With the Pokémon series still a ways off from making its proper debut on Nintendo 3DS, fans who had purchased the stereoscopic handheld were in need of something to tide them over. Less a proper game and more a companion "app" to Pokémon Black and White 2, Pokémon Dream Radar uses the 3DS's AR capabilities to bring the delightful monsters into your living room.
If you've played Face Raiders you'll immediately know your way around Dream Radar. You move around, using your 3DS as a viewfinder for your surroundings and shooting at targets. Rather than humorous depictions of your friends and family, though, you're blasting Dream Clouds, Dream Orbs and Pokémon themselves in an attempt to capture them.
Each mission is fairly simple; clear out the Dream Clouds in the area, which break down into Dream Orbs, the game's currency. Dream Orbs can be used to upgrade your beam, increase your timer on missions or increase the max number of Dream Clouds that will show up. Occasionally a Dream Cloud turns into a Pokémon (or rather, a glowing sphere representing a Pokémon) and, in Ghostbusters fashion, you have to keep your beam trained on them while mashing the A button. Once captured you see which Pokémon (or item, if you're particularly unlucky) you've earned.
The Pokémon on offer are a somewhat limited selection, with only 21 available from the outset. The upside is that not only does each Pokémon have its Hidden Ability — previously only obtainable through the Dream World section of the Global Link website — but the Legendary Trio of Thunderus, Landorus and Tornadus all have new Formes that can only be obtained in Dream Radar. A nice feature is that if you insert an appropriate Generation IV game — Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver — you'll be able to catch Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Ho-Oh or Lugia, respectively.
You can't do anything with Pokémon or items except transfer them into a copy of Black 2 or White 2, which is an incredibly simple process. With the game card inserted into your 3DS just hit the "transfer" button on Dream Radar's main menu to send them along. Boot up your Black 2 or White 2 game and select "Unova Link" on the main menu, select the Dream Radar option and everything collected is automatically deposited into your in-game PC. It's a breeze, considering you have two pieces of software designed for different handhelds communicating with each other.
The only real drawback is that the amount of time you can spend playing is limited. Once a course is completed it takes real-world time for the Dream Clouds to regenerate. It's understandable, as without such limitations it would be far too easy to breeze through the game and earn everything in one sitting (or standing, depending on how you play). Those with itchy trigger fingers can speed up the process with a few Play Coins, but despite understanding why it is the way it is it still smells a little bit too "Facebook game" for our tastes.
Conclusion
Pokémon Dream Radar is a fun diversion for Pokémon fans that ties in well with the newly released Black and White 2. Providing a fun way to earn otherwise unobtainable or hard to find Pokémon, combined with a very low price point ($2.99 in North America) make it a super effective purchase for those wrapped up in the series. If catching them all isn't your cup of tea, there's nothing for you here; if you're the type of person with Pikachu bedsheets then you've probably already added funds to your eShop account for this.
Comments 74
This completely defeats the point of actually planning wild Pokemon placement in the actual game...GJ Nintendo!
That'll do. Insta-DL
Much, much cheaper than I had expected. I hated Face Raiders so I'm only buying this to acquire all of the legendaries with minimal effort. =P
I'm going to get this even though I'm not getting Black 2. But 21 pokemon! Hopefully there will be some kind of spotpaxs feature. :l
If it costs £1.80 in Europe then I'll get it. Otherwise, it's just another excuse for Nintendo to make money. "Hey! I have an idea! Let's make some new legendary pokemon that can only be got in Dream Radar and then give it a ridiculous price. People will always spend money on unique legendary pokemon."
Only 21 pokemon? Is eevee one of them?
@turtlelink Nope. But you can get eevee with its hidden ability pretty easy in BW2. One is given and you can find them in any hidden grotto.
@Pikachupwnage Oh, thank you!
The Pokédex 3D Pro will be for $15 can you believe that.
Are pokemon still catchable without Black and white 2? Just wondering.
@clavier121 How cheap are you that you think $3 is a rediculous price?
So how long does it take for the clouds to come back- minutes hours days?
I don't mind the $2.99 price BUT can somebody tell me how much I need to pay to get it with a credit card on the system? The cheapest eShop card I can find is $20 so screw that.
This sounds like a reasonable offer. I do have a question. When you catch a Pokemon on the Radar, do you have to send it to B2/W2 before you catch another, or does it save all the Pokemon you capture?
Nice house you got there.
@rjejr Each Dream Cloud takes about 5 minutes to regenerate, so around an hour or so depending on how many you have.
If you're buying it with your credit card directly from the eShop you can add just the amount of the game. I've done that buying Virtual Console games.
Still don't understand how you're supposed to catch any Pokémon without holding down & B.
Great review mate!!
@SpaceKappa - Thank you very much for the info, my 7 yr. old was just crying b/c he didn't have $20 for an eShop card, he only has about $12 in his wallet.
An hour sounds reasonable, 1 a day after school but they can get a couple over the weekend. Though he may finish it off Monday. My kids think Columbus discovered America so they can play Pokemon all day.
