Nintendo is finally releasing some Pokemon games from the Game Boy Color library onto the 3DS Virtual Console next month!… But don’t get too excited. They’re not Pokemon Gold Version, Pokemon Silver Version or Pokemon Crystal Version, as many are no doubt hoping.
Thankfully, they’re still two gems that are well worth the attention of fans though. Pokemon Puzzle Challenge will arrive on the 3DS eShop first, on Thursday, November 6th, while Pokemon Trading Card Game will follow it a week later, on Thursday, November 13th. Pokemon Puzzle Challenge will be priced at $4.99, while Pokemon Trading Card Game will cost $5.99.
Pokemon Puzzle Challenge is a handheld puzzle game based around beloved Nintendo puzzler spin-off, Tetris Attack!. While simulating the journey through the Johto Pokemon League, players take on the Gym Leaders and Elite Four members of the Johto region, matching a rising tide of blocks, and trying to pile up their opponent’s blocks to the top of the screen before they can do the same to the player. It was met with very positive reception at the time of its launch, and is considered to be one of the best first-party Nintendo games made for the Game Boy Color.
Pokemon Trading Card Game meanwhile is an adventure that incorporates the real-life trading cards of the same name, or at least the first three sets of them, which are entirely comprised of the Gen-1 Pokemon roster from Pokemon Red Version and Pokemon Blue Version. Players take on the eight trading card clubs, accumulating booster packs that help them manage their decks and become the trading card champion of the land, in a twist on the Pokemon games’ premise. While not quite as well-received as Pokemon Puzzle Challenge, Pokemon Trading Card Game was still praised as a fun way to play the card game without kids blowing tons of money on real-life booster packs.
If you’re on the fence, Nintendo is offering a download incentive to sweeten the pot as well. If you buy and download either one of these games from the 3DS Virtual Console catalogue in November, you’ll receive a free demo for Pokemon Omega Ruby/Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, for a limited time. It’s presumed that this offering will stop after November 21st, when the two highly anticipated 3DS remakes officially launch both at retail and on the 3DS eShop.
Keep catching Eggplante for all of your news and updates on the Pokemon series.