Nintendo and The Pokémon Company International today announced the upcoming arrival of Pokémon Rumble U, the first Pokémon game for Nintendo's Wii U. Kind of.
The game is coming to the system's eShop, so some fans aren't calling it a "complete" Wii U game. Anywho...Pokémon Rumble U is the tale of the Toy Pokémon's great adventure: finally escaping from the claw machine at the local grocery store, Pikachu is out for blood, seeking to avenge those that murdered his parents. Not really.
The plot revolves around a mishap in the Toy Pokémon Shop, resulting in a few Pokémon capsules being swept down a river like Susan Smith's kids. Luckily, the pokémon get washed up on a strange riverbank. It's your job to see them safely home.
The game features every last one of the little pocket monsters seen so far, up to Pokémon Black and White Version 2, all 649 of 'em. The more you defeat in battle, the more you can befriend, appealing to the inner hoarder in us all. Much like in the handheld games, each pokémon has their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. You'll need to use proper strategy to defeat each one. The Rumble series eschews the primary Pokemon series' turn-based RPG gameplay, opting for dungeon crawling and real-time melee combat.
Pokémon Rumble U, called Pokémon Scramble U in Japan, is actually the third entrt in the series. The first Pokemon Rumble was a WiiWare only title that hit back in 2009. The second, Pokémon Rumble Blast, was released on the 3DS in 2011. One thing that will set Rumble U apart from the pack is the use of the Wii U's control pad. Players can use the GamePad to set off Touch Bombs if they feel a bit overwhelmed facing so many pokémon at once.
Up to four can take part in multiplayer battles, with cooperative play to defeat the strongest enemies with team work, or players can go head to head against each other.
The game launches on August 15th exclusively for download via the Nintendo e-Shop on Wii U. Pricing information is yet to be released.
