Pokémon Battle Trozei Review for Nintendo 3DS

Gotta Match ‘Em All

Why do Match-3 games have such a powerful pull on our psyches? Perhaps it’s because the urge to categorize and sort items touches on a deep element of early human development. Maybe it’s just fun to hear the games go “ping” when you make a cascading match. Whatever the reason, the Match-3 formula is oddly addictive, so it almost seems evil to think of marrying it with Pokémon .

Since King has pretty much cornered the “evil Match-3 game” market with Candy Crush Saga , however, I’m more than happy to pony up $8 for Pokémon Battle Trozei . Although it’s a spiritual successor to 2006’s Pokemon Trozei , this game lacks a storyline and plays quite differently. It’s quick and easy to get into, but accessing its bonus stages and catching all the Pokémon in the game will take practice, not to mention a fair dash of luck.

Pokémon Battle Trozei is divided into stages, each of which challenges the player to defeat and capture a number of Pokémon before running out of energy. The battlefield, called a Trozei Box, consists of a number of adorable Pokémon icons. The Pokémon being battled show up outside the box, and the player does damage to them by making matches of three or more icons. This is done simply by using the stylus to drag an icon on top of another, swapping them until a match is lined up. Unlike many Match-3 games, icons don’t need to be next to each other to be swapped.

The key to capturing Pokémon quickly (a capture is called a Trozei in this game for some reason) is to quickly make chains of matches in order to do maximum damage in one attack. During ordinary play, your opponent attacks at regular intervals, doing damage to your box’s border and its energy. If it damages your border enough, it’ll jump into the box giving you less space to work with and jostling your icons around. If it damages all your box’s energy, it’s game over.

Enter Trozei Chance. If you match four icons, followed quickly by a match of three, you’ll enter Trozei Chance mode, during which your opponent does not attack, you now only need to match two icons at a time, and you can build up a massive number of matches in order to unleash a powerful attack. If you manage to clean out your entire box during Trozei Chance, you’ll have the opportunity to continue your string of matches, enter Trozei Chance mode again, and create massive combination numbers.

Emptying the box isn’t easy, though. You’ll have to make sure you match each kind of Pokémon in your box evenly. Dittos rain down from above during Trozei Chance, acting as wild cards. They can be very useful for wiping out odd numbers of Pokémon, but they can also hinder your progress by matching a Pokémon you needed or falling at the last second, become left over and ending your run. Excellent stylus reflexes are needed to keep a multiple Trozei Chance run going.

Several classic Pokémon elements have been brought into the game to add strategic elements. Elemental strengths and weaknesses are in play, so beginning a string of combinations with a type-advantaged Pokémon (and avoiding type weaknesses) is highly recommended. There are no dual-type Pokémon in the game, so type matchups are easy to figure out if you have them memorized. They’re also indicated in the game, so never fear if you’re not a complete Poké-nerd.

Players will also be able to partner up with Pokémon they’ve already caught. Partner Pokémon will appear in the box as possible matches. Some of them have special abilities like healing box energy or causing the enemy to flinch, and of course rare or powerful Pokémon do more damage than their Route 1 bretheren. Using partner Pokémon makes it more difficult to clear the Trozei box, though, so using them comes with a risk.

Why use partner Pokémon at all, then? To go for 100% completion by catching all the Pokémon in the game, of course. The developers have stuffed all 700+ Pokés into this game. Some Pokémon won’t even appear to be battled unless the player has met certain conditions, such as beating a lower evolution of said Pokémon in one massive chain attack or with a super-effective move. Some of these conditions are easy to figure out with a bit of experimentation, while others pretty much require a FAQ. There’s even a Safari zone full of Pokémon species that change every day, giving the player incentive to keep coming back to the game for a while.

Later levels offer an increased level of challenge, requiring higher-speed matches or requiring the player to match similar-looking Pokémon such as a selection of Unknown. This challenge ramps up nicely, and players stuck on a particular level can always go back, find some powerful hidden allies, or power up their favorite partner Pokémon.

Pokémon Battle Trozei is a fun take on the Match-3 genre that rewards quick reflexes, strategic thinking, and Pokémon knowledge. It has a few mildly frustrating elements, like Ditto management during Trozei Chance and automatic matches messing up your attempts to spawn a hidden Pokémon, but in general it’s good, clean fun wrapped in an attractive package. What more do you want from an $8 eShop game?

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.5 Graphics
The Pokémon graphics are attractive and the game makes the wise decision not to use the 3D feature. 4.0 Control
The stylus controls are accurate and responsive. 3.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music is fine, but the Pokémon don’t quite sound right. 4.0 Play Value
Gotta catch ’em all gotta catch ’em all. 3.5 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.