Spinoff/Mobile Why you should be excited about Pokémon Colosseum and XD returning

[bobandbill]

I wrote words about Colosseum and XD! They'll be available on the Nintendo Switch 2 via the Switch Online + Expansion, and that's great. If you are thinking 'what the heck are those games', well, that's what the article aims to address - and why you should be giving Nintendo those credit card details excited!

And this article has a bit of fancy formatting as well, so do give it a gander! Link above or here: https://daily.pokecommunity.com/202...ted-about-pokemon-colosseum-and-xd-returning/

 

[Yume Tsuki]

YESSSS!

I'm so glad more options for access to these games will become available. The pricetags for these games had become immense when Youtubers started highlighting these games during the pandemic. Although, with the pricetag to the switch 2 attached to it, I am also a little concerned.

But there's hoping this additional accessibility will give rise to even more fan works in regards to Orre. For as imperfect as the writing is, it grants so much oppurtunity to get creative with all kinds of media outlets. And the fan community I've mingled with have overall been really kind people, hyping eachother up with their headcanons.

 

[Devalue]

Never knew they had such interesting battle animations. And on the Gamecube, no less.

 

[Hiroshi Sotomura]

I was quite excited to know the games were coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but I am ultimately concerned that outside the story, we aren't getting the full experience the games would typically give. Don't get me wrong - I'll happily go through a playthrough! But I can't help but think that the Pokémon I capture and put effort in will just end up stuck in the games.

The reason is this: the Nintendo Classics service hasn't announced or previously demonstrated any kind of linking. So if they aren't going to have any kind of transfer in or out, or say, battling with teams from the gen 3 games (which admittedly would require them to be released on the Switch at all) then you'd only be getting a part (albeit major) of the Colosseum/XD experience.

Whether you pay exorbitant amounts for the game (and hardware) or choose the less legally-savoury route, you'd be able to experience the games to the full. I can only hope that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have put some kind of thought into a solution.

 

[Corveone]

Sadly the battle mechanics, move pools and balance are just awfully outdated for my taste, and that's considering battles are the main focus in these games, so I'll pass. I would be up for replaying them if it wasn't for that.

 

[bobandbill]

YESSSS!

I'm so glad more options for access to these games will become available. The pricetags for these games had become immense when Youtubers started highlighting these games during the pandemic. Although, with the pricetag to the switch 2 attached to it, I am also a little concerned.

But there's hoping this additional accessibility will give rise to even more fan works in regards to Orre. For as imperfect as the writing is, it grants so much oppurtunity to get creative with all kinds of media outlets. And the fan community I've mingled with have overall been really kind people, hyping eachother up with their headcanons.

Yeah, hundreds of bucks for GCN games (not just Colo and XD) is disgusting. Granted, yes, the Switch 2 is also a lot of money, but you can play other games on that too.

And agreed, Colo is a fun game to adapt and riff on I found, haha.

Never knew they had such interesting battle animations. And on the Gamecube, no less.

Even Stadium has some good animations. There's a few examples of those shown in the article linked in this one, but here's the direct link.

I was quite excited to know the games were coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but I am ultimately concerned that outside the story, we aren't getting the full experience the games would typically give. Don't get me wrong - I'll happily go through a playthrough! But I can't help but think that the Pokémon I capture and put effort in will just end up stuck in the games.

The reason is this: the Nintendo Classics service hasn't announced or previously demonstrated any kind of linking. So if they aren't going to have any kind of transfer in or out, or say, battling with teams from the gen 3 games (which admittedly would require them to be released on the Switch at all) then you'd only be getting a part (albeit major) of the Colosseum/XD experience.

Whether you pay exorbitant amounts for the game (and hardware) or choose the less legally-savoury route, you'd be able to experience the games to the full. I can only hope that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have put some kind of thought into a solution.

I was thinking about that too, but felt it would be better discussed in a separate article rather than this one.

I'm a bit worried on this because Stadium/Stadium 2 do not have that functionality on the Switch VC. And it's a shame! I can't say I would care to battle in Colo with an RSE team for instance, but it would be nice to transfer across Pokemon caught in Colo/XD to HOME and etc.

Sadly the battle mechanics, move pools and balance are just awfully outdated for my taste, and that's considering battles are the main focus in these games, so I'll pass. I would be up for replaying them if it wasn't for that.

Each to their own. I agree, pre-gen 4 movepools and the typing split is... weak. But it doesn't turn me off personally from still enjoying the battles. How the battles look goes a long way with that.

Plus, as these games use double battles, there's more variety to be had (some moves actually have a use in that format!). And XD has double the roster and even 'wild' Pokemon at least.

 

[Hiroshi Sotomura]

I was thinking about that too, but felt it would be better discussed in a separate article rather than this one.

I'm a bit worried on this because Stadium/Stadium 2 do not have that functionality on the Switch VC. And it's a shame! I can't say I would care to battle in Colo with an RSE team for instance, but it would be nice to transfer across Pokemon caught in Colo/XD to HOME and etc.

