It might come as a disappointment for fans of Pokémon to know that the series' first game on the 3DS doesn't feature any real Pokémon in it. If you were hoping for a title more in line with recent entries like Pokémon Black and White, then I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while more.

So while you wait, longing to witness true Pokémon goodness in three tantalizing dimensions, will Pokémon Rumble Blast be enough to tide you over? Will fighting with wind-up Poké-toys be enough to keep you from remembering the pain of waiting? It depends.

Allow me to elaborate. Pokémon Rumble Blast is the sequel to the 2009 WiiWare title Pokémon Rumble. In that title, you played as wind-up toy Pokémon as you journeyed through dungeons and arenas whilst fighting other Poké-toys. Rumble Blast does the same thing, albeit with a few new additions included. But whether that is enough to make this game worth playing has yet to be seen. Let's get to that, shall we?

The game starts you off in a quaint little town populated by poké-toys. After gaining your bearings, you and your own wind-up Pokémon journey into the wide world, which is divided into several maps. Placed about each map are several dungeon areas, which come in a variety of themes like meadows, deserts, beaches, etc. Each type of area comes with Pokémon appropriate to that type of setting (fish Pokémon for marshes and beaches, rock Pokémon for caves, and so on), and you fight these Pokémon to get through to the next part of the dungeon. If you manage to defeat an enemy while they're stunned, then you'll be able to capture and bring them into your ranks. As time goes on, you come across more and more powerful Pokémon, some with special enhancements like improved speed and more health. You can switch between any of your Poké-toys at any time, but if three of them get knocked out, you get sent back to the nearest town, after being told to find stronger Pokémon (and being made to feel like an incompetent ninny). All of this ties into a story involving a group of evil Poke-toys who are trying to steal the magical "Glowdrops", which you can use to heal your team.

Besides dungeons, there are arenas and fortresses for you to go through. In the arenas you engage your wind-ups in free-for-all battles against other Poké-toys in order to win cash and prizes. Instead, in the fortresses, you, with the help of two computer-controlled comrades, must confront waves of enemies, as well as a super-sized boss, before you can proceed to the next part of the game-world. When you need a break from fighting, you can escape to one of the many towns strewn throughout the world. Within them, you can heal your team, release unwanted Pokémon in exchange for money, and buy new moves for Poké-toys. Rumble Blast also comes with StreetPass options, allowing you to view the Poké-toys of other players.

So where does Pokémon Rumble Blast come short in this writer's opinion? In a few areas, sad to say. For one, the game is painfully linear. Most of the areas that make up the dungeon are unbelievably straightforward. Rarely will you come across an area that isn't essentially a curvy line. Another complaint is repetitiveness. The same pattern occurs in every dungeon. First you go through three or four areas, doing nothing but fighting and capturing Poké-toys (no side-missions, treasure hunting, or fetch-quests here), and then you reach the final area, where you take on a large boss and its little minions. The arenas and the boss battles within the fortresses help add some variety, but all and all, you're still doing the same thing, just under slightly different rules.

This wouldn't be a problem if the combat was fun, like in the regular Pokémon games, but Rumble Blast's free-for-all combat is, sadly, a tad underwhelming. Each Poké-toy you collect can be equipped with only two moves from a large catalog of attacks and abilities. While that may sound limited (and it is), the most frustrating aspect of the combat here is how quickly your Poké-toys become irrelevant. Say you have a Poké-toy you like. You bought moves for it that are fast and powerful, and they take down multiple enemies with ease. Here in Pokémon Rumble Blast, you have to enjoy them fast, because by the time you get to the next couple of areas of the game world, you'll find them getting defeated by more powerful foes. In the end, as you journey to acquire more powerful fighters, most of the Poké-toys you get will probably end up being traded in for money before they ever get a chance to be played with. Sad, but true.

And so, it is with fond consideration for you, the readers, that I begin to close this review of Pokémon Rumble Blast. Ultimately, I found the game to be better than I feared initially. Despite this, it is linear and limited in its gameplay. Whether you find this game enjoyable enough to pass the time with or consider it a fat-handed slap in the franchise's face, depends on whether you think fighting wind-up Pokémon is worth paying full price for. For more details, look at the scores below.

GameDynamo's Score for Pokemon Rumble Blast (3DS)

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