| Type: | Handheld game console |
| Generation: | Sixth |
| Media: | ROM cartridge |
| Power: | 1 AAA battery, up to 60 hours |
| Cpu: | S1C88 |
| Cpuspeed: | 4 MHz |
| Memory: | 4 KB RAM |
| Storage: | 6 "files" on-board system memory[1] |
| Display: | Monochrome LCD, 96 × 64 pixels |
| Dimensions: | 74mm × 58mm 23mm x 2.28in x 0.91 in)[2] |
| Weight: | 70g with cartridge and battery inserted |
| Related: | Pokémon Pikachu |
The (officially stylized as Pokémon mini) is a handheld game console that was designed and manufactured by Nintendo in conjunction with The Pokémon Company and themed around the Pokémon media franchise. It is the smallest game system with interchangeable cartridges ever produced by Nintendo, weighing just under NaNabbr=offNaNabbr=off. It was first released in North America on November 16, 2001, and was only available for purchase at the Pokémon Center and via its website.[3] This was followed by releases in Japan on December 14, 2001,[4] and in Europe on March 15, 2002.[5] The system was released in three colors: Wooper Blue, Chikorita Green, and Smoochum Purple.[6]
Features of the Pokémon mini include an internal real-time clock, an infrared port used to facilitate multiplayer gaming, a reed switch for detecting shakes, and a motor used to implement force feedback.[7] Only ten games were released, five of which were exclusive to Japan, with only being four games released in North America.
Various hackers have reverse engineered the Pokémon mini in order to enable the creation of homebrew games, and to allow official games to be played on other platforms.
A total of 10 games were officially released for the Pokémon Mini. While all titles were released in Japan, only four were released in North America and five in Europe, all being launch titles. This was due to the low sales and interest in the system. The Japanese-exclusive titles would eventually receive fan translations.
The games were published in Japan by The Pokémon Company and elsewhere by Nintendo.
| Title | Genre | Developer[9] [10] | Release date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Party mini | Mini games | Denyusha | ||||
| Pokémon Pinball mini | Pinball | Jupiter | ||||
| Pokémon Puzzle Collection | Puzzle | Jupiter | ||||
| Pokémon Zany Cards | Strategy | Denyusha | ||||
| Pokémon Tetris | Puzzle | Nintendo | ||||
| Pokémon Puzzle Collection vol. 2 | Puzzle | Jupiter | ||||
| Pokémon Race mini | Racing | Jupiter | ||||
| Pichu Bros. mini | Mini games | Denyusha | ||||
| Togepi's Great Adventure | Adventure | Jupiter | ||||
| Pokémon Breeder mini | Simulation | Jupiter | ||||
is a minigame collection developed by Denyusha. It includes six minigames which all take advantage of the system's capabilities and abilities:
Additional modes include "Battlefield", where two to six players battle for the highest score in the aforementioned minigames, and "Celebi's Clock", a clock with date, alarm and stopwatch function.[6]
is a pinball game developed by Jupiter. The player uses Pokémon such as a Diglett or a Pikachu as the 'bumping' mechanism. Along the way, players can catch more Pokémon for use, and other Pokémon can function as level obstacle elements. There are 70 "Quest" levels, and 10 levels each in Time Attack and Score Attack modes.
is a puzzle minigame collection developed by Jupiter. It features four different game types, which can unlock over 80 Pokémon in the game's "Minidex".
is a card game compilation developed by Denyusha. It includes four playing card games featuring Pokémon-themed cards and characters from the Pokémon anime.
is a Puzzle game developed by Nintendo. It plays like most versions of Tetris, but in addition to traditional piece rotation, shaking the system will cause falling pieces to flip. All of the Pokémon from Pokémon Gold and Silver can be "caught" and added to the in-game Pokédex, although rarer Pokémon can only be found on higher difficulty levels.
The game was not released in North America, but was rated by the ESRB under the title Pokémon Mini Shock Tetris, suggesting it was planned for release.[11]
is a puzzle minigame collection developed by Jupiter, and is the sequel to Pokémon Puzzle Collection. In addition to the returning "Motion Puzzle" and "Shadow Puzzle" modes, two new modes have been added:
The game was not released in Europe or North America, but was rated by the ESRB under the title Pokémon Mini Puzzle Collection Vol. 2, suggesting it was planned for release.[12]
is a platform racing game developed by Jupiter. Similar to the later-released Pokémon Dash, the player controls a Pikachu and races against other Pokémon including a Chikorita and a Hoppip in a competition for the fastest Pokémon.
is a minigame compilation developed by Denyusha, and is the sequel to Pokémon Party mini. It features six new minigames based on the Pichu Bros. specials:
The "Battlefield" and "Clock" modes also return from the original.
is a top-down action puzzle game developed by Jupiter. The player guides Togepi out of maze-like levels in a tower while avoiding obstacles and other Pokémon. The game features over 200 levels spread across three towers.
is a virtual pet game developed by Jupiter. The player is given an egg that hatches into a Treecko, Torchic or Mudkip. The player must keep the Pokémon happy by feeding it, playing with it, and using toys. Feeding the Pokémon with special Pokéblocks can improve its stats.
The 2002 GameCube game Pokémon Channel has an in-game Pokémon Mini that can be unlocked.[13] By purchasing new games from the in-game store, the player can play emulated demo versions of multiple Pokémon Mini games. One of these games, "Snorlax's Lunch Time", was never part of any commercial Pokémon Mini release.[14]
By reverse engineering the Pokémon Channel emulator, hobbyist software engineers were able to gain a better understanding of how the system worked. This allowed them to build new emulators to run the games on other devices, such as the PC, Dreamcast, Nintendo 3DS, and Analogue Pocket, among others.[15] These efforts also led multiple programmers to create homebrew applications for the system, such as original games and tech demos.[14] A demo, SHizZLE, was released at Breakpoint in 2005 and caused some excitement within the demoscene and media.[16] In 2022, independent developer Sungrand Studios launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop a port of their horror game Silver Falls for the system.[17]