone who manages to unify the Ransei Region's 17 kingdoms will have the privilege of coming in contact with the creator of the land, Legendary Pokémon Arceus. Due to this, the serene setting has been demolished as warriors and Warlords all battle amongst themselves for the honour. In comes the player, either of the male or female orientation dependent upon preference, stepping into the shoes of 'Warlord of Aurora' and immediately the first battle commences.

Anyone familiar with the Strategy RPG genre will feel right at home here, as players are thrust onto a grid-based playing field with enemies over on one side and the hero(ine)'s team on the other. Each team takes its turn to move all the individual Pokémon around, dodging around obstacles, grabbing special item chests, and eventually moving within range of an enemy to start inflicting damage, using the advantages of terrain where possible (higher ground providing more defence and a better attack position, for example). Whilst the traditional Pokémon fighting mechanic has been dropped in favour of the brief animation of a character swiping at another or unleashing special moves (separate Fire Emblem action sequences are sorely missing), the 'Gotta Catch'Em All' series' rule of 'Fire is stronger than Grass, Water overpowers Fire, Grass beats Water (and so on)' still applies. This means extra care must be taken when choosing what Pokémon and Warlord companions to bring along to specific encounters. Thinking that waltzing into battle with just any old combination will work is the sort of mindset that results in swift losses.