I suppose a bit of cautious optimism is fair; we don't know if Colosseum/XD will have HOME compatibility simply because the games haven't had a formal announcement. If HOME did have two-way compatibility though, supposing TPC/ILCA are willing to implement it, I'd be happy because I feel like it'd open things a lot.

With Pokémon Champions on the way, I guess I wouldn't miss Colosseum/XD not having link battles if they did at least have transfer capabilities... heh.

 

[Venia Silente]

A whole different vibe​

Oh man even though this section is pretty good, it actually manages to undersell a bit how cool the intro to Colosseum was. One bit I would have added for context, is that narratively you are playing the same role that you played int he intro of Final Fantasy VII, for example: essentially an ecoterrorist doing their brand of good and walking away without looking at the explosions – before Iron Man (re)made that cool!

Other than that I love how this section describes the general vibe of the two games as a combined thing, rather than taking the vision I've seen sometimes in the fandom that Colosseum in itself is revolutionary or something. Like, come on, we had Rescue Team and protagonists dying just about in the same years. But more importantly, you brought in real examples of how despite "supposedly aiming for darker & edgier", the games still had what made them fundamentally Pokémon (besides, well, the Pokémon).

Double battles galore​

In fact, it's easy to point to many examples where these animations have been more entertaining than those in main series Pokémon titles.

Showing pretty good animations I see! It was certainly one of the highlights of the games. Heck, I want to contribute one I found!

(url in case that's not seen)

A price and accessibility problem​

I feel like, this particular section was somewhat insincere, or too apologectic towards the current state of gaming. While sure the games are coming to the NS2, that comes at the cost of the console's already obnoxious and unjustifiable price tag, plus the NSO subscription. Then the section goes to add that "no current generation system can play them". That however is relatively false: PCs from ~2019 onwards can play them via Dolphin Emulator, and while not the best experience ever (widescreen is documented to cause issues, and - really, don't you WANT to feel the physical discs spinning in the GC drive?), it's not like the games are really unreachable in this good year of Arceus of 2025.

As the good Gabe says, there's a service problem. Requiring the exclusivity and price tag of the NS2 to replay a game from literally the era before the Avatar, is a good show of that.

 

[_confused_piplup_]

I played colosseum for the first time something like 2/3 years ago. Great game. I won't be getting a Switch 2 at all, or at least not at this moment (I would expect 2+ years at least), but tbh I'm def planning on playing colosseum and XD in the next months/years. And I really advise most people to play those games as they're very unique!

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

I honestly would be if I didn't still have working original copies of both games, as well as a functional GameCube and memory cards. I suppose the online service does serve as a fail-safe/backup in case any of the above suddenly decides to fail. But for now, I'm perfectly satisfied with sticking to the original way to play them.

The question of connectivity with Home/Bank/whatever they call that service nowadays is a valid one - would the Shadow Pokemon you catch be forever locked in those games? What about trading between them (which IIRC was not directly possible with the originals - you had to use a GBA cart as an intermediate step - but was still possible in a roundabout way)? And how will the gen 3 mechanics translate if you are able to transfer them to the cloud service?

Also, being locked behind the premium online service is another deterrent for me. I reluctantly subscribe to the base price service for the save cloud backup peace of mind (and touring other Animal Crossing islands,) but the premium? It's never been worth it to me, and as good as Colo/XD are, they don't change that. To be fair, I don't think much of anything would make the ridiculous price of the premium service worth it to me.

The even more ridiculous price of these games on the used game market is even more absurd though, but that extends to all of the Pokemon games that are now going for hundreds of dollars on eBay. No Pokemon games are worth that much, not even the best ones, and certainly not the bottom-feeder ones that have aged especially badly, and weren't all that good when they first came out to begin with. The marketplace is acting like everyone is wanting to buy them for "collector" purposes and ignoring the fact that some people might want to buy these games to, you know, actually play them. But that's another rant for another time.

But yeah, these were great games. By far the best of any of the Pokemon spinoffs.

 

[Yume Tsuki]

Its mainly newly attained interest that drove the prices of the original GC copies up, ngl.

Way back around 2017/2018 is when i bought colosseum and xd, respectively around 30 and 60 euros. But the market got hit hard when big youtubers highlighted them, sparking curiosity in a lot of ppl.

The prices they are at are still way too expensive definitely, though.

Yet i also lowkey regret having the legal copies now. As it turns out the gamecube requires regular adjustments to its disk reader to remain functional after a certain amount of time has passed. I do not mind having to disassemble a game cube once in a while. But i simply dont have the precision tools to fine tune the laser strenght to get it working appropriately again.

However, I would likely have never played the games if it wasnt for legally owning them. Let alone work on the fancomic i am creating now...

 

[Explorer of Time]

Yet i also lowkey regret having the legal copies now. As it turns out the gamecube requires regular adjustments to its disk reader to remain functional after a certain amount of time has passed. I do not mind having to disassemble a game cube once in a while. But i simply dont have the precision tools to fine tune the laser strenght to get it working appropriately again.

