All Rumbled Out

As noted in my previous post about some happenings on the mobile front, the edition of Pokémon Rumble for the platform is about to end its service in two months. Meanwhile, I myself have not been feeling the desire to get back into this sub-series of Pokémon games; it's almost like I'm "all rumbled out" with not much left to go on. At this point, it may be helpful to review where I and the series have been in order to find out where I (and possibly others) really stand.

The Pokémon Rumble series started out life as a WiiWare game of the same title. It also expanded to the Wii U with a follow-up, naturally subtitled Rumble U. Since I don't own either of these consoles, I don't have much to say about these iterations, except that since these are full-fledged consoles and that their tendency for multiplayer is strong, it is natural for them to accommodate it as such. It would be an impressive thing for not just a single Pokémon fan, but a group of them, provided the necessary means to play.

Rumble then branched out to the 3DS, which is where I got hooked on it by a friend, as detailed in my initial post about the game. Rumble Blast as the first adaptation was rather faithful and comprehensive, expanding the initial Wii game with the fifth generation (the original only went to the fourth) and then getting "backported" to the Wii U as Rumble U above. I found it fun, especially with the help of that friend, although by then I started to notice that it was an intense game. Rumble World expanded to where it needed to go, the sixth generation, but multiplayer became a thing of the past and the game began to be oriented to "rake in cash". The intensity remained, which was a good thing for the game, but maybe not so much for the Circle Pad. After having problems advancing and console problems in general, I practically ceased most activities with the game.

And then of course there is the mobile incarnation of Rumble Rush. The seed of "raking in cash" from Rumble World is also nurtured here, and the game remained single-player. While the soul is retained to some extent, it also remained arduous and intense, especially on the "raking in cash" standpoint, which is indicated particularly by the reviews. I myself couldn't play because of phone storage issues, and even if I could, other things related to Pokémon and beyond required my attention, thereby not affording much of an edge.

Pokémon Rumble is a great series of games, but the common denominator is that all the games are rather intense. Since it moved away from multiplayer territory and became cash-oriented, that intensity hadn't let up and things remained tough, particularly with the latter. It makes sense why I and likely many others have become "rumbled out", possibly due to simply being unable to keep up with all the action, despite the interesting ways of the games in all editions.

In effect, this has become in some ways a negative "turnaround" that started from a feeling of being "totally rumbled" to play leading to just a feeling of being "rumbled out". At some point in time, I may "rumble" myself back to play, but that may require some considerations. The series itself may require some considerations for continuance, perhaps to make sure that no one gets "rumbled out" as I have become and everyone can continue to feel "rumbled" as they play, even with what the game series demands.

One year ago: Cosplay: Isshoni Tanoshimimashou 14
Two years ago: Crazy Decisions
Three years ago: Tropius Fruit and Other Pokémon Edibles