Pokémon Colosseum is the first 3D Pokémon role-playing game on a home console. Released in 2004 on the Nintendo GameCube, it swaps tall grass and wild Pokémon for a desert region, Orre, and a brand-new mission: snagging Shadow Pokémon from Team Cipher’s Trainers to set them free.
| Original title | ポケモンコロシアム (Pokémon Colosseum) |
|---|---|
| Platform | Nintendo GameCube |
| Genre | Role-playing game |
| Developer | Genius Sonority |
| Publisher | Nintendo (The Pokémon Company in Japan) |
| Director | Manabu Yamana |
| Scenario | Kazunori Orio |
| Music | Tsukasa Tawada |
| Players | 1 (Story Mode), 1 to 4 (Battle Mode) |
| Release in Japan | November 21, 2003 |
| Release in North America | March 22, 2004 |
| Release in Europe and France | May 14, 2004 |
| Connectivity | GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, LeafGreen) |
| Region | Orre |
| Available Pokémon | 52 in Europe (2 starter Pokémon, 48 Shadow Pokémon, Plusle, Ho-Oh) |
| Sales | About 2.4 million copies worldwide |
| Sequel | Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005) |
Two games in one
The main menu offers two independent modes:
- Story Mode: the adventure of Wes and Rui in the Orre region, chasing Team Cipher. This is where you capture and purify Shadow Pokémon. See the walkthrough.
- Battle Mode: battles against the computer or between friends, in Single Battles (one or two players) or Double Battles (up to four), with the team from Story Mode or one from a Game Boy Advance cartridge. See Battle Mode.
Compatibility
- Game Boy Advance: with the GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable, purified Pokémon can be sent to Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen, and Pokémon from those games can battle in Battle Mode. See the Game Boy Advance link.
- Memory card: the save file takes up part of a GameCube memory card.
- Pokémon XD: the two games can’t trade directly. You have to go through a Game Boy Advance cartridge.
- Bonus discs: a Japanese bonus disc offered Celebi and a Pikachu, a North American one Jirachi. Nothing of the sort in Europe.
The Mega Pak
For the European release, on May 14, 2004, Nintendo offered a limited-edition pack, the Pokémon Colosseum Mega Pak: a black GameCube console, a black controller, the game, the bonus disc Pokémon Box Ruby and Sapphire, a GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable and a 251-block memory card.
Sales and reception
- About 2.4 million copies sold worldwide, including more than 1.15 million in the United States and more than 650,000 in Japan. It is the best-selling role-playing game on the GameCube.
- In the United Kingdom, its first week doubled the GameCube’s market share.
- An average score of 73 out of 100 on Metacritic. The press praised the first true 3D Pokémon role-playing game and its darker tone, but regretted the limited number of Pokémon and the lack of large areas to explore.
Our full verdict: the review. The story of its development: the history of the game.
Playing it today
- On GameCube, or on a Wii that is compatible with GameCube games, with the original disc.
- On Nintendo Switch 2: Pokémon Colosseum is one of the GameCube games announced in April 2025 for the Nintendo Classics library, reserved for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers. As of mid-September 2026, it wasn’t available yet, unlike its sequel, Pokémon XD, added on March 18, 2026.
