Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness

Download Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness and embark on a unique Pokemon adventure! Purify Shadow Pokemon, battle powerful trainers, and save the world from the evil Cipher organization. Start your journey and play now!
a game by Genius Sonority, Inc.
Platform: GameCube (2005)
Editor Rating: 7.5/10, based on 1 review
User Rating: 7.4/10 - 17 votes
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See also: Pokemon Games, JRPG Games
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness

I will admit that Pokémon XD Gale Of Darkness was one of the most disappointing Pokémon games for me. I am not for one second saying this is a bad game, but as the follow up to the amazing Pokémon Coliseum, this just never quite reached that level. It is the kind of game that is good, but man it could have been great had they taken a bit more time with it.

Team Cipher Is Back

I thought that the story in Pokémon Coliseum was good, especially that intro! The idea of there being an evil organization (Cipher) that is out there not just capturing Pokémon, but turning them into Shadow Pokémon was something that I thought was really cool. The fact that they kind of treat Team Cipher as if they are some kind of terrorist organization is something I really liked.

The story in Pokémon XD Gale Of Darkness picks up around five years after the events of Coliseum. Team Cipher is once aging making and putting out Shadow Pokémon and you are having none of it! I really think the story could have expanded more, but instead much of it feels like they are retreading what the first game did. Again, it is not bad, but man I just feel it could have been so much more.

Pokémon Go!

The actual gameplay is very similar to what Pokémon Coliseum offered and that is not a bad thing. I like how they have increased what Shadow Pokémon can do and as a result, they certainly feel different. Once you capture them you need to purify them so that they can return to normal. The gameplay is just like Coliseum and I am cool with that, but you can clearly tell that they have used a lot of assets in terms of the gameplay and especially the visuals from its predecessor.

Extra Stuff To Do!

As well as playing through the main story, Pokémon XD Gale Of Darkness has a few other things to keep you busy. Mt. Battle is probably my favorite aspect of this game. It is a 100-trainer challenge and you will need to test your skills in order to defeat them all. You can get fun prizes by doing this mode, but it is playing the actual mode itself that I really enjoyed.

You also have Poke Spots like were in Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire where you can capture wild Pokémon. This is another example of how this is good, but with a bit more work it could have been great.

I know that this may seem like an overly negative review, but this is not a bad game at all. The problem is that they reused a ton of stuff from Pokémon Coliseum and as a result Pokémon XD Gale Of Darkness feels far from being a brand new game. I get the impression Nintendo wanted another Pokémon game out as quickly as possible (as far in advance of the 2006 launch of the Wii as they could is my guess) and as a result there simply was not enough time to put a ton of new content in here.

Final Score: 7.5/10

Pros:

  • Pokémon XD Gale Of Darkness does follow on from Coliseum
  • Team Cipher is bad and they are cool
  • I like the way the game expands the Shadow Pokémon
  • It has a larger roster than Coliseum
  • It is still a fun 3D Pokémon adventure

Cons:

  • The game does not add a ton of new stuff
  • Many reused assets from its predecessor

Download Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness

GameCube

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Snapshots and Media

GameCube Screenshots

See Also

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