Pokémon Rumble World

The retail release of the game removed all freemium elements and provided all unlockable content from the start. The game received mixed reviews from critics, with criticisms towards its gameplay but praise towards its free-to-play model. After the closure of the 3DS eShop in March 2023, the game is no longer available for download.

• Title — Pokémon Rumble World • Developer — Ambrella • Director — Norio Matsumura • Producer — Shusaku Egami Eisuke Kasejima Hitoshi Yamagami • Composer — Miki Obata • Series — Pokémon • Released — April 8, 2015 • Genre — Action role-playing • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — Nintendo 3DS

• Illustration — A scene of combat gameplay from Pokémon Rumble World, in which a group of toy Treecko and a Grovyle fight against each other Pokémon Rumble World is an action game with a top-down perspective that has players assume the role of their Mii character in the Kingdom of Toys, a land populated by toy versions of Pokémon species spanning the entire series up to Generation 6 (including Mega Evolutions and Primal Reversions of Groudon and Kyogre). The gameplay is largely unchanged from preceding series installments, where players move through semi-randomized paths and fight species of Pokémon through button mashing, leading to a stage boss. At the behest of the King, who grants the chosen Mii character his toy Pikachu and a hot air balloon, the player must travel to various lands, battling and collecting new Pokémon to increase their Adventure Rank which grants them access to new items and areas. The game uses two forms of currency, which include coins collected from stages and a new currency called Poké Diamonds. Coins can be used to unlock Mii customatization options. Poké Diamonds can be obtained either through normal gameplay, purchased directly with real money through the Nintendo eShop, or exchanged through StreetPass. A limit on real-world currency use in-game does exist, however, and players are allowed to purchase a maximum of 3,000 Poké Diamonds through this method. Afterwards, a mine will appear, granting 40 of them once per day. Additionally, the game can be played without paying for microtransactions. Poké Diamonds can be used to unlock features such as increasing the chance to find certain Pokémon, in-game travel, continuing to play a stage after a Pokémon's health has run out, or additional Pokémon storage. Challenges, which are missions with a specific set of goals, may also grant Poké Diamonds, in addition to cosmetic items such as clothing. Rumble World differs from its predecessors in that levels are accessed via the hot air balloon system, as opposed to a world map. In total, 18 balloons, each with different themes and sublevels that have different Pokémon across each of them, can be traveled with. After using a hot air balloon, a cooldown period is enacted in which the player must wait before using it again, unless they use Poké Diamonds to reinflate the balloon quicker. The game features connectivity through StreetPass and SpotPass, in which friend Miis can appear in the main plaza or in dungeons.

The first mention of Pokémon Rumble World appeared as an entry on the Australian Classification Board content rating website in March 2015. The listing revealed the game to be rated PG and have online interactivity. The timing of the game's rating caused speculation that Rumble World was part of Nintendo's collaboration with DeNA to bring its properties to mobile devices. Rumble World reappeared at the end of March on the same board, revealing its developer to be Ambrella. It was officially announced by Nintendo in an April 1, 2015 edition of their Nintendo Direct broadcast, along with a worldwide release date set for the following week on the Nintendo eShop. In August the same year, an update was released for the game that added the "Lucky Balloon", taking players to a new area with a higher chance of meeting Pokémon they haven't yet caught. On October 2, 2015, Nintendo revealed that the title would receive a physical retail release in Japan the following month, with an English retail version arriving in Europe and Australia in January 2016. In February 2016, a North American release was announced for April that same year. The retail version of Rumble World removes support for in-game purchases, and instead grants the player access to all content from the start; save data from the free version cannot be transferred to the retail release.