The Pokemon franchise is exploding on smartphones and the Nintendo Switch these past few weeks.
From new apps to new games for the Switch, if you take Detective Pikachu into account, this is inarguably the year of Pokemon.
One of the cooler ideas that has a lot of people talking is the new Pokemon Rumble Rush game for Android smartphones.
A battle-focused title that is markedly different from the augmented reality masterpiece Pokemon Go, Pokemon Rumble Rush involves grinding through rotating areas to improve your Pokemon by both defeating other Pokemon and boss Pokemon.
| Genre | Platforms |
| Action game | Android, iOS |
Defeating the Super Boss also unlocks new Pokemon in that area so players are incentivized to play through areas thoroughly. It does sound grindy, but some people really love that about the classic Pokemon games and it seems like Pokemon Rumble Rush is trying to accommodate those players.
There are a bunch of interesting conventions such as the Guide Feather to unlock more parts of a stage and the Air Balloons that take players to a unique type of stage called “Adventurer’s Stages.”
Leveling is different from perhaps any other Pokemon title you have ever played. It involves the use of gears to make your Pokemon’s moves more powerful. Specific types of gear are used for specific types of attacks and you get these gears.
You can also raise your CP cap by grinding the stages over and over again and defeating the Super Boss in the stage multiple times. Again, the conventions of both a smartphone title and a classic JRPG merge for what can only be described as a unique experience.
Collecting Pokemon is still a big deal in this game but there are some new considerations that you might not have made in Pokemon games in the past. One of these is the Pokemon’s potential for powerful moves. Rated on a star system with 5 being the highest, you will want to master a Pokemon that has the most potential in terms of delivering powerful (and devastating) moves during combat.
In addition to this, the gear system comes into play in that some Pokemon can hold more gears than others. This is a major tactical consideration in Pokemon Rumble Rush and it changes the formula just enough to keep it interesting without it being annoying.
So what do we think you should do?
If you love Pokemon, these game is a no-brainer download. But you need to have an Android smartphone to play it currently.
We’re sure it will come out for iOS soon, but, for the time being, you have to have Google Play to get Pokemon Rumble Rush.
If you’re not a fan of Pokemon stuff, then you might still want to give this a download. The games are reliably high quality and the concepts here are intriguing enough to make it worthy of at least a try.
But if you feel overwhelmed by how many Pokemon options are out there right now, we totally understand you. It’s tough to get too much of a good thing, but sometimes you do have to take a little break from “everything.”
