Pokédex 3D Pro review

by Paul on Nov 13th, 2012

Oh Nintendo … just when I allow myself to think that you’ve started to get to grips with the vagaries of digital pricing you go and do something like this. This week sees the release of a new version of the Pokédex 3D Pro and it comes in at an eye-watering price of £13.49. Considering that the previous version of the app was free this really does come as a surprise. It’s a shame because there is a lot of content to enjoy and make use of here and I’d wager that for many a Pokémaniac it would be an essential purchase, but to ask them to pay this much for it? Ouch!

There’s no denying that this new version of the Pokédex is a substantial update from the previous one which only listed the Pokémon in the Unova region. This time round every single one of the critters from throughout the history of the series is listed and it makes for a staggering number of Pokémon to read up on. There’s over 600 here, in all their forms, and all rendered in true 3D glory and viewable immediately. Each Pokémon entry in the Pokédex comes with its own sound effect, as well as some lovely animations while you view them. They all look stunning with beautifully smooth models that bode well for how they’ll look when a proper 3DS title gets released. Turn on your 3D and it’s doubly impressive, with many of the Pokémon animations taking advantage of the stereoscopic viewpoint. Each entry has its name announced by a suitably excited voice which is handy if you ever wondered if you were saying some of the more obscure names correctly, and they also come with an AR marker which you can sketch out and then put to use with the AR viewer to make it look like the Pokémon really are squatting on your coffee table. It looks cool but ultimately it’s little more than a novelty.

Each model comes with a list of stats displayed as a series of meters that chart such things as abilities, egg groups, height, weight, etc. and there’s a separate sub-section that details all of the moves that the Pokémon can learn and how they do them. Everything is organised dynamically so that you can jump around to different Pokémon based on their evolutions and it’s all a joy to use. It’s just a shame that the developers didn’t use this opportunity to add some general facts and trivia to help flesh everything out beyond a dry list of statistics. Also available is a challenge mode that tasks you with 36 quizzes that tests your Pokémon knowledge. Experts will find it all a bit tedious at first but as the quizzes get progressively harder, so does your enjoyment increase as you get to test those little grey cells.

To call all this ‘comprehensive’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s an exceptionally detailed app and it’s clear that compiling all of this must have taken someone a lot of time. Granted, everything here is already available on the internet in some shape or form but having it all tied together in a single easy to use and accessible app makes this a really great package. Does this justify the inflated price for what is essentially a Pokémon-themed interactive wiki on your 3DS? It all depends on personal preference and how much you love them I suppose. It is a useful and engaging reference tool and if it were cheaper I’d have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone but when you take into account that this app is aimed at younger gamers Nintendo really should be thinking again about their pricing strategy. As things stand this comes at too high a price to recommend to any but the most ardent (and wealthy) Pokémon fans and that is a real shame as there is a lot to enjoy here.

3/5

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