Learn With Pokémon Typing Adventure: A Comprehensive Review
Learn With Pokémon: Typing Adventure is a unique title that blends the world of Pokémon with the practical skill of typing. Marketed as an educational tool, this game offers a distinctive experience that appeals to both young Pokémaniacs and adults alike. Let's delve into a comprehensive review of this intriguing game.
Gameplay and Premise
As with most Pokémon spin-offs, the story itself is rather dubious. In Pokémon Typing you take on the role of a typist who is invited to join the Elite Typists’ Club (even though you, yourself have no prior knowledge of typing). The game's premise is simple: you become a member of the Elite Typists’ Club and embark on a journey to capture Pokémon by typing their names. As Pokémon hop, bounce, fly and crawl towards you on the top screen, it is your job to identify them and then type their name in as quickly as possible in order to capture them. Initially, the game requires you to type only the first letter of a Pokémon’s name to capture it. However, as you progress, the challenges become more demanding.
In the latter stages of the game you will also be expected to type random letters that appear on screen, as well as grabbing items to reach the end of certain courses - such as the key to Gengar’s room in the G Mansion. This may lead you to a boss battle, which requires you to type certain keys in quick succession while luring the rare Pokémon in to ensnare within your Typing Ball. The Pokémon make things difficult by sneakily hiding in the shadows or behind trees before announcing themselves with their shrill cries, which is fine if you happen to remember every single Pokémon sound in the Pokédex, but not so easy for those uncommon with the series.
There are a certain number of Pokémon to capture in each zone, some of which are rare and might need replaying several times before you encounter them. Points are awarded on the accuracy and speed of your typing, with bonuses gained with every chain of perfect typing combos. Once you have cleared a stage you can repeat the level in order to meet different targets, such as researching 15 different Pokémon or gaining over 3,000 points.
Educational Value
However, the question still remains - does Pokémon Typing actually teach you how to type? The answer is no, not really. While many stages of the game focus on enhancing the speed and accuracy of the player’s typing skills, there is in fact no guidance on how to type. The only stage that really focuses on technique is the Backslash Basics section, which is unlocked early on. This level includes 7 challenges which require you to type using all of your fingers - even your pinkies! While the game enhances typing speed and accuracy, it doesn't provide formal typing instruction. "Learn" in the title is a little misleading (it rarely teaches you anything about typing), it's a solid aid to improving your speed on a keyboard.
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Hardware and Presentation
The game comes in a winsome oblong shaped box, which houses a standard DS game clamshell containing your game cartridge, a beautiful white Bluetooth mini-keyboard, and a little stand to sit your DS on when you are playing. They even include the two AAA batteries needed to get it working, which is a lovely and unexpected touch. The hardware is solidly built, if a little plasticy. The keys are responsive and large, everything's wireless and takes minimal setup, and it all works with both the DS and 3DS range. The keyboard is the perfect slim size, without squishing the keys too close together to be functional, with a minimal set-up time and looks great in ‘ice white’. The keyboard also connects with any other Bluetooth device you might own, such as Android phones and tablets - very handy indeed.
To round it all off, the complete lack of Nintendo DS branding on the keyboard suggests to us that this could well be an accessory which functions with the Wii U - although we obviously can't test this yet, as we don't have one. If you happen to throw your keyboard out of a 10-storey building, you’ll be happy to know that the game is still playable using the lower screen visual representation of the keyboard, albeit much trickier.
Sadly, the presentation is flat-out rubbish. There's very little animation in the Pokemon you face, the backdrops to the action are bland, and the music is largely forgettable. Sadly, the presentation of Pokémon Typing lets the whole game down, as each course appears dull and empty, the Pokémon themselves are barely animated beyond a slight prance and the backing tracks are mediocre compared to the series’ usual bouncy score.
Target Audience and Difficulty
While the game is primarily marketed towards a younger audience of Pokémaniacs, it can at times be quite challenging, as some of the Gold medal challenges can cause even the most dexterous of typists to flail like a Magikarp. There are bronze, silver and gold ranks for each stage, and gaining the elusive gold medals can be extremely difficult and will require that you memorise different monster types on each stage, repeatedly attempting each level numerous times before you are deft enough to type the names out like your RSA-trained secretary at work. Youngsters (and me) will like the excellent, colourful graphics and the fun of working through the levels, perhaps to attain a bronze or silver standard. Gold medals may be a bit tricky for younger players, but anyone over the age of 12 should have the nous to get their Poké-typing skills up to the necessary standard to gain them.
Comparisons to Other Typing Games
Known by the slightly more edgy moniker “Battle & Get! Pokémon Typing DS” in Japan, this game is something of a Pokémon-themed spin on Smilebit’s loony 1999 cult hit The Typing of The Dead. In case you haven’t played it (and you really should), TTODD was what you would best describe as a mod to the lightgun shooter The House of the Dead 2, with the gun replaced with a QWERTY keyboard. As you stalk through the Venice streets and attempt to avoid being made to suffer like G did, you dispatch zombies and other nasties by typing words that appear on the screen as quickly as possible. It sounds like hard work - and it is - but it is also incredibly compulsive and often uproariously funny due to the absurdity of the words and phrases you have to type. Typing Adventure isn’t as snooker loopy as its SEGA forebearer, but it is a lot of fun.
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Value for Money
Even if you are no Pokéfan, it is worth spending the £40 for Bluetooth keyboard and DS stand alone. If I was going to criticise the thing at all, it would be because of the lack of tabs or similar on the base of the keyboard to allow you to tilt it at an angle. I am used to typing on a keyboard raised by about 35 degrees, not laid flat on the tabletop.
Community Reception
The game has received mixed reviews from players, with opinions ranging from highly positive to somewhat critical. Some players praise its fun and addictive gameplay, while others find it repetitive or lacking in educational value.
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