6/10? Are you kidding me? This can't be taken seriously, since you've obviously not taken into account how important this game can be to Black/White 2.
@Geonjaha you can't catch EVERY Pokemon. Just pokemon that are hard to find or can't be found in B2W2.
@Geinjaha Yep, 'cos Nintendo develop Pokemon games.
If only it was free!
Should have been cheaper, if it wasn't that fun to play with.
They should have made it more like DenpaMen, where you can catch pokemon or items on radio waves, and even run into shinies for extra fun.
Don't see way they make catching shinies so hard, this could have been the main selling point of this game.
@DonJumpMad That is actually a really cool idea. Hopefully theyll make an update of some sort.
Only 21 Pokemon and time constraints?
Maybe I'll get it later.
Well it depends how you interpret:
"The Pokémon on offer are a somewhat limited selection, with only 21 available from the outset. "
IDK, this means more become available as you play? Either way, this interests me.
Looks like this app is useless if you don't plan on ever getting B/W2. Pass.
For me, it just depends on how much it costs when it arrives in Europe. If it's around the £1.80 mark, I will be sure to pick it up!
Anyone know when it launches? As in the actually time not day.
@thelastlemming - That's a good point. Are more pokemon coming to it Joe?
@C-Olimar Check the game description on the right side. It has Nintendo as the developer which isn't too surprising since pretty much all spinoffs of Pokemon were developed by studios other than GameFreak.
@Aqueous I'm not sure! I probably could have worded it better, but there's 21 available not counting the bonus Pokémon you can obtain by slapping in a Gen IV cartridge.
@SpaceKappa - Ah, so just 26. Hmm, I'll think about the download then, its quite tempting
Eh, maybe I'll get it once I get Black/White 2, and they give me more incentive to get it, like updates and whatnot. But this has made me want to go back and play Pokemon White, so I guess I can go play that until then.
I wish this was more like the Safari zone in pokemon. Keep most of it the same, but instead of just clouds, also have brush, and other things you have to push aside in hopes of finding some pokemon in the wild. When you see a pokemon, you should have the ability to throw rocks, berries, or safari balls at it. I think that would make for a much more clever and logical way to connect the 3DSware with Black 2 and White 2.
Looks okay,might pick it up.
I'll probably get this and Pokedex 3D Pro. 15 + 3 = 18. And I suppose I'll get a Go Series Game as well.
I'll get it too, but 21 is a sad number of obtainable pokémon. I hope there will be updates in the future.
I think the technology of the 3DS could be better used to make a Pokemon Snap sequel.
Could also be done well on Wii U with the new gamepad come to think of it.
Think of it as $3 DLC for Pokemon giving you 21 Pokemon. I don't think that is bad at all considdering they could get away with selling Pokemon for $1 each if they really wanted to...
It's hard to argue with $2.50. I'm definitely going to get this.
@CowLaunch You win the internet.
Seriously. Either of these. In fact, the Wii U seems PERFECT for it, but I'd settle for a 3DS Pokemon Snap sequel. Just give us a sequel there.
As for Dream Radar, I'll probably download it, $3 for 26 Pokemon (8 of which are legendaries) seems like a good deal for me. Of course, I'll have to borrow my sister's Pearl and HeartGold cartridges, but... I'll be honest. This had more potential. Thankfully it's cheap enough that I'll download it purely for the 'mons.
It's up on eshop now
i would get it but i have no credit card and not buying a $20 3ds card so im kinda out of luck seems like a good addition though to black ver that will arrive soon
I saw this on eShop already last night and grabbed it. I knew this wouldn't be a great game since it seems mostly a gimmick to make up for B/W 2 being regular DS, but so far I'm pretty disappointed with it. Its like they had a really simple concept for a game, but they had to try to make it hard since you're getting rare Pokemon.
When you start, it doesn't even tell you what to do until you find a cloud. I have an incredibly hard time finding any clouds. It doesn't give you much of a clue. I wandered around my house for 10min and no clouds, and I couldn't do anything (no buttons worked.) After setting it down for a while while on and trying again, I finally found some and could finish the tutorial. I went back to cloud mode and can't find anything again. But if you stop they go away and you have to restart waiting for them to appear :/
You catch Munna in the tutorial (or is it random?) and it flits around annoyingly as you're trying to button mash to catch it. I don't like when both quick frantic aiming and button mashing are required, plus I bet this will be on a short timer later. Also after the tutorial you can't even do anything, you have to set the game down and wait for more clouds to generate. Really, they couldn't have let you play for real immediately?
I don't have plans to get B/W 2 soon since I've barely started B/W and I read it matters having played the first one first, but I thought the Dream Radar would be a fun diversion until I was ready to play it, and by then I'd have some good Pokemon to transfer.
So yeah really not impressed so far. Anyone have any tips for me to find clouds better?
I'm kinda hoping later on there will be some kind of addition/update to this game, but at $3 I'm thinking its probably unlikely.
@Geonjaha
True, except for the fact that there are only 21 Pokemon you can get from the Dream Radar. There is still plenty of Pokemon for you to actually catch in-game.
