Hey You, Pikachu!

Hey You, Pikachu![lower-alpha 1] is a virtual pet video game in the Pokémon series for the Nintendo 64, developed by Ambrella and published by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on December 12, 1998, and in North America on November 6, 2000. The player's goal is to help Professor Oak by using a voice device to communicate with a Pikachu (which had a 256 word database.)[1]

Hey You, Pikachu!
North American cover art, featuring Pikachu
Developer(s)Ambrella
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Producer(s)Tsunekazu Ishihara
Composer(s)Miki Obata
SeriesPokémon
Platform(s)Nintendo 64
Release
  • JP: December 12, 1998
  • NA: November 6, 2000
Genre(s)Digital pet, life simulation
Mode(s)Single player

It is one of only two games that utilize the N64's Voice Recognition Unit (VRU), a piece of hardware that can comprehend and analyze the human voice. It is also the only game to use the VRU that was released in the United States. The player can move around and pick up items, in addition to speaking with Pikachu and can describe everything.

Gameplay

The game begins when the main character is asked to try out a new device of Professor Oak's that is used to talk to Pokémon. The player soon meets a wild Pikachu and befriends it. The player must earn Pikachu's trust and eventually it will come and live in the player's house. There are three different activity days: Pikachu's Daring Days, Discovery Days, and Play Days. Each day has a different objective (e.g. collecting food, going fishing) and the player can earn Pika Points, which is the currency used at Abra's Shop to unlock new items.

Eventually, if the player reaches day 365, Professor Oak appears and says that Pikachu has to be released, as it is a wild Pokémon. The player has to go to the woods where Pikachu was found and say "goodbye" several times, upon which Pikachu realizes it can't live with the player anymore, and, sadly, leaves. After the credits, while the player is looking around the front yard and reminiscing about Pikachu, it returns, and the game continues as if Pikachu was never released.

Reception

Hey You, Pikachu! has scores of 55% and 57% on the review aggregators GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively, both indicating a mixed or average reception.[2][3] Arizona Republic's Dustin Packwood commented that fans of the anime would enjoy this game.[7] Retronauts cited Hey You, Pikachu! as an example of a terrible Pokémon console game.[8] UGO listed Hey You, Pikachu! on their list of the "Top 50 Games That Belong On the 3DS", stating "Using the 3DS' built-in microphone should make it simple to speak and interact with the wild Pokémon."[9] The Voice Recognition Unit packaged with the game has been criticized due to the fact it was calibrated to only accept higher pitched voices, like that of a child.

Greg Orlando reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "It tastes like chicken made of glucose."[6]

Sequel

A spiritual sequel to Hey You, Pikachu!, Pokémon Channel, was released on the Nintendo GameCube and was also developed by Ambrella. Another spiritual sequel, PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure, was released on the Wii, which in turn had its direct sequel, named PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond.

See also

Notes
  1. Known in Japan as Pikachū Genki Dechū (Japanese: ピカチュウげんきでちゅう). It is a pun on "Pikachu genki desu", meaning "Pikachu is fine", and the suffix "-chu" from Pikachu's name. The pronunciation "dechū" for "desu" is also used in Japanese affected speech intended to sound childish and cute, including baby talk.

References
  1. Moyer, Michael (September 2000). "Back Talk". Popular Science. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  2. "Hey You, Pikachu!". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  3. "Hey You, Pikachu!". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  4. Tom Zjaba. "Hey You, Pikachu! - Review". Allgame. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  5. Provo, Frank. "Hey You, Pikachu! Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  6. Orlando, Greg (January 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4 no. 1. Imagine Media. p. 99.
  7. Dustin Packwood (December 8, 2000). "A Day In Nintendo Heaven". Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Sal Basile (July 6, 2010). "The Top 50 Games That Belong On the 3DS". UGO. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
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