OFFICIAL NINTENDO PRESS RELEASE: 28th May 2010: Get ready to run, jump, and smash your way through Pikachu’s latest action-packed adventure for all ages when PokéPark™ Wii: Pikachu‘s Adventure launches on Wii on 9th July.

Playing as Pikachu, you must solve the crisis that has befallen a strange new place, the PokéPark.  Along the way, you’ll befriend key Pokémon as you take part in Skill Games and the many challenging Attractions to be found in the PokéPark.

Up until recently, the PokéPark was protected by an item called the Sky Prism. But the Sky Prism shattered, and its pieces were spread all across the PokéPark. In order to save this magical place, you, as Pikachu, will need to explore the PokéPark and collect all of the Sky Prism Pieces.

PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure is the first Pokémon adventure title for Wii.  As well as pulling you into a deep and engaging action adventure story, you will meet and talk to a wide variety of Pokémon.

As you work your way through the story, you’ll explore various zones within the PokéPark, each very different to the last.  Whether in Beach Zone, Iceberg Zone, Lava Zone or Haunted Zone, you’ll find various Attractions, which comprise the main challenges in the game.

Each Attraction is a mini-game, such as a footrace, a test of strength or an obstacle course, designed to test your skills to the max. Beating the high score in an Attraction is often a way of receiving a Sky Prism Piece. Shake and tilt the Wii Remote to fly, swim and skate your way through a whole host of fun Attractions, such as:
Rhyperior’s Bumper Burn – Pokémon fight on a stage. You have to try to push opponent Pokémon off the stage!
Bulbasaur’s Daring Dash – What could be better than a Pokémon footrace! Shake the Wii Remote to accelerate.
Salamence’s Air Ace – Shoot airborne targets while flying high in the sky during this intense shooting game! Hitting targets while controlling the Pokémon is a serious test of your skills.
Venusaur’s Vine Swing – Timing is everything in this test of your vine-swinging skills.  Get the momentum right if you want to achieve a long jump.
Gyarados’ Aqua Dash – Race against the clock, avoiding obstacles and using boosts to set the fastest time you can on this aquatic course!

But Pikachu isn’t the only one who can challenge the Attractions! As Pikachu befriends other Pokémon, some will become playable in different Attractions, opening up a wealth of possibilities to make strategic use of different Pokémon’s specific strengths.

Many of these Pokémon will also challenge Pikachu to a Skill Game, such as a simple Battle, a game of Hide-and-Seek, or a Chase – all games that will allow you to build friendships with the challenger by defeating them!

Zip across land, sea, and sky to show off your speed and skill in the first ever Pokémon action adventure title for all ages on Wii when PokéPark™ Wii: Pikachu‘s Adventure launches on 9th July 2010.

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About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.4 billion video games and more than 565 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems.  It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in Europe.

About Pokémon:
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website.  Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

The PokéPark is a bit like a theme park for Pokémon, and is usually a place of fun and frolics, but one day Pikachu gets a visit from Mew who tells him that all is not right at the PokéPark. Everyone’s favourite electric mouse rushes off to see if he can help. It turns out there are problems with the attractions and so Pikachu sets to work to solve them. The Pokémon’s Pika-abilities aren’t enough to solve some problems though, so he has to befriend other Pokémon and get them to use their abilities to help out.

The key to getting on in the game is to make friends with as many Pokémon as you can. This is through taking part in a Trial of Strength. Beat the Pokémon and they will join your ranks of pocket monsters! You need them on your side, as Pikachu can’t solve all of the park’s problems on his own – the other Pokémon each bring with them certain strengths and weaknesses that will make some of the tasks much easier to complete.

The locations in the game are varied in both terrain and look. There are large expanses of park to explore, filled with trees and rock formations; then there are enclosed locations like volcanoes and battle rings. All the Pokémon have been modelled in detailed 3D, so Pokémon fans are going to get a real kick out of seeing their favourites in the park!

