Pokémon Dash is one of those games that makes you say, ‘Someone made that? Really? Why?’ The answer is that Nintendo were releasing the Nintendo DS and they most likely wanted a Pokémon title in the launch lineup to boost sales, so Pokémon Dash was born. The game’s premise is simple – you’re a Pokémon, there are races, you run in said races, try to win and hopefully avoid the lava, because there are no regulations in Pokémon races.
Sounds mildly exciting, right? Well, Pokémon Dash has a few setbacks.
Firstly, aside from multiplayer, you only ever play as Pikachu. Sure Bulbasaur, Meowth, Torchic and even Munchlax, which – fun fact – makes Pokémon Dash one of the first games to include a Gen 4 Pokémon, are there, but, if none of your friends own Pokémon Dash, it’s one hundred percent Pikachu, one hundred per cent of the time.
For a Nintendo DS launch title, Pokémon Dash barely considers the touchpad. All you do is drag the stylus forward to direct Pikachu about the track and, occasionally, move it from left to right when Pikachu gets stunned. The Pokémon Ranger series utilizes the touchpad more and that’s about drawing circles around Pokémon, while somehow managing to have an excellent time.