➤ Picachu alla riscossa 🎮

The sunset of the controversial Nintendo console is not the happiest for pokéfans from all over the world: the brand was certainly not among the strongest in the Wii playroom, attending only in very simplistic forms, far from the portable proposals for Nintendo DS and, above all, from the always excellent mother series. PokéPark 2: The world of desires is the direct sequel to PokéPark: The Pikachu Adventure, which we talked about in less than enthusiastic terms nearly two years ago;

even then it was a light adventure aimed above all at the little ones, despite some problems that could be easily solved. We therefore accompanied Pikachu on a new raid, hoping that the past months have allowed the guys of Creatures Inc. to make the right changes to a formula that is not entirely without merits ...

Dreams are desires

Despite the certainly more childish target, PokéPark 2: The world of desires proposes a story a little more mature than usual, at least in the exposition. It all begins when Pikachu and his best friend Piplup go to a magical park where it seems that every wish comes true: obviously not everything is as it seems and you will soon discover that a mysterious force of evil is trying to capture the pokémon. In short, recruited from none other than the legendary monster Reshiram, Pikachu will have to roll up his sleeves and find a way to ward off the threat and save the pokémon before the crossover with Nobunaga's Ambition comes out. For this titanic undertaking, the electric mouse will be able to count on the help of the three initial monsters of Pokémon Black & White version, which can be controlled at any time, exploiting their peculiar abilities to overcome otherwise impassable obstacles.

Oshawott, for example, can swim, and Tepig can destroy some barriers while Snivy can jump higher than others, reaching otherwise inaccessible places. Choosing the right pokémon therefore allows you to explore the length and breadth of the huge amusement park, but to access some areas it will be necessary to first make friends with some monsters, exactly like in the prequel: in this case you can interact with over a hundred of creatures from a PokéDex that has now reached the crazy figure of six hundred and more monsters and even if not all are present in the park, the variety is certainly not lacking. The setting itself is structured in a fairly clever way, made up of numerous and colorful thematic areas that give the idea of a large playground. While not fully exploiting the capabilities of the console, Creatures Inc. has managed to develop a product that is technically more than dignified, colorful and rich in details. The pokémon models, in particular, stand out for their similarity to the animated counterparts, enhanced above all by the television verses, decidedly preferable to the antiquated screeches of the various portable episodes.

The harsh reality

We would like to say that the gameplay is as varied as the setting, but unfortunately it remains anchored to the structure of the previous chapter, without particular peaks of inventiveness and originality. All you have to do is wander around the park and find a new pokémon to make friends with, perhaps taking a fight (it seems logical) or correctly answering some simple quizzes. The mini-game of the catcher is of a disarming ease since even the youngest player would be able to win in just under ten seconds, while it is certainly more fun to fight against the pokémon on duty: in these cases one of the four protagonists must be selected. keeping an eye on the relationship between the elements that characterize them, then you play by directly controlling the creature and attacking at the right moment after having dodged the opponent's special moves.

The battles are extremely simple but fans of the series will appreciate being able to control their heroes firsthand, instead of giving orders in the shoes of the usual coach. In short, the mini-games are anything but challenging and the little ones will find that they can play and replay them without the risk of unhappy Game Over; the problem, more than anything else, lies in the excessive repetitiveness of the situations: one immediately realizes that the adventure will continue all to the sound of easy challenges that are too similar to each other. After completing some mini-games it will also be possible to try them in multiplayer mode with up to three friends, a lack of the previous PokéPark that Creatures Inc. has rightly remedied. We are clearly far from the glories of Mario Party, but there is no complain. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as far as the controls are concerned, still bound to the simple Wiimote in a horizontal position. This choice, harshly criticized previously, makes the exploration of the three-dimensional world really annoying and it would certainly have been more comfortable to be able to control Pikachu and associates with the Nunchuk, rather than with the directional cross.