If you have a Wii, it's backwards compatible with both games. I've played a full run of XD and partial run of Colosseum on the Wii without any technical issues.

 

[bobandbill]

Oh man even though this section is pretty good, it actually manages to undersell a bit how cool the intro to Colosseum was. One bit I would have added for context, is that narratively you are playing the same role that you played int he intro of Final Fantasy VII, for example: essentially an ecoterrorist doing their brand of good and walking away without looking at the explosions – before Iron Man (re)made that cool!

Other than that I love how this section describes the general vibe of the two games as a combined thing, rather than taking the vision I've seen sometimes in the fandom that Colosseum in itself is revolutionary or something. Like, come on, we had Rescue Team and protagonists dying just about in the same years. But more importantly, you brought in real examples of how despite "supposedly aiming for darker & edgier", the games still had what made them fundamentally Pokémon (besides, well, the Pokémon).

I suppose that could be done, although I never had played FF7... haha.

Thanks! Glad those examples were appreciated.

Showing pretty good animations I see! It was certainly one of the highlights of the games. Heck, I want to contribute one I found!

(url in case that's not seen)

A classic one that I actually was thinking of putting in too (but didn't find at the time).

I feel like, this particular section was somewhat insincere, or too apologectic towards the current state of gaming. While sure the games are coming to the NS2, that comes at the cost of the console's already obnoxious and unjustifiable price tag, plus the NSO subscription. Then the section goes to add that "no current generation system can play them". That however is relatively false: PCs from ~2019 onwards can play them via Dolphin Emulator, and while not the best experience ever (widescreen is documented to cause issues, and - really, don't you WANT to feel the physical discs spinning in the GC drive?), it's not like the games are really unreachable in this good year of Arceus of 2025.

As the good Gabe says, there's a service problem. Requiring the exclusivity and price tag of the NS2 to replay a game from literally the era before the Avatar, is a good show of that.

Probably not wise for us in a site article to outright highlight the likes of Dolphin, etc. But also, most people I wager don't even know about GCN emulation, nor does it quite give the same experience as playing on an official console (which was the intention of the statement - always a way around with emulation, which would arguably render any port, remaster, etc. moot because there's already a way to play it, right?).

I honestly would be if I didn't still have working original copies of both games, as well as a functional GameCube and memory cards. I suppose the online service does serve as a fail-safe/backup in case any of the above suddenly decides to fail. But for now, I'm perfectly satisfied with sticking to the original way to play them.

The question of connectivity with Home/Bank/whatever they call that service nowadays is a valid one - would the Shadow Pokemon you catch be forever locked in those games? What about trading between them (which IIRC was not directly possible with the originals - you had to use a GBA cart as an intermediate step - but was still possible in a roundabout way)? And how will the gen 3 mechanics translate if you are able to transfer them to the cloud service?

Also, being locked behind the premium online service is another deterrent for me. I reluctantly subscribe to the base price service for the save cloud backup peace of mind (and touring other Animal Crossing islands,) but the premium? It's never been worth it to me, and as good as Colo/XD are, they don't change that. To be fair, I don't think much of anything would make the ridiculous price of the premium service worth it to me.

The even more ridiculous price of these games on the used game market is even more absurd though, but that extends to all of the Pokemon games that are now going for hundreds of dollars on eBay. No Pokemon games are worth that much, not even the best ones, and certainly not the bottom-feeder ones that have aged especially badly, and weren't all that good when they first came out to begin with. The marketplace is acting like everyone is wanting to buy them for "collector" purposes and ignoring the fact that some people might want to buy these games to, you know, actually play them. But that's another rant for another time.

But yeah, these were great games. By far the best of any of the Pokemon spinoffs.

Fair enough if you have the games! I still have my Colo copy (was given to me by a friend who somehow had two of them...), and XD I got later. But I'll still replay on the Switch 2 I think, whenever they become available. Besides, Sheep played the saves now haha.

I'm luckily in a 'family' plan with a bunch of friends, which makes the service much cheaper than getting it for oneself.

Its mainly newly attained interest that drove the prices of the original GC copies up, ngl.

Way back around 2017/2018 is when i bought colosseum and xd, respectively around 30 and 60 euros. But the market got hit hard when big youtubers highlighted them, sparking curiosity in a lot of ppl.

The prices they are at are still way too expensive definitely, though.

Yet i also lowkey regret having the legal copies now. As it turns out the gamecube requires regular adjustments to its disk reader to remain functional after a certain amount of time has passed. I do not mind having to disassemble a game cube once in a while. But i simply dont have the precision tools to fine tune the laser strenght to get it working appropriately again.

However, I would likely have never played the games if it wasnt for legally owning them. Let alone work on the fancomic i am creating now...

If I was never given the game I wouldn't have decided to do a parody fic on it, which led to me joining PC, and a bunch of other things since... like marriage. So yeah. :v