Released in Europe on March 15, 2002, the Pokémon mini stands apart in the series’ history: it is the only console entirely dedicated to Pokémon. No bigger than a stopwatch, with a 96 × 64 pixel monochrome screen, it nonetheless hid a motion sensor, a rumble feature, an infrared port and a clock. A funny little machine, endearing and quickly forgotten.
A pocket console… a truly pocket-sized one
The Pokémon mini fits in the palm of your hand: 74 × 58 × 23 mm and 70 grams, battery and cartridge included. The transparent shell shows off the electronics, and the back comes in three colors, each tied to a Pokémon: the blue of Wooper, the green of Chikorita and the purple of Smoochum. A pad, three buttons A, B and C, a power button: it’s easy to pick up and play.
The cartridges, smaller than a Nintendo DS card, are tiny. Unusually, save data is not on the cartridge but in the console itself, kept alive by the battery.
Ahead-of-their-time ideas
The Pokémon mini’s real strength is its motion detector. Shaking the console makes Pikachu jump, Hitmonchan box or a sprint start: in 2002, that was a new idea. The rumble feature adds depth to very simple games, and the infrared port allows multiplayer, as long as you hold the consoles face to face. Pokémon Party mini thus supports up to six players.
A library that’s too thin
Only ten games were released, five of them in Europe: Party mini, bundled with the console, Pinball mini, Puzzle Collection, Tetris and Zany Cards. They are mostly games lasting a few minutes, fun but quickly exhausted. The most ambitious titles, like Togepi no Daibouken or Pokémon Race mini, stayed in Japan. See the Japanese games.
A commercial failure
The Pokémon mini never found its audience, in Europe in particular. Its life was short, and it quickly disappeared from store shelves. It lives on, however, in Pokémon Channel on GameCube, which offers a virtual version with six games, one of them an exclusive. See the Pokémon mini in Pokémon Channel.
The verdict
Our verdict
An endearing curiosity, full of good ideas, but with a library too thin to last. Today, a fine collector’s item.
What we like
- A tiny, well-made console
- The motion sensor and rumble feature, far ahead of their time
- Multiplayer by infrared
- Pokémon Tetris and Puzzle Collection, which are absorbing
What we like less
- Only five games in Europe
- Games that last a few minutes
- A tiny, monochrome screen
- Restrictive multiplayer
