Pokemon - Trading Card Game

The story in Pokemon Trading Card Game is basically the same as that of the original Pokemon titles, only with new character and feature names substituted. Instead of Professor Oak, players meet Dr. Mason. Gym Leaders are named Club Masters, battles are duels, and so forth. Learning the card game is a breeze thanks to the inclusion of comprehensive instructions and an in-depth tutorial. Although some minor changes have been made, the method of play is virtually identical to the original card game, and just as addictive. While much shorter than the Pokemon games, the gameplay here doesn't involve random and repetitive battles, and follows a less linear path.

Although Pokemon Trading Card Game would seem to turn a social experience into a solitary one, it allows for and encourages interacting with other game owners. Duels can be fought between players via a game link cable, and cards and decks can be traded using the infrared communications port. The most interesting (although somewhat dubious) feature here is the "card pop!" option, which generates one new card for each player when communicating wirelessly; the catch is that you can't "card pop!" the same person again for a while after doing so, thus limiting the feature's appeal. --Joe Hon

Pros:

• Easy-to-learn and highly addictive gameplay
• Features cards exclusive to the Game Boy
• Excellent game link and infrared communication port options
• Package includes limited edition trading card

• Relatively short game compared to Pokemon Game Boy titles
• Very limited appeal outside the Pokemaniac crowd

This...game...is...GREAT! Even with Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire out in stores, I still spend lots of time trying to complete my Pokemon Card collection on the Game Boy. The game is very fun and will quickly turn newbies to the Pokemon TCG into experts. I'm a 12-year-old girl and a dedicated Pokemon fan, and I must say...Let your Ruby/Sapphire Pokemon take a little rest so you can pick up a copy of this awesome game. (Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire is an awesome game too ^.^) The basic storyline of this game is that you are a boy with the default name of Mark, who wants to inherit the four Legendary Pokemon Cards (special GB versions of Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Dragonite). You can carry up to four (4) decks at a time, but you can save your valuable deck configurations in a Deck Save Machine. You must defeat the 8 Club Masters (as you do Gym Leaders) then defeat the four ultimate experts of the Pokemon TCG (as with the Elite Four). Although the only deck expansions included are Jungle, Fossil, and Base Set, this is all in all an excellent game. Wonder when the Ruby/Sapphire TCG version will come out for GBA?


A pretty nice game   February 21, 2003
Keith (his house)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is basically a video game adaption of the card game. You can go battle, trade, and do card pop, where you and a friend use GameBoyColors infared thing to link up and get random cards. You can only do this once with each person for a set time period. (I think it might be a day.) YOu eventually go through a bunch of card clubs, defeat club leaders for medals, and in the end face off against the "Grand Masters" for a chance to beat the game and get four legendary cards.

Their is a small group of cards which only come in the game. Little custom cards, you might say. You can know this by seeing a little GB on the card information screen. (The Legendary cards are Game boy custom.)

But if you're a "newbie" to pokemon, or mabey just realizing it's existance, it only sports the basic, jungle, and fossil expansions. This is actually pretty good, considering the time it was made. (When those three sets were the only ones "on the shelves" at the time.) And unlike the YuGiOh card game games, youcan't upload cards you have into the game. You must get them by obtaining boosters which you can get by beating club members, leaders, and opening the occasional email from the professor. (There's about twenty of them throughout the game.)

So overall, if you like the card game, get this for protable pokemon tcg action. If you don't like the cards, leave it alone.