Pocket Monsters Stadium GS was basically the hype machine for Pokémon Gold and Silver back in the day—if you had a Japanese N64, anyway. It’s all about those 3D battles, which felt mind-blowing at the time after playing the Game Boy versions. You get to throw down with all the Johto Pokémon, and yeah, the animations are kinda stiff by today’s standards, but there’s something weirdly satisfying about watching Typhlosion do its little flame spin.

It’s not just random fights, though. There’s a whole tournament structure, and you’ll need to actually think about type matchups—none of that "spam Hyper Beam" nonsense. The AI isn’t brutal, but it’ll punish you if you’re careless. Also, no story mode here; it’s pure battling, so don’t expect a deep RPG experience. Mostly, it’s for flexing your team or testing weird combos before taking them into the main games.

Honestly, half the fun was just seeing your favorite Pokémon in 3D for the first time. Still holds up if you’re into that old-school Pokémon vibe.