The (stylized as Pokémon mini) is a handheld game console designed and manufactured by Nintendo in collaboration with The Pokémon Company. It was originally released in North America on November 16, 2001; followed up with Japan the following month and Europe in March 2002. The system is themed around the Pokémon franchise and is the smallest Nintendo system ever produced with interchangeable cartridges, weighing just under .
Design and specifications
The Pokémon Mini features a monochrome dot-matrix display, a directional pad, three action buttons, a speaker, a real-time clock, an infrared data port for multiplayer gaming, a reed switch to detect when the device is shaken, and a motor for force feedback. The console was available in three color variants named after Pokémon characters: "Wooper Blue," "Chikorita Green," and "Smoochum Purple."
The device is powered by the 8-bit S1C88 CPU with 16-bit instructions, custom-designed by the Nintendo R&D3 team and manufactured by Epson. This processor, clocked at 4 MHz, manages game execution, user input, and graphical output.
The device features a monochrome dot-matrix display with a resolution of 96 x 64 pixels and a refresh rate of 30 frames per second. Unlike the Game Boy, it lacks the ability to display shades of grey and does not rely on a display driver. Instead, it uses a "Picture Rendering Controller" to transfer image data from memory to its internal framebuffer before outputting it to the screen.
Input is provided by a D-pad for movement, three action buttons labeled "A", "B", and the shoulder-mounted "C", a power button, and a reed switch called the "shock sensor" capable of detecting motion, allowing players to interact with certain games by shaking the device and allowed the device to function as a pedometer. An infrared communication function capable of operating up to away, enables multiplayer gaming between up to six Pokémon Mini devices. Game states can be saved to the 8 KB EEPROM, which provides six internal save files, though the number of files used per save varies by game.
Games are stored on Game Pak cartridges, which could have held up to 2 MB of game ROM, although all commercially available games are under 500 KB. Internally, the 4 KB BIOS ROM initializes the system and handles power management, as the console remains in a suspended state rather than fully powering off. The console includes 4 KB of internal static RAM, which is shared with video processing functions.
It is the smallest Nintendo system ever produced with interchangeable cartridges,
Release and sales
The Pokémon Mini was first released in North America on November 16, 2001. The system was exclusively sold at Pokémon Center New York which opened on the same day. On November 19, it became nationally available as a launch item on the Pokémon Center website. it was Nintendo's least expensive console ever produced at and came bundled with the game Pokémon Party mini.
The system was later launched in Japan on December 14, 2001, and was sold at a specific lineup of retailers with a stand-alone version later being sold at a reduced price; and eventually in Europe on March 15, 2002.
Sales of the Pokémon Mini were poor, and only ten official games were produced, with five remaining exclusive to Japan, five released in Europe, and four in North America. In later years, hobbyists reverse-engineered the device, enabling homebrew development and emulation of official titles on other platforms.
List of games
A total of ten games were officially released for the Pokémon Mini. While all were available in Japan, only four were released in North America and five in Europe. Due to low sales and limited interest in the system, later titles were not translated from Japanese. These titles would eventually receive fan translations. Games sold for in the United States or Jupiter and published by The Pokémon Company in Japan and by Nintendo in other regions.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Key
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| bgcolor="#FFFF99" style="text-align:center;"| †
| Game was bundled with Pokémon Mini console
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" id="softwarelist" width="auto"
! rowspan=2 | Title
! rowspan=2 | Genre
! rowspan=2 | Developer
! colspan=3 | Release date
|-
! !! !!
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| bgcolor="#FFFF99" style="text-align:left"| Pokémon Party mini †
| Mini games || Denyusha || || ||
|-
! style="text-align:left"| Pokémon Pinball mini
| Pinball || Jupiter || || ||
|-
! style="text-align:left"| Pokémon Puzzle Collection
| Puzzle || Jupiter || || ||
|-
! style="text-align:left"| Pokémon Zany Cards
| Card game || Denyusha || || ||
|-
! style="text-align:left"| Pokémon Tetris
| Puzzle || Nintendo || || ||
|-
! style="text-align:left"| Pokémon Puzzle Collection vol. 2
| Puzzle || Jupiter || || ||
|-
! style="text-align:left"| Pokémon Race mini
| Platformer || Jupiter || || ||
|-
! style="text-align:left"| Pichu Bros. mini
| Mini games || Denyusha || ||
Pokémon Puzzle Collection Vol. 2
is a puzzle minigame collection developed by Jupiter, and is the sequel to Pokémon Puzzle Collection. In addition to the returning "Motion Puzzle" and "Shadow Puzzle" modes, two new modes have been added:
- Pick-Up Puzzle: The player clears Poké Balls on the field in a forward-only position, and can only move if Poké Balls are faced in the respective direction.
- Stretch Puzzle: The player, through a given number, must fill gaps in a grid by stretching bars.
The game was not released in Europe or North America, but was rated by the ESRB under the title Pokémon Mini Puzzle Collection Vol. 2, suggesting it was planned for release.
Pokémon Race mini
is a platform racing game developed by Jupiter. Similar to the later-released Pokémon Dash, the player controls a Pikachu and races against other Pokémon including a Chikorita, Wooper, Pichu, and Sandshrew in a competition for the fastest Pokémon.
Pichu Bros. mini
is a minigame compilation developed by Denyusha, and is the sequel to Pokémon Party mini. It features six new minigames based on the Pichu Bros. specials:
- Skate Pichu: An endless runner game where as one of the Pichu Bros., the player must avoid obstacles by shaking the system.
- Magby's Hot-Air Balloon: As Magby, the player must land a hot-air balloon on an island without falling into the sea.
- Hoppip's Jump: The player must press the C button at the right time to make Hoppip jump.
- Teddiursa's Shaking Fruits: By shaking the system, the player must make Teddiursa eat a piece of fruit in the shortest amount of time.
- Smoochum's Angel Kiss: A whac-a-mole-type game where the player, as Smoochum, must attempt to kiss the Diglett that pop out of the holes by pressing the buttons at the right time.
- Cubone's Bone Club Fight: As Cubone, the player must shake the system to throw the bone and make sure it hits the target.
The "Battlefield" and "Clock" modes also return from the original.
Togepi's Great Adventure
is a top-down action puzzle game developed by Jupiter. The player guides Togepi out of maze-like levels in a tower while avoiding obstacles and other Pokémon. The game features over 200 levels spread across three towers.
Pokémon Breeder mini
is a virtual pet game developed by Jupiter. The player is given an egg that hatches into a Treecko, Torchic or Mudkip. The player must keep the Pokémon happy by feeding it, playing with it, and using toys. Feeding the Pokémon with special Pokéblocks can improve its stats.
Legacy
The 2003 GameCube game Pokémon Channel has an in-game Pokémon Mini that can be unlocked. Users can play emulated demo versions of some Pokémon Mini games, as well as an exclusive minigame, "Snorlax's Lunch Time." This official emulator was instrumental in helping a few hobbyist software engineers reverse engineer the handheld and create their own emulator. This allowed them to build new emulators to run the games on other devices, such as the PC, Dreamcast, Nintendo 3DS, and Analogue Pocket, among others. These efforts let hobbyists create homebrew games and tech demos.
Notes
References
External links
- Pokémon mini page on Nintendo's official Japanese site
- Pokémon-Mini.net – Pokémon Mini Database and Dev Site by Team Pokémé
- Pokémon mini development Wiki (technical information)
- Pokémon Mini at NinDB