Pitchforks: 4 out of 5
Release Date: June 18, 2012
The formula of Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise is pretty simple, and even through numerous spinoffs these qualities haven’t drastically changed in the past 15 years —until now.
The Pokémon Conquest spinoff is a turn-based strategy game that takes the beloved and addicting franchise in a different and edgier direction by using the creatures as weapons of war for the purpose of conquering the Ransei region. That’s the game’s overlying theme at least.
Underneath the surface is a story discussing how Pokémon and humans are largely incompatible and struggle against one another, but two ambitious warlords desire to change the destructive course by unifying the 17 regions of Ransei through a legendary Pokémon who created the world. Legend says he who conquers the land will awaken this Pokémon, and the character of the champion’s heart will either save or destroy Ransei.
Conquest’s plot is a defining characteristic in itself, distancing the game from Pokémon’s regular plotline of catch-and-battle while defeating Team Rocket (or whoever); however, its gameplay is the best innovation into the series in years.
Conquest amalgamates a traditional Pokémon game with a Sega Genesis origin strategy franchise, Nobunaga’s Ambition.
Battles play out in a widespread area, which differentiates between castles, with up to 12 Pokémon battling at the same time. Achieving victory typically requires the destruction of opposing forces, but occasionally includes a larger strategy aspect.
In certain battlefields four banners must be unanimously captured to win, or sometimes natural obstacles inhibit travel making it difficult to attack an enemy; in others, energy towers assigned to a specific element can either harm or heal a Pokémon if it gets too close, and pitfall traps litter the ground causing you to lose turns with that Pokémon.
Navigating the changes between castles takes a little bit of forethought and some luck, but is a great inclusion and keeps every match interesting.
In a skirmish each Pokémon is controlled individually, with a distinct attack and movement pattern; however, the attack pattern a Pokémon has can change with evolution. For example, Charmander begins with a plus one-square ranged attack, but when it evolves into Charmeleon its ranged attack decreases to become straight melee combat and then when Charizard finally shows up it gains a four-square flamethrower.
Every warlord has an assist ability that can be used once per battle prior to a Pokémon’s movement or attack. These special powers differ greatly between characters, but frequently either increase a Pokémon’s movement range, defense or attack.
All the element strengths and weaknesses found within normal Pokémon games are also present, furthering the strategy required.
You begin the journey with Evee, and have one warrior at your disposal, a girl named Oichi and her Jigglypuff.
Throughout the journey you encounter other warlords to battle, and after defeating them, may hire most to fight alongside you, thus gaining their Pokémon and unique abilities in a battle.
Random Pokémon may also be “linked” to, Conquest’s version of capturing, and after each battle a Pokémon’s link to its warlord increases.
The stronger the bond, the stronger the Pokémon becomes. Certain activities such as gold mining and shopping can also increase the connection.
The most surprising part of Conquest is its replay value. After playing through the initial storyline in a mere eight hours, I thought the game was over and was a bit disappointed.
However, after the credits rolled, more than 20 additional storylines with different warlords and varying difficulty were unlocked. I didn’t get a chance to try out the game’s multiplayer features, but after seeing how smooth the rest of Conquest went it’s likely a worthwhile addition.
Pokémon Conquest brings about daring changes to the franchise, and should be seen as a legitimate Pokémon title instead of another worthless spinoff.
The combat is a lot of fun, and the elements of traditional Pokémon games are all present. If you’re a fan of the series, it’s definitely worth a try.
Reach the reporter at tdmcknig@asu.edu.
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