Pokemon Stadium is an unlicensed fighting game for the Mega Drive and SNES, loosely based on the Nintendo 64 game of the same name. Little is known about this game's origins.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay of Pokemon Stadium consists of 1 on 1 battles where Pokémon charge energy for attacks. The Pokémon with the highest meter can be allowed to attack its opponent using four different attacks: Attack 1 being the weakest but least costly, and Attack 4 being the strongest but most costly.
Whenever an attack is performed, the defending Pokémon can choose to either defend or "Evade confrontation". Defending is luck-based and only reduces damage, but evading takes place on a slider where you must try to stop an arrow in the middle area. If you get this arrow in the middle, you avoid taking any damage. These steps are repeated until the opposing Pokémon runs out of HP.
The game includes two modes - Arcade Mode for one player and VS Mode for two players.
Version Differences[]
The in-game controls differ between both versions. For charging attacks, the player can hold down A in the Mega Drive version or Down on the D-Pad in the SNES version, and to attack the opponent they press B (Mega Drive) or A (SNES.) The player can also press B in the SNES version to taunt at the opponent, something that isn't present in the Mega Drive version.
Both versions of the game present the player with twelve playable Pokémon, although three of them differ between them. Below is a list of the Pokémon seen in the game, with their in-game name, their official English and Japanese names and what version they appear in:
In-game name | English name | Japanese name | SNES/SFC | Mega Drive |
---|---|---|---|---|
Thund | Jolteon | サンダース
Thunders |
Yes | Yes |
Dogas | Koffing | ドガース
Dogars |
Yes | Yes |
Spia | Beedrill | スピアー
Spear |
Yes | Yes |
Hudin | Abra | ケーシィ
Casey |
Yes | Yes |
Genga | Gengar | ゲンガー
Gangar |
Yes | Yes |
Lizad | Charizard | リザードン
Lizardon |
Yes | Yes |
Windy | Arcanine | ウインディ
Windie |
No | Yes |
Kames | Blastoise | カメックス
Kamex |
Yes | Yes |
Galas | Gyarados | ギャラドス
Gyarados |
No | Yes |
Kabic | Snorlax | カビゴン
Kabigon |
No | Yes |
Pikag | Pikachu | ピカチュウ
Pikachu |
Yes | Yes |
Dagut | Diglett | ディグダ
Digda |
Yes | Yes |
Raif | Vileplume | ラフレシア
Ruffresia |
Yes | No |
Pulin | Jigglypuff | プリン
Purin |
Yes | No |
Mu | Mewtwo | ミュウツー
Mewtwo |
Yes | No |
The names of each Pokémon are all shortened mistranslations of their Japanese names to fit in all 5 letters much like all of the Japanese Pokémon names. Diglett and Abra appear to have been mistakenly given the names of their final evolutions, Dugtrio (ダグトリオ, which is pronounced "Dagutorio") and Alakazam (フーディン Fuudin) respectively.
The Mega Drive version of the game appears to be much broken when compared to the SNES version. Arcade Mode does not seem to function properly, since the game will go back to the title screen just as the next fight starts. Defending and evading also seem to have been swapped, and whenever one Pokémon attacks, the energy meters of both Pokémon will be reset the next turn regardless of how high either one is. And, unlike the SNES version, the player doesn't know which attack they are using until they choose it.
The SNES version uses the Capcom sound engine from Super Buster Bros. (Super Pang in PAL regions), possibly taken from the SNES version of Tekken 2 as the renditions of songs heard in Virtua Fighter 2 VS Tekken 2 and Rockman X3 are present in this game also. The Mega Drive version uses the Data East sound engine from High Seas Havoc (Capt'n Havoc in PAL regions) with the same music, including unused ones, and sounds from in Pocket Monster II. These could suggest the same developers of both games made both versions of this game, although it is uncertain.
Pokémon Movelist[]
Spia (Beedrill)
- Skill 1: Dash Attack
- Skill 2: Prod Attack
- Skill 3: Impinge Attack
- Skill 4: Tail Attack
Dogas (Koffing)
- Skill 1: Rolling Attack
- Skill 2: VENOM Attack
- Skill 3: Black Gas
- Skill 4: Thunder Attack
Lizad (Charizard)
- Skill 1: Impinge Attack
- Skill 2: Fire Ball
- Skill 3: Drill The Land
- Skill 4: Fire Attack
Windy (Arcanine)
- Skill 1: Dash Attack
- Skill 2: Fire Attack
- Skill 3: Ray Attack
- Skill 4: Red Eye's Hunting
Kames (Blastoise)
- Skill 1: Earthquake WAVE
- Skill 2: Dash Attack
- Skill 3: Whirlabout Attack
- Skill 4: Water Canon
Galas (Gyarados)
- Skill 1: Gnawing Attack
- Skill 2: Water Pillar
- Skill 3: Power Storm
- Skill 4: Floodwater Attack
Pikag (Pikachu)
- Skill 1: Dash Attack
- Skill 2: Punch Attack
- Skill 3: Yellow Aperture
- Skill 4: Thunder Attack
Thund (Jolteon)
- Skill 1: Dash Attack
- Skill 2: Thorn Attack
- Skill 3: Sand Splash
- Skill 4: Thunder Attack
Hudin (Abra)
- Skill 1: Defense Wall
- Skill 2: World Inversion
- Skill 3: Silk Truss
- Skill 4: Magic Pillar
Genga (Gengar)
- Skill 1: Tongue Attack
- Skill 2: Magic Attack
- Skill 3: Hypnosigenesis
- Skill 4: Power Magic Attack
Dagut (Diglett)
- Skill 1: Sand Splash
- Skill 2: Drill The Land
- Skill 3: Stones Attack
- Skill 4: Earthquake WAVE
Kabic (Snorlax)
- Skill 1: UNGUIS Attack
- Skill 2: Dash Attack
- Skill 3: Revert The Life
- Skill 4: The Great Storm
Raif (Vileplume)
- Skill 1: VENOM Attack
- Skill 2: Silk Truss
- Skill 3: The Great Storm
- Skill 4: Sand Splash
Pulin (Jigglypuff)
- Skill 1: Dash Attack
- Skill 2: Earthquake WAVE
- Skill 3: SINGING Attack
- Skill 4: Silk Truss
Mu (Mewtwo)
- Skill 1: Dash Attack
- Skill 2: Magic Attack
- Skill 3: Hypnosigenesis
- Skill 4: Power Magic Attack
Music[]
Below are lists for the music used in both versions:
Mega Drive[]
Song name | Original source | Usage | Notes | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unused Track #2
Lucky Lucky |
Japanese song from
the Pokémon anime |
Title and selection screens,
in-game music |
This rendition is from Pocket Monster II, but is unused. Although it is used for the menu screens in this game, it is also used as the theme for Lizad, Pikag and Dagut. | [1] |
Unused Track #3 | Unknown | In-game music | An unused song from Pocket Monster II. It is used here as the theme for Spia, Kames and Hudin. | [2] |
Title Theme, Ending Theme
Meowth's Song |
Japanese song from
the Pokémon anime |
In-game music | This rendition is from Pocket Monster II where it is used as the title and ending music. Here, it is used as the theme for Dogas, Galas and Genga. | [3] |
Unused Track #1
Team Rocket Forever |
Japanese song from
the Pokémon anime |
In-game music | This rendition is from Pocket Monster II, but is unused. Here, it is used as the theme for Windy, Thund and Kabic. | [4] |
SNES[]
Song name | Original source | Usage | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Star from H.K.
(Pai's Theme) |
Virtua Fighter 2 | Title and selection screens | This rendition is from Virtua Fighter 2 VS Tekken 2, which was used in the Tekken 2 SNES bootleg as Lee's theme. |
All Clear | Super Buster Bros. | VS screen | |
Song of Sorrow
(Wolf's Theme) |
Virtua Fighter 2 | In-game music | This rendition is from Virtua Fighter 2 VS Tekken 2, which was used in the Tekken 2 SNES bootleg as Jun's theme; it does, however, loosely resemble the title screen music from Pokémon Red, Blue, Green and Yellow. Here, it is used as the theme for Spia, Kames and Hudin. |
Password Theme | Mega Man X3 | In-game music | This rendition is from Rockman X3 which was used inthe Tekken 2 SNES bootleg as Kazuya's theme. Here, it is used as the theme for Dogas, Pulin and Genga. |
Gravity Beetle Stage | Mega Man X3 | In-game music | This rendition is from Rockman X3 which was used in the Tekken 2 SNES bootleg as the menu music. Here, it is used as the theme for Lizad, Dagut and Pikag. |
Young Knight
(Lion's Theme) |
Virtua Fighter 2 | In-game music | This rendition is from Virtua Fighter 2 VS Tekken 2, which was used in the Tekken 2 SNES bootleg as Heihachi's theme. Here, it is used as the theme for Raif, Thund and Mu. |
Time Over | Super Buster Bros. | In-game fanfare | Used when the player wins against the AI in Arcade Mode and when the first or second player wins in VS Mode. |
Time Fleeting | Super Buster Bros. | Continue | Used when the player loses against the AI in Arcade Mode. |
Game Over | Super Buster Bros. | Game over fanfare | Plays as soon as the game transitions to the Game Over screen after the Continue countdown. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The SNES version has Arcade Mode misspelled as Arcade Moe on the title screen, while the Mega Drive version has it written correctly.
- The game mechanics are based on the Super Famicom game Yū Yū Hakusho: Tokubetsu Hen.
- The ROMs for both versions don't seem to load in any emulator - they will instead load a black screen (the Mega Drive version will crash as soon as the first note of the title music starts playing.) It is likely that both versions of the game have copy protection, but a few people have managed to create patches which make the game playable.