Pokemon Trading Card (Game Boy Color)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.6 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Peter Bartholow
• Reviewed on: 04/10/2000
• Updated on: 04/28/2000
• Released on: 03/31/2000
• Originally published on GameSpot: Pokemon Trading Card (Game Boy Color) Review

A great deal of Pokemon's popularity came from Wizards of the Coast's collectible card game, so it's really no surprise that Nintendo would adapt the game to the Game Boy. Pokemon Trading Card has many of the qualities of the original games, and it proves addictive and fun, if somewhat less satisfying than the original Game Boy excursions.

If you've played the Game Boy Pokemon games, this is all going to sound a mite familiar - your character hopes to claim the legendary cards from the eight card-club masters and become a Pokemon card master. While you won't find cards lurking in bushes waiting to strike, you will visit the eight card clubs and challenge a variety of card players in hopes of engaging their leader. In defeating a club leader, you'll, of course, be awarded with a badge.

For those familiar with the more tangible incarnation of the card game, Pokemon Trading Card will be familiar territory. Fortunately, for those of us who aren't, Pokemon Trading Card provides a detailed tutorial explaining the game's core concepts and a choice of one of three starter decks. As with the real card game, you set up your bench Pokemon, attach energy cards of various colors to attacking Pokemon, evolve Pokemon, and so on. While hard-core card players will likely want to meticulously create their own decks, the game provides a mechanism for quickly creating decks with emphasis on different types - provided the player has all of the necessary cards of course. Each badge has the deck of its club leader encoded within, letting you quickly prepare for upcoming battles at the different clubs. This is a good thing, as determining a good balance of Pokemon and energy cards is very feel-oriented, and it will take a little while for neophytes to get a handle on it.

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