Pikachu, I choose you. I remember the good old days when Pokemon was everything we kids could think and talk about. Regularly watching the episodes, exchanging the playing cards, and a lot more. Well, times may have changed, but our love for Pokemon remains unchanged and we’d give anything Pokemon-related a try – at least once.
Talking about the gameplay, it’s really simple. I mean, it is as simple as it gets. It’s so simple that even 3 or 4-year olds who’ve never even heard of Pokemon can enjoy the game. The only thing you need to do once you have selected ‘Adventure’ mode and chosen the location you want to look for Pokemon (for which you need Guide Feathers, which you mostly earn at the end of battles) is to tap the screen.
Yeah, I’m not even kidding. The Pokemon you select to fight will drop into the battlefield from a hot air balloon and automatically start charging towards the enemy Pokemon it’s about to attack. You simply need to tap on the screen to make it attack them. Yep, that would have to be easiest controls I’ve ever encountered in a game. You do nothing else, which means you can even complete battles with a blindfold on.
The graphics are pretty good, the interface too is simple to navigate and understand. There are no cluttered settings as well. It’s all smooth on this front. I’m going to Boss Pokemon a pass because they have intentionally been made to look angry and they outright attack at you the moment you enter their territory.
Being the first mobile installment in the series, Pokemon Rumble Rush is a pretty good attempt at trying to give more Pokemon fans access to a popular game format. It’s an adorable and entertaining mobile game, which sees you tapping hours on end to defeat Pokemon (cute ones at), exploring new islands on the huge Pikachu-shaped map, and trying to boost the Pokemon in your arsenal to defeat the Super Bosses you encounter.
While this sounds fun, Pokemon Rumble Rush loses its charm pretty fast and someone who’s not a huge Pokemon fan will lose interest in the game sooner than later. It’s the minimal involvement of the user that made it feel lacking for me, but kids will certainly adore it. You can play it to kill some free time, that’s all.
