Not as good as the sequel, but still has some fun factors in it.
I already mentioned the graphics, and they are really nothing special.
Story is basically this: you wake up one day and find that you have turned into a Pokemon. You meet another Pokemon, when suddenly the earth shakes and a Butterfree begs you to help her. After this, you and your partner decide to form a rescue team to help other Pokmon in need. Along the way, you ecnounter the legendary Team ACT, the cynical Team Meanies, and discover the player's true memories. It was a great idea for a story, but I felt the reason for getting turned into a Pokemon was better in the second game, this just felt a little cliche.
Gameplay, I feel I already mentioned this, strives far from the regular battle system. You instead run around in a place called a dungeon, beating up Pokemon that stand in your way and take steps to get out of the dungeon, while picking up items, berries, money, and food. If you are beaten, you are usually kicked out (except in a boss dungeon when you get to a save point.
Music: It felt like bland track after bland track if I honest. My favorite piece of music has to be the Rayquaza level music (can't remember the name. Sky Something-or-other)
As for my issues with this game, here you go. For one thing, it can get pretty brutal at times. I mean, you go up against the three Legendary Birds with no help at all, when you might not be at a high enough level, and no matter who you are, the Birds always have some sort of Type advantage. Another thing, the Friend System is kinda cheap, as you need to buy the levels beforehand, while in the sequel, you just get them and then the level unlocks. And is it just me, or does the bulk of the story mostly seem like: get from point A to point B for no reason and you gain nothing!?
Again, there are some positiives, but the negatives prevent this from getting a higher rank. Rent it first like the sequel, see if you like them. You have to at least try them once, but once you finish this, there's really nothing else to do (considering for some reason, the post-story never started in my game)