4 Pokémon Spin-Off Games Worth Playing (And 4 To AVOID)

4 Pokemon spin offs were released in Japan a five month period between December 1998 and April 1999, gradually making their way to the West in the year that followed.

Two of these were nothing special – Hey You, Pikachu was a Tamagotchi (remember those?) clone that tasked players with using voice commands to raise the series’ mascot over a 365 period, whilst Pokemon Pinball was a run-of-the-mill (and often frustrating) affair that didn’t translate particularly well to Game Boy controls.

The other two, however, stand out miles above the myriad of other spin-offs that followed. Pokemon Stadium was the last of the four to launch, but undoubtably had the most longevity and biggest following. In its original guise, offering just 42 Pokemon, it was only available to Japanese players, with a follow-up extended to America and Europe that offered all 151.

It was a sight to behold creatures that had only previously been crudely seen on Game Boy screens in 64-bit, whilst the gameplay experience, which allowed players to transfer their captures from Red/Blue/Yellow to participate against Gym Leaders and in tournaments of up to 80 battles, was sensational. It also enabled the emulation of the Game Boy games on a TV (cue eye strains/headaches!)

Pokemon Stadium 2 improved massively upon proceedings, incorporating all of the Pokemon from Gold/Silver/Crystal, but the Nintendo 64 was on its last legs by the time it arrived in North America in Europe. Sadly we’ve never seen a ‘proper’ third outing…