Did the voice recognition even work?
This was not the case. Although Pikachu would sometimes respond, most of the time he would ignore you, or do the complete opposite of what you wanted him to do. A game should be fun, not frustrating. Especially when dealing with children who are totally in love with Pikachu, not having him do what they want can prove to be a tantrum-filled session.
I remember the pinata session was the last straw for me. I promptly brought it back to the store for an exchange when Pikachu ignored all instructions and would swing when I told him to turn right. Unfortunately, it wasn't a problem with my specific game pack or microphone set. It was the game itself. I am actually amazed a the high score it was given here on gamespot. Did no one else actually encounter this problem?