While there are reportedly 193 Pokémon in the game, it’s a real shame that Game Freak couldn’t fit all 495 known Pokémon onto the Wii disc. Everyone has their own favourite Pokémon, and there will always be fans who will be disappointed that theirs has not made it into the ranks in the PokéPark.

The game is split into a selection of ‘zones’ for Pikachu to explore. There’s the Green Zone we see here with forest and a river running through it, the Gathering Place has gates and connects to the other areas of the park, the Beach Zone has a bridge you can access once you have completed certain tasks, then on to the Ice Zone with a ski lift and icy mountain, the Mine Zone with mine cart tracks, Magma Zone set inside a volcano, House Zone that you access from a hole in a hot air balloon and is full of ghosts, Stone Zone where Pikachu must deal with an earthquake, the Flower Zone where you get to meet Shaymin, and finally the Sky Garden where you meet a Piplup – but all is not as it seems!

The are lots of extra features in the game that can be accessed by entering a password… Things like a surfboard for Pikachu to ride on, balloons, snowboards and appearances from the Pokémon Celebi, Groudon, Darkrai and Jirachi, and all unlockable through secret passwords. These will soon be hot property at school breaktimes we wager!

One of the main moves that will keep Pikachu moving through the game is the Thunderbolt. Pikachu’s powers do decrease over time, but the plucky Pokémon can visit Electabuzz in The Gathering Place to recharge his special move. It costs 350 Pokédollars each time.

Getting about the PokéPark quickly is achieved by standing by a kind of bus stop and calling a Drifblim. At first the Pokémon will charge you 20 Pokédollars for a ride to another part of the park, but once you have made it your friend, the price goes down to 10 Pokédollars! Visit Misdreavus at his stall and you will get a camera to take photos of your adventures around the park. You simply hit the ‘-’ button on the Wii Remote to take a shot!

All the Fun of the Fair…

There are so many cool attractions in the PokéPark, you’re going to be spoilt for choice! From sliding to flying to smashing to targets to batting balls – you will need to make friends with a lot of Pokémon, as some are better than others at each attraction.

Bastiodon’s Panel Crash

Empoleon’s Snow Slider

Rhyperior’s Heat Up Fight

Salamence’s Super Sky Race

Venusaur’s Rope Swinging

A Trial of Strength!

As Pikachu wanders around the PokéPark he will come across 193 Pokémon. You can make these Pokémon join you if you beat them in a Trial of Strength. There are five trials in all, and each one offers some radically different gameplay to master. If you beat the Pokémon, you can then challenge them over and over again for fun!

Battles
This is the main trial and sees Pikachu battling against all kinds of Pokémon with various health bars and moves. Pikachu will always start off with a Thunderbolt, stunning the opponent so you can follow up with a Quick Attack or Iron Tail!

Tag Race
You’ve got to catch up with another Pokémon in this trial, which can be quite tricky when they are Ghost-types and disappear, or Flying-types and take off so you can’t touch them! Some Pokémon will also use attacks on Pikachu to make the trial even tougher.

Hide & Seek
Some Pokémon just love to play Hide & Seek! Accept a game and they will run off to hide. You have simply got to find them – sometimes they are easy to find, other times they will be behind objects, but listen out as you will be able to hear their cries.

Quizzes
Some Pokémon will join you if you answer a quiz question from them. Most Pokémon Trainers will know the answers to their Pokémon questions, but if you get one wrong, they will tell you the answer afterwards so you can remember it for next time.

Jump Challenge
This is the most tricky, and rarest, trial in the game. You have 99 seconds to jump across a series of platforms. There’s plenty of time, so take it slowly and get it right first time. If you fall, you will start again with the timer continuing to count down.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Keep Going! Blazing Adventure Squad! Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Let’s Go! Stormy Adventure Squad! and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Go For It! Light Adventure Squad! for you!

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Video ©2010 Pokémon. ©1995-2010 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.

Click on one of the images below to open up the full size screenshot so you can check out Pokémon Rumble in all its glory! We’ve got our full review of the game, along with hints and tips in the January issue of Pokémon World, on sale 7 January.

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