@rjejr I was about to answer your questions until someone else did. Oh btw, my college does not observe Columbus Day, so I'm personally screwed! Lol.
@Kitsune_Rei
Really!? I was able to find clouds in a pitch-black room! Before every cloud-capturing session, the game shows a map of approximate locations of the clouds. What I do is that I hold the 3DS up (elbows on the seat handles), and when the crosshair shows, I move the 3DS a certain number of degrees depending on where the map shows the + signs representing clouds.
I hope this helps.
pokedex 3d PRO is NOT $15 dollars damn it!!!!
Is there a limit to how many of each Pokemon, specifically the legendaries, you can catch? Also, can you transfer them to Black 2, and then then trade them to Black 1? I'm still missing a Thundurus there...
@GreenX1 The first time I tried to play though, it was night so the room was dark. I couldn't find a darn thing. I gave up and shut the game off (since you can't do anything else) and figured it was because I had to play during the day or something.
I guess I need to pay more attention to that radar? I wish it'd stay up :/ I'd been trying going in slow circles, looking up and down, and walking around the house, but I can't seem to find a good method of finding the clouds.
@TrueWiiMaster I think you can only get 1 of each legendary, I know they've said so of the Thundrus etc group.
Transferring back to B/W will probably depend on if they allow you to transfer Pokemon back in general. I don't know if its possible. I think some of these are B/W 2 exclusives so maybe not?
For $3 that's not too bad to get at lest 21 pokemons in a mini-game. I remember during the gba age you would spend more $ just to get one that was rare/worthwhile.
@xj0462 You're right. It isn't fifteen dollars. It's 14.99. Check the insert for bw2 bud.
@ssdoingnothings Yeah, $14.99 on the insert. The cute redhead Gamestop cashier also told me I could pre-order a code for it. We bought a 3DS eShop card instead. NY tax means $3.25 plus $16.25 = $19.50 and my kid had $15.46 on a GC.
Also, buying DR today on the 3DS eshop was easy w/ a CC just clicking on the Neccassary Funds button (or whatever it was called). why can't they update the Wii to do that? I would have bought a lot more.
I can't complain about $2.99 when Angry Birds is $30.
I bought it already, its actually quite fun. LOL. I'll try the Game thing. ^_^
@Kitsune_Rei: The game made it very clear to me that new clouds spawn about every five minutes, they don't depend on location, image or time of the day.
You can also pay with play coins if you want to get a new batch of clouds instantly, but the number of times you can do that is limited to 3 a day.
Also, you don't need to smash the button to catch the pokemon/item, just keep it pressed.
The game itself is a nice diversion, I'll keep me busy until I get Pokemon Black 2 or White 2.
@sillygostly I didn't know anyone HATED Face Raiders. What's to hate? It didn't even cost you anything.
It is actually kind of fun.....
Well I've been enjoying this. Hopefully I'll get another Torandos at some point, I'm a bit disappointed I got a nature that reduces physical attack
Nicely Done Nintendo
No need for this app...
Already got all 3 new formes of the genie trio.
And I don't like face raiders at all...
I tried it out today. It's not bad. My save file on Black 2 now has a Munna, a Revive, and a Green Shard that it didn't ave before.
@SSDOINGNOTIHNGS u lie
@ThePillowGolem It says on the eShop that it was developed by Creatures Inc. and Game Freak.
I've played some more, and gotten a better idea of how it works. I still don't have B/W 2 yet but plan on picking it up soonish. One thing to look out for, your caught inventory of Pokemon is limited to only 5 until you transfer them to the game! So that kinda sucks. Legendaries don't seem to count towards that thankfully.
@C-Olimar - This eShop game was developed by Nintendo, and this eShop game is what is making the pokemon placements in the actual game redundant, so yeah, I was right the first time.
i have this. It's not as wonderful as I thought it was gonna be, but it's a time passer, and it's HILARIOUS to play in the waiting room at the doctor's office when people are trying to figure out what they heck you're doing.
I'm not sure what people are complaining about. The fact you can get a Regenerator Ho-Oh fairly easily is more than worth the price of admission. Not to mention a Pranker Riolu, which can be evolved into Justified Lucario.
Is it the only way to see the Therian Forme of the kami trio? If not, I'll just send them over from B&W.
@Mizari
The Therian Forms are unique to the Dream Radar so no they aren't in B&W.
http://www.serebii.net/dreamradar/pokemon.shtml
^Full list of the obtainable Pokemon.
Also worth noting that you cannot trade the Therian Forms as far as I know. So the Dream Radar is your only way to get them.
@Geonjaha No, it wasn't developed by Nintendo. I HAVE the game, it says in the manual who developed it!
@C-Olimar - After 4 months you have proved me wrong. I still don't understand how any of this is actually relevant to my original concern though.
@Geonjaha Ha, I was going through my old posts and found this. I was under the impression other people had answered your original point though.
Not worth the effort. It's an app that sits on my Switch that I only ever used once. I thought the Pokemon were too hard to catch, and I don't have the patience for it.
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