Hey You, Pikachu!

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Hey You, Pikachu!
Image:Hey You, Pikachu! Coverart.png
Developer(s) Ambrella
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Platform(s) Nintendo 64
Release date JPN December 12, 1998
USA November 6, 2000
Genre(s) Life simulation game
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: Everyone
Media Cartridge
Input methods Microphone

Hey You, Pikachu! ( Pikachū Genki dechū?) is a Nintendo 64 game released in 1998. It was developed by Nintendo and Ambrella. Its Japanese name is Pikachu Genki dechū, a pun on "Pikachu genki desu" (Pikachu is fine). The game features voice-recognition technology (that is later succeeded by the Nintendo DS); this is used to talk to Pikachu, the star of the game. It is also the only game that utilizes the N64's Voice Recognition Unit (VRU), the technology of which was upgraded and built in to the Nintendo DS. Besides talking to Pikachu, the player can move around and pick up items. Despite being geared towards small children, there was a pamphlet included with the VRU that mentioned how the microphone may be unable to pick up younger voices. A game called Pokémon Channel was released three years later on the Nintendo GameCube, which is often considered to be the spiritual sequel to this game.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

The game begins when the main character has to try out a new device of Professor Oak's that is used to talk to Pokémon. The player then meets a wild Pikachu and befriends it. The Pikachu's trust must be earned, then it will come and live in the player's house. There are three different areas to explore, each with their own things to do: Pikachu's Daring Days, Discovery Days, and Play Days. Some of these areas you collect food, others pikachu goes fishing and in others different things happen, there's even a treasure hunt map which you can obtain by being skilled at the pinata level. Through the course of the game, the player can earn Pika Points, which is the currency used at Abra's Shop.

Eventually, if the player reaches day 365, Professor Oak appears on the television when the player wakes up and says that Pikachu has to be released, as it is a wild Pokémon. The player has to go to the woods where Pikachu was found and say "goodbye" several times, upon which Pikachu realizes he can't live with the player anymore, and, sadly, leaves. After the credits, while the player is looking around the front yard and reminiscing about Pikachu, it returns, and the game continues as if Pikachu was never released.

[edit] Characters

  • Mom The main character's mother. She does not come into the storyline much, but does say "Good morning" to the player every morning.
  • Professor Oak The professor who invented the PokéHelper, the device used to talk to Pokémon.
  • Pikachu The partner of the main character, Pikachu and the player go on many adventures together, such as fishing trips and picnics.
  • Owner You, The main character.

[edit] Secrets

  • If one, when Pikachu is in the Corn garden, will say "Fry the garden!" Pikachu will let loose an electrical attack and burn the garden.
  • If, at the end of the day when Pikachu is bidding the player farewell, the player says "Go away" instead of "Goodbye", Pikachu makes a grumpy expression and a thought bubble with a black scribble in it appears above his head (possibly a scratched-out swear word).
  • If the player says "Thundershock", "Thunderbolt", or "Thunder", Pikachu may perform the corresponding attack.

[edit] Reception

Videogame review aggregators like Metacritic[1] and Game Rankings[2] gave the game mixed reviews. Some complaints included the simplistic music and graphics, the controls, and the limits of the voice-recognition technology, which only understood about 200 words. Because of this, and due to the many different languages in Europe and other territories(and the huge variation of English accents in the UK, significantly more than any other anglophone region), it was never released outside of Japan and North America.

[edit] References