Pokémon Mini

The Pokémon Mini[lower-alpha 1] (officially stylized as Pokémon mini) is a handheld game console that was designed and manufactured by Nintendo and themed around the Pokémon media franchise. It is the smallest game system with interchangeable cartridges ever produced by Nintendo, weighing just under two and a half ounces (71 grams).[5] It was first released in North America on November 16, 2001,[1] (two days before the GameCube was released) then in Japan on December 14, 2001,[2] and in Europe on March 15, 2002.[3] The systems were released in three colors: Wooper Blue, Chikorita Green, and Smoochum Purple.[6]

Pokémon Mini
"Wooper blue" Pokémon mini
ManufacturerNintendo
TypeHandheld game console
Release date
MediaROM cartridge
CPUS1C88 @ 4 MHz
Memory4 KB RAM
Storage6 "files" on-board system memory[4]
DisplayMonochrome LCD, 96 × 64 pixels
Power1 AAA battery, up to 60 hours
Dimensions74mm × 58mm 23 mm (0.91 in) x 2.28in x 0.91 in)[5]
Mass70 g (2.5 oz) with cartridge and battery inserted[5]
RelatedPokémon Pikachu

Features of the Pokémon mini include an internal real-time clock, an infrared port used to facilitate multiplayer gaming, a reed switch for detecting shakes, and a motor used to implement force feedback. Pokémon Channel features playable emulated demo versions of Pokémon Mini games, including the console exclusive "Snorlax's Lunch Time". Only ten games were released worldwide, half of which were exclusive to Japan and one that was never released in North America but everywhere else.

Various hackers have reverse engineered the Pokémon mini (with the aid of the aforementioned emulator in Pokémon Channel) in order to enable the creation of homebrew games, and to allow official games to be played on other platforms (such as a PC, Dreamcast and various others).

Technical details
  • CPU 8-bit, 4 MHz Epson S1C88
  • 96 x 64 pixel monochrome LCD
  • Game Pak (512KiB cartridge)
  • Internal BIOS of 4kB
  • Internal RAM 4kB (shared with video subsystem)
  • 21-bit cartridge bus
  • 256 hardware register; in most cases Open-Bus registers
  • Dimensions: 74 by 58 by 23 millimetres (2.91 in × 2.28 in × 0.91 in)[5]
  • Weight: 70 grams (2.5 oz) with Game Pak and AAA battery inserted[5]
  • Power: 1 AAA battery (lasting ~60 hours)

List of games

The games were published in Japan by The Pokémon Company and in other countries by Nintendo.

Title Genre Developer[7][8] Release date
JP NA PAL
Pokémon Party mini Mini games Denyusha December 14, 2001November 16, 2001March 15, 2002
Pokémon Pinball mini Pinball Jupiter December 14, 2001November 16, 2001March 15, 2002
Pokémon Puzzle Collection Puzzle Jupiter December 14, 2001November 16, 2001March 15, 2002
Pokémon Zany Cards Strategy Denyusha December 14, 2001November 16, 2001March 15, 2002
Pokémon Tetris Puzzle Nintendo March 21, 2002UnreleasedMarch 15, 2002
Pokémon Puzzle Collection vol. 2 Puzzle Jupiter April 26, 2002UnreleasedUnreleased
Pokémon Race mini Racing Jupiter July 19, 2002UnreleasedUnreleased
Pichu Bros. mini Mini games Denyusha August 9, 2002UnreleasedUnreleased
Togepi's Great Adventure Adventure Jupiter October 18, 2002UnreleasedUnreleased
Pokémon Breeder mini Simulation Jupiter December 14, 2002UnreleasedUnreleased
Pokémon Pinball mini

In all three regions the console was released, the Pokémon mini handheld launched with four (five in Europe) games that could be bought separately:

  • Pokémon Party mini:[lower-alpha 2] A collection of several minigames, included with the Pokémon mini. The minigames include: Hitmonchan's Boxing, where the player shakes the system to 'punch'; Pikachu's Rocket Start, a game where the player has to launch off a starting line before another Pokémon; Bellossom's Dance, a Dance Dance Revolution-like game; Chansey's Dribble, in which the player kicks a ball to the finish line as quickly as possible; Slowking's Judge, the player predicts if the tennis ball will land in or out of the court; Sneasel's Fakeout, a rock paper scissors-like game for two players; Battlefield, where two to six players battle for the highest score; and Celebi's Clock, which is essentially a clock with date, alarm and stopwatch function.
  • Pokémon Pinball mini:[lower-alpha 3] A pinball game with several levels where a Diglett or a Pikachu acts as the 'bumping' mechanism.
  • Pokémon Puzzle Collection:[lower-alpha 4] A collection of different puzzle-games such as: Shadow Puzzle, where different shapes are put together to make an image of a Pokémon; Motion Puzzle, a sliding game where an image of a Pokémon has to be unscrambled; Escape, where one has to move blocks to let a Pokémon out of a maze; and a bonus for completing most of your Minidex is the game Power On, a Pipe Dream-like game where one has to connect a Pikachu to a light bulb, creating a circuit).
  • Pokémon Zany Cards:[lower-alpha 5] A small collection of four playing card games featuring Pokémon-themed cards and characters from the Pokémon anime.

Due to low sales, no further games for the system were released in North America.

One more game was then released in Japan and Europe:

  • Pokémon Tetris, released in Japan as Pokémon Shock Tetris[lower-alpha 6]: Tetris with Pokémon. In addition to traditional piece rotation, shaking the system will cause falling pieces to flip. Clearing lines will unlock Pokémon from Pokémon Gold and Silver in the Pokédex.

All subsequent games were only released in Japan (though they eventually all received Fan translations[9]):

  • Pokémon Puzzle Collection vol. 2:[lower-alpha 7] Similar to the first puzzle collection, but some games are different and there are 80 new puzzles.
  • Pokémon Race mini:[lower-alpha 8] A platform racing competition where the player controls a Pikachu racing against other Pokémon.
  • Pichu Bros. mini:[lower-alpha 9] A collection of several mini-games, similar to Pokémon Party mini.
  • Togepi's Great Adventure:[lower-alpha 10] A top-down action puzzle game. The player guides Togepi out of a tower, avoiding traps by tilting the system.
  • Pokémon Breeder mini:[lower-alpha 11] A virtual pet game. The player cares for a young Pokémon, such as Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip.

Homebrew

Through reverse engineering the Pokémon Mini was hacked; since then it has been possible to program the Pokémon Mini for homebrew purposes. A demo SHizZLE which was released at Breakpoint in 2005 caused some excitement within the demoscene and media.[10][11]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ポケモンミニ
  2. Japanese: ポケモンパーティミニ
  3. Japanese: ポケモンピンボールミニ
  4. Japanese: ポケモンパズルコレクション
  5. Japanese: ポケモンアニメカード大作戦, Hepburn: Pokemon Anime Kādo Daisakusen, lit. Pokémon Anime Card Great Strategy
  6. Japanese: ポケモンショックテトリス, Hepburn: Pokemon Shokku Tetorisu, lit. Pokémon Shock Tetris
  7. Japanese: ポケモンパズルコレクションVol.2
  8. Japanese: ポケモンレースミニ
  9. Japanese: ピチューブラザーズミニ
  10. Japanese: トゲピーのだいぼうけん, Hepburn: Togepī no Daibōken
  11. Japanese: ポケモンそだてやさんミニ, Hepburn: Pokemon Sodateyasan mini

References
  1. "Pokémon Mini". NinDB. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  2. ハマるゲームが目白押し！ ポケモンミニ体験レポート (in Japanese). Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2002-12-16. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  3. "Nintendo History". Nintendo of Europe. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 2002: [...] Pokémon mini, the world's smallest console, was launched on 15 March across Europe with four titles, including Pokémon mini Party and Pokémon mini Pinball.
  4. Pokémon mini Instruction Booklet. Nintendo of America. 2001. p. 20.
  5. Pokémon mini Instruction Booklet. Nintendo of America. 2001. p. 27.
  6. "Other Systems - Pokémon Mini". Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  7. "Denyusha Consumer Games". Denyusha. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  8. "Jupiter Game Software-Pokémon mini". Jupiter. Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  9. "Romhacking.net - Translations". ROMhacking.net. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  10. SHizZLE Archived 2013-08-09 at the Wayback Machine by Team Pokeme
  11. Nintendo Pokemon Mini LCD Game Hacked, archived from the original on 2016-12-20, retrieved 2016-12-08
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