"Pokémon Stadium" was a game I loved during my childhood, and even though I only really got to play it with friends and family members, I remember very much enjoying my time with it. "Pokémon Stadium 2" was another game that I had fun memories with, even if I didn't have quite as much experience with it compared to the first game. Even so, I played this one quite a bit, and to this day, it's still a title I very much like.
"Pokémon Stadium 2" retains a lot of what made the first game so solid: the turn-based battling remains pretty fun, the visual design and Pokémon models still look great, the music is memorable, and the announcer is still a solidly quotable character. However, it also comes with a welcome improvement, and that is the presence of all 249 Pokémon up to that point in the series, which made for more interesting battles, since they could be more varied and provide a bit more strategy. These battles remain as energetic and entertaining as ever, and the subtle improvements to the formula do help a lot. Also, much like the first game, there are minigames to unwind with, a number of which are incredibly fun.
While the game does make some improvements on the original, the one thing that remains true here is that the game definitely feels a little less fun if you don't have the Transfer Pak that allowed you to use your own Pokémon. In the case of this game, