Developer: Ambrella Publisher: Nintendo

Released: October 30, 2000 Rated: E 5/10

The last hurrah on the N64 for Nintendo’s love for hardware-based gimmickry, Hey You, Pikachu doesn’t really come through to offer all that much beyond a collection piece for Pokemon fans and completionists. Despite offering an actual start–to-finish experience, what’s contained in the original oversized box is more of a combination between Tigger’s Honey Hunt – a full game that, though not outright educational, boasts an objectively young target audience – and its comrade, Pokemon Stadium – a collection of gameplay concepts predicated on the included accessory making up the difference with novelty. Players beyond the recommended age group need not apply, and unfortunately, the limited technical prowess of the hardware itself doesn’t provide a very good foundation for the experience anyway.

The first game developed by the masters of high-concept, mid-quality Pokemon spin-offs, Ambrella, and the first to use the integral Voice Recognition Unit and microphone that came bundled with it, Hey You, Pikachu consists of daily adventures with a wild Pikachu that makes daily visits to the player’s house. Professor Oak uses this opportunity to obtain more free prototype testing by giving the player an item called the PokeHelper, so that you can communicate with it through speech. Much like seldom-seen Simpsons’ family member Herb Powell, and his dubious baby translator invention, however, the effectiveness of this English-to-Pika translator device is questionable at best. Though it should be acknowledged that the VRU is attuned to the register of its target audience – i.e., 12 and under children and their higher-pitched voices – the idea that it can understand and process the advertised 256 key phrases and words doesn’t feel like it’s being delivered on. Holding the Z trigger to activate the microphone and spout off your command or request to Pikachu within about five seconds is already a bit jilted and doesn’t feel much like a natural way to speak to anybody or anything, but to see it turned into a soap bubble and fired at Pikachu’s head doesn’t inspire confidence that it’s understood anything, regardless of reaction or the presence of a key phrase.

It would seem extraneous to spend so much setup describing the hardware alone, but much like Tony Hawk Ride or Taiko Drum Master, the limited scope and compatibility of the accessory makes its base functionality fundamental to the game it’s packaged with, rather than something to give the software extra slack for doing its best with. Additionally, the rest of the game is a lot harder to judge in a modern, adult-player context anyway. Even if you didn’t get a look at the box it was originally packed in, the tone and pace of Hey You, Pikachu will give you a strong indication that you’re maybe better off just firing up Pokemon Puzzle League to get your adrenaline and Pocket Monster fix. A classic example of a virtual pet sim, where raising and interacting with Pikachu and the other Pokemon you meet is the focus, a series of different adventure concepts takes up one in-game day at a time over the span of one year. The vibe is consistently that of a Nick Jr. or other early ages style cartoon. Concepts like going to the pond and returning a group of Poliwag to their matronly Poliwhirl, or collecting food for a picnic with Bulbasaur are broken up into five minute episodes, and consistent lulls in the action for the player to understand Pikachu’s mood, address their behavior, or analyze the items and environment to figure out how to proceed easily boast the tempo and mission statement of a Dora the Explorer or Blue’s Clues program.

As a result, as much fun as it might sound as a concept at first, Hey You, Pikachu is just not a great game, though the follow-through on at least designing and programming a number of different scenarios and mini-games at least shows its credibility as a little bit more than a cheap cash-in, either on the license’s immediate popularity or on the hardware and its concept. It’s just that Hey You, Pikachu is a lot more Kinectimals than Nintendogs. All three are similar genres married to gimmick-based hardware, but whereas Nintendogs saw Nintendo garner some truly widespread appeal due in part to its straightforward suite of contained gameplay concepts and more widely accepted hardware usage, it’s tough to look at something like Hey You, Pikachu or Kinectimals and imagine anyone outside of the little girl who demonstrated the Kinect at E3 truly getting anything out of it. Leave your VRU and microphone on the shelf until you decide to try out some Densha de Go! (the only other compatible title) for a game you might not enjoy either, but at least know you’re in the target age range.

Continuing Legacy

For a pretty unremarkable title, there are actually quite a few ways to look at how lots of concepts used in Hey You, Pikachu would become much better realized across several series later on in gaming history. Starting with the VRU, for example: voice recognition software would make some major strides on Nintendo systems starting pretty much immediately with the GameCube. Most notably implemented as an optional feature in Mario Party 6 and 7, as well as an integral component to pinball/RTS mashup Odama, the microphone accessory wasn’t a focus of most players’ game libraries, but it came in handy for some much more wide-appeal titles. Microphone usage would continue with Nintendo’s next handheld, the Nintendo DS, where brief-but-effective moments in games like the aforementioned Nintendogs, WarioWare: Touched!, and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass were key in involving the casual audience in novel ways.

Developer Ambrella would continue making various Pokemon spin-offs of varying quality, including the dreadful and exhausting Pokemon Dash for the Nintendo DS, the beat-em-up-style Pokemon Rumble series, and perhaps, most notably for our purposes, Pokemon Channel for the GameCube. Another oft-forgotten spin-off, Pokemon Channel is, for the most part, a spiritual sequel to Hey You, Pikachu, with it’s mostly-linear, suburbia-flavored adventure that mostly sees you interact with different Pokemon in a cozy but low-involvement gameplay loop.

Lastly, if you want to try out a voice-controlled game that’s a little more mature, look into Lifeline for the PS2, published by Konami. An intriguing little title, if nothing else, you control the main character much as you would Pikachu as you attempt to guide them through an Alien-inspired futuristic survival horror adventure.

Additional Information

Saves: Cartridge

Compatible With: Voice Recognition Unit (REQUIRED)

Players: 1

Print Guides: None

Aggregate Critical Reception (GameRankings): 56.04%, based on 16 reviews

Other Releases: JP, December 12, 1998

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