10 Best Pokémon Spin-Off Games You MUST Play

Stadium’s graphics might come off second best when compared to Pokken Tournament, but they were groundbreaking for their time. The game offered players the first chance to see their favourite characters in 3D, and while they look like blocky polygons now, they were earth shattering at the time.

The N64 title dropped when Pokémon’s original hype wave was at its peak, with Pikachu surfboarding that wave to mascot superstardom. Already there was two clear groups within the fanbase; those who wanted to raise and nurture their Pokémon like Brock, and those who wanted to be the best like no one ever was, the way Ash tried to be and Gary more often than not succeeded at.

Obviously with the Elite Four as the endgame, the main series did have a heavy focus on battling, but they also brought you into a rich narrative and allowed you to forge lifelong bonds with the Pidgey or Hoothoot you picked up in the early game.

Stadium eschewed all of that, with no real story to speak of and instead giving total focus to who was the toughest. As long as you went in expecting that, it delivered a brilliantly focused experience.