The character of Pikachu is relatively younger compared to other video game icons like Mario and Link. But despite that, Pokemon is one of the most successful franchises today. We guess these klutzy pocket monsters captured the world with their charm. And ultimately, we guess we all chose Pikachu.

Homebrew developer N64Francois used Pikachu in the homebrew game Pokemon Keeper which by the way, is an official entry to NeoFlash's Spring Coding Competition for 2007. In a nut shell, the game basically is similar to casual puzzlers Zoo Keeper and Bejeweled.

All you have to do in order to capture a Pokemon is align three icons either horizontally or vertically. Furthermore, Pokemon Keeper involves three different modes. In Normal Mode, you have to achieve the set number of Pokemon captures for each level in order to advance. The aim in Capture Mode is to be the fastest player to get a total number of 300 pocket monsters, while the Time Attack Mode allows each player 10 minutes and the objective, of course, is to get the highest score by capturing as many Pokemons as you can.

To have a better idea how Pokemon Keeper v1.0 from N64Francois plays out, a short video clip has been provided below. Enjoy!

Download: Pokemon Keeper v1.0
Download: Pokemon Keeper v1.0 (PSP 1.5 FW users)

  

Remember N64Francois' Pokemon-themed Zoo Keeper (or Bejeweled, whichever came first)-inspired homebrew Pokemon Keeper? Well, N64Francois is back to celebrate the holidays with the Santa-themed Xmas Keeper mod of Pokemon Keeper.

Of course, this holiday season, the phrase "Gotta catch them all!" refers perfectly to the mad scramble for the PS3... okay back to topic. Just like Pokemon Keeper, and Zoo Keeper (or Bejeweled, whichever came first), the objective remains the same: line up three n a row, take 'em off the board. Here's the log for the Xmas skin, via weblator:

15/11/2006

• Addition of 3 musics for Skin Xmas Keeper
• Operational Management of time (when you lose, your re-initialized score and you return on the 1st level)
• Light modification of scoring and the gameplay
• Put on line of one 4th demonstration which integrates the skin “Xmas” and all last updates

12/11/2006

• Addition of new a skin for the festivals of Christmas: Xmas Keeper
• Possibility of putting the play pauses about it while supporting on “Start”
• Normal Mode: management of the levels and the quotas
• Light modifications/improvements made to the gameplay

Download: [Xmas Keeper (a Pokemon Keeper skin mod)]

N64Francois has released his latest homebrew game for the PSP, Wario Mastermind v1.0. Wario Mastermind is basically a mastermind game in the colours and skin of legendary minigame character Wario. N64Francois calls this game 'the little brother of Luigi Mastermind for GBA'. Here's the changelog for v1.0:

• Optimized Code and correction of some bugs
• Addition of a time meter (limit of 3 min by part)
• Addition of music/sounds (with possibility of stopping the basic music)

Thanks to a brilliant translation by Google translate, here's how to play:

The goal of the game is to decipher a secret code made up of 4 symbols by proposing combinations and by using the indices answered by the console. The secret code cannot be composed of double blooms. The indices returned by the console after each proposal for a combination are:

- Black Pawn: if a symbol is well placed
- White Pawn: if a symbol is badly placed

This game looks great, and plays great. Perfect to pass time on a long journey, and very strategic!

Download: [Wario Mastermind v1.0 for fw 1.5]
Download: [Wario Mastermind v1.0 for fw 2.0-2.6]

Take the lovable Pokemon characters from Nintendo, add in gameplay inspiration from Zoo Keeper, season with graphics patterned after Pokemon Link, blend them all up in your Sony PSP, and you'll get N64Francois' Pokemon Keeper.

The objective of the game is simple. Just line up three identical Pokemon characters, either vertical or horizontal, for you to be able to capture them. Press the X button and the direction of your choice in order to swap the Pokemon charcaters' location. the more Pokemons you capture, the longer your lifeline/timer would be. Kind of like what is shown on this gameplay video.

I have a friend that knows each and every Pokemon by name, so if you're as big a Pokemon fan as he is, then you are going to have blast with this game. If you're not one, maybe the cute and cuddly Pokemon characters littered on your screen will convert you. After installing the game, I was a little bit disappointed that it immediately went to the actual game. I was really hoping for a menu screen. In part, because with something as graphically inclined as this game there should be one and also because I deem it necessary for every game. Maybe a choice in difficulty level can also be included on the menu, which, at the moment, the game also lacks.

Like what I mentioned a while ago, gameplay is very simple. Swap, line up, captured. But, after a while of swapping, lining up and capturing, the Pokemons started looking all the same to me. I started wishing for a hint system of some sort at this point. The timer on the left side of screen, isn't much help either. I don't know what it is about timers that puts the pressure on people, but on my case it did.

I was scrambling to find identical Pokemons while watching out for the time. Funny thing was, I discovered, after a few heart palpitations, that you still can keep on playing even if the timer runs out. Hopefully, in future releases this issue can be addressed. We don't want high strung players do we?

I'm not going to lie to you, I'm still hoping and wishing for major improvements on the game, like maybe defining the addition of new characters and a variety of static images (left side of screen)per level maybe even additional music. But, apart from that little high-blood mishap with the timer, I had fun playing this game. Simple yet enjoyable.

Download: [Pokemon Keeper FW 1.5]
                  [Pokemon Keeper FW 1.0]