Despite being a day late (thanks a lot for not sending your shipments to GameStop on time, Nintendo!) I finally got to playPokéPark 2 for the first time yesterday!  The game is BEYOND cute, and I really like it so far.

You start off the game as Pikachu, much like the original title.  You go around with Piplup making friends and whatnot, until the both of you are convinced to enter a suspicious looking area.

This area, which I think is called the Wish Zone, is made entirely of sweets.  Everyone who eats the cakes that were made in this area suddenly become possessed!  Pikachu and Piplup run into Oshawott, who is investigating what is going on with these possessed Pokémon.  Pikachu is challenged to take on the “Attraction” of this area, which is a whack-a-mole type mini game hosted by Cofagrigus.  When Pikachu wins, the Pokémon are freed, but the world starts imploding or something and Piplup manages to save Pikachu and Oshawott – while sacrificing himself!  It becomes Pikachu and Oshawott’s mission to return to the Wish Zone to save Piplup!

I don’t want to give everything away, but the story is cute and the animation is adorable!  If you aren’t into cute Pokémon, then this game might not be for you.  Also, I hate to say this because it’s a kid’s game, but I often find myself getting confused as to what I’m supposed to be doing at any given time.  But whatever!

In terms of mini games, the format is somewhat different from the original title.  No longer are you competing for best scores (at least from the gameplay I’ve seen so far) and doing ridiculous mini games every time you encounter a Pokémon.  The main “Attractions” in different areas are similar to the mini games from the previous game.  But when you encounter a new Pokémon, you usually have to play a game of Chase, or you will be asked to BATTLE!  This is a new aspect of PokéPark 2 – you can battle using Pikachu, Oshawott, Snivy and Tepig!  (You have to unlock these extra characters first, of course.)  Each Pokémon has a different move set for battle.  There’s a regular Tackle-type move, a special move, and a sweeping move to help you beat your opponent.  Plus, when you are battling, sometimes one of the OTHER Pokémon you might have befriended along the way will pop out and offer their services!  For example, I was playing as Snivy and battling a Leavanny.  I wasn’t very effective against her and was losing.  Then Seismitoad pops up and did a sludge bomb on her!  Thanks Seismitoad!  😛  (You can’t walk around as any Pokémon but Pikachu and the BW starters tho.)

There are some familiar faces in this installment of PokéPark.  Drifblim is back to ferry you and your friends to whichever town you might need to reach.  Misdreavus once again is in charge of the photos.  The format of this game is similar to the previous PokéPark, except this game actually has more of a storyline!  Imagine that!

OK well that’s all I have time to write about right now.  Visit my Flickr Photostream to see the rest of the photos I’ve taken so far.  Enjoy!

PS – Stay tuned for some ACCF DLC news coming soon!  O.O