QCF: Pokémon Rumble U
t’s kind of ironic that an incredibly Japanese property fuels one of the most American ideals in the most feverish ways: materialism. Collecting for the sake of completion regardless of the practicality to utilize the innumerous amount of trinkets, objects, and uhh, Monsters who resemble that of the pocket variety. Aside from the main games of the franchise, there are quote unquote “side” games that try to be creative with Pokémon and try to have a theme of collecting within it’s formula still—for the majority of the side games, this mechanic has always played out like it’s tacked on in the process.
However, there a particularly overlooked entry in the list of spinoffs from the main franchise, the Pokémon Rumble series; while the last two games were fairly unremarkable, Nintendo and Ambrella have finally got it right this time around. Pokémon Rumble U reinvigorates the joy of compiling Pokémon and raising and battling them in ways that set itself apart from the rest of entries, and does the formula justice outside of the main series.