Pokémon Grand Colosseum Is A Fitting Return To An Underrated RPG

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Pokémon Colosseum has returned, though it’s not quite the revival many fans anticipated. Originally launched in 2004 as one of the earliest Pokémon role-playing games for home consoles, Colosseum let players compete against other trainers in 3D arena battles. It introduced unique features like Shadow Pokémon and a ‘snagging’ mechanic to catch them.

A fan-made project called Pokémon Grand Colosseum is breathing new life into the beloved game, adding fresh features and battles to the original RPG. Although a remake might not be available on the Switch 2 for some time, fans can now enjoy a greatly expanded version of the game thanks to this dedicated effort.

Pokémon Colosseum Lives Again

What’s different in Grand Colosseum

Pokémon Grand Colosseum is a fan-made modification, or ‘ROMhack,’ of the original Pokémon Colosseum game. It adds features from other Pokémon games and improves the overall experience. The first version appeared online in 2021, and the latest update, version 3.1, came out in February 2024.

Grand Colosseum is a modification, or ‘hack,’ of a Pokémon game known for being very challenging. While it includes several improvements to make the game more user-friendly, the creators say it’s actually more difficult than the original Pokémon Colosseum.

This fan-made version of the game adds new Pokémon, including the Fairy type, and regional variations from Alola and Paldea. You’ll find 65 new moves to teach your Pokémon, and you can customize them even further with 8 new Technical Machines – plus, you can use TMs as many times as you like! The game also updates all Pokémon stats, types, and abilities to match more recent versions.

Plus, you can now battle special Shadow Pokémon, face off against other trainers in Gym-like challenges, and enjoy several quality-of-life improvements, such as accessing your PC from any location.

This Fan Project Is A Great Way To Relive The GameCube Classic

How to play Pokémon Grand Colosseum

So, I was really excited to play Pokémon Grand Colosseum, and here’s what I had to do. First, you need the original game, obviously. Then, I headed over to Project Pokémon and grabbed the patch – they actually have three different ones depending on whether you want a starter from Johto, Kanto, or Hoenn. You’ll also need something called a UPS patcher, which I downloaded, and then I just used it to apply the patch to my game. Pretty straightforward!

Last April, Nintendo revealed a list of GameCube games that would be added to its Nintendo Switch Online service. While popular titles like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance are already available to play, the Pokémon games announced – Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness – haven’t been released yet.

If you’re eager to revisit the world of Pokémon and are looking for something to play before the official Nintendo release, Pokémon Grand Colosseum is a great option. It’s a really ambitious fan-made project that adds a lot of new content and keeps the experience fresh.

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2026-02-28 17:39