Pokémon Rumble World (Japanese: みんなのポケモンスクランブル, Hepburn: Minna no Pokémon Sukuranburu, Everyone's Pokémon Scramble) is an action video game in the Pokémon series developed by Ambrella and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the fourth game in the Pokémon Rumble subseries, and features toy versions of at least 719 creatures from the first six generations. The game was first released worldwide as a freemium, free-to-start download title on the Nintendo eShop on April 8, 2015, with complete, physical, retail versions available in Japan the following November, Europe in January 2016, and North America in April 2016.
| Pokémon Rumble World | |
|---|---|
 European retail version cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Ambrella |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Norio Matsumura |
| Producer(s) | Shusaku Egami Eisuke Kasejima Hitoshi Yamagami |
| Composer(s) | Miki Obata |
| Series | Pokémon |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release | eShop
|
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
edit
Pokémon Rumble World is an action game with a top-down perspective that has players assume the role of their Mii character in the Kingdom of Toys, a land populated by toy versions of 719 distinct Pokémon species. At the behest of the King, the player must travel to various lands battling and collecting new Pokémon to increase their Adventure Rank, granting them access to new items and areas. By taking direct control of their Pokémon, they can engage other creatures in real-time combat.
The game uses a form of currency called Poké Diamonds, which can be obtained either through normal gameplay, purchased directly with real money through the Nintendo eShop, or exchanged through StreetPass.[5] A limit on real-world currency use in-game does exist, however, and players are allowed to purchase a maximum of 3,000 Poké Diamonds through this method.[6] After buying 3,000 of these, a mine will appear, granting 40 of them once per day. Poké Diamonds can be used to unlock features such as increasing the chance to find certain Pokémon, in-game travel, continuing to play a stage after a Pokémon's health has run out, or additional Pokémon storage. Challenges, which are missions with a specific set of goals, may also grant Poké Diamonds, in addition to cosmetic items such as clothing.
Development
editThe first mention of Pokémon Rumble World appeared in the game's entry on the Australian Classification Board content rating website in March 2015.[7] It was officially announced two weeks later by Nintendo on an April 1, 2015 edition of their Nintendo Direct broadcast, along with a worldwide release date set for the following week on the Nintendo eShop.[8] On October 2, 2015, Nintendo revealed that the title would receive a physical retail release in Japan the following month,[2] with Nintendo of Europe later issuing a press release stating that an English retail version would also be arriving in Europe in January 2016.[3] Retail versions of Rumble World remove support for in-game purchases, and instead grant the player access to all content from the start.
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 58/100[9] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 7/10[10] |
| Famitsu | 32/40[11] |
Pokémon Rumble World earned a 32 out of 40 total score from Japanese Famitsu magazine, based on individual reviews of 8, 8, 8, and 8.[11] The game received mixed scores from critics, earning a 58 out of 100 from Metacritic.[9] Destructoid felt that the game's freemium pay model was a step up from Pokémon Shuffle, calling it "Not bad, actually", and that it would allow players to earn in-game currency through normal gameplay without being hindered by timers or required payments. However, the title was criticized for being too simplistic, calling it "fairly shallow but very fun in spurts", and that was too short and lacked replay value.[10] Metro similarly felt that the free-to-play system was "relatively fair", but that the overall game was "appallingly simplistic" and panned the title's "cheap production values" and "poor use of the pokémon mythos."[12]
The Japanese retail version, released seven months after its Nintendo eShop debut, sold 10,120 copies in the region during its first week, debuting at number 16 on the Media Create sales charts.[13] By December 2015 it had sold a total of 21,479 copies before falling from the top 20 sales rankings.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Pokémon Rumble World". Pokemon.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ a b McFerran, Damien (October 2, 2015). "Pokémon Rumble World Is Getting A Physical Release In Japan". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (December 3, 2015). "Pokemon Rumble World coming to retail in Europe". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ^ Brian (February 18, 2016). "Pokemon Rumble World retail release confirmed for North America, out on April 29". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ^ Swiader, Keith (April 1, 2015). "'Pokémon Rumble World' Marks the Second 'Pokémon' Game to Have IAP, Is this the Sort of Thing Nintendo will bring to iPhone?". TorchArcade. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
- ^ Brown, Mark (April 10, 2015). "Pokemon Rumble World won't let you become a free to play whale". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
- ^ O'Brian, Lucy (March 17, 2015). "Pokémon Rumble World Shows Up on Australian Classification Site". IGN. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- ^ Otero, Jose (April 1, 2015). "Pokémon Rumble World Announced, Free-to-play on 3DS". IGN. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Pokemon Rumble World for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ a b Carter, Chris (April 7, 2014). "Review: Pokémon Rumble World". Destructiod. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (April 27, 2015). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1378". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ^ "Pokemon Rumble World review". Metro.co.uk. April 10, 2015. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
- ^ Lite_Agent (November 27, 2015). "Japan – Media Create sales for Week 47, 2015 (Nov. 16 – 22) [Top 50]". Perfectly Nintendo. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ^ Lite_Agent (December 11, 2015). "Media Create sales for Week 49, 2015 (Nov. 30 – Dec. 6) [Top 50]". Perfectly Nintendo. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
