In a double dose of Pokemon-related awesomeness this week, it seems its not just the 3DS that's due to get a heaping of Poke-goodness this year, as the clockwork toy-themed Pokemon beat 'em up, Pokemon Rumble has been announced for the Wii U. Revealed in THE magazine for game-related 'mon announcements, CoroCoro, the initial details are fairly light on the ground, with nothing in the way of even a release window to speak of yet - although we'd imagine it'll be at some point this year for Japan. Even less has been confirmed for when we might see the game on these shores - but considering the previous two Pokemon Rumble spin-offs made it out of Japan though, it stands to reason that we'll see the game too - we're keeping our fingers crossed.
The original Pokemon Rumble game hit the European WiiWare store back in 2009, priced at a whopping 1500 Wii Points - around £10.50. Less of a traditional Pokemon game, and more of a beat 'em up, you began the game as a pitiful purple Ratatta toy with big dreams - dreams of one day winning the famous Battle Royale. He soon finds out there's no way he could manage it on his own, so sets off on a journey to befriend more and more Pokemon toys to help him out. By hammering 1 and 2 to perform your two available moves, and fighting your way through the hordes of Pokemon that populate each level, every now and then you'll come across a Pokemon so embarrassed by how much you've beaten them, they'll turn around and proclaim their undying loyalty and join up with you - so making your team stronger. With four player co-op play, and the ability to switch from Pokemon to Pokemon at any time (from the full list of 'mon you've befriended, too), Pokemon Rumble was a frenetic dash through the Pokemon world - and an addictive one to boot. The 3DS sequel Super Pokemon Rumble featured more of the same, but with more of a 'saving the world' story thrown in to the mix, and around three times the Pokemon to collect - while the Wii U versions takes things further still.
This latest instalment in the series is set to feature a whopping 649 creatures to collect, which means you'll be able to befriend every single Pokemon from the series to date, save the inevitable new ones planned for this Autumn's Pokemon X and Y games. Given the Wii U's increased processing power, there'll also be swarms of up to 100 creatures on screen at any one time - which is sure to make for some epic brawls. And while nothing else concrete has been revealed, we're betting that this one will let at least four people team up to take on the Pokemon hordes (perhaps even five), seeing as both the WiiWare and 3DS games had the option for multiplayer.
With two Pokemon games incoming, we're imagining more info on both Pokemon Rumble U and Pokemon X and Y will be trickling out of Nintendo in the coming months - so make sure you keep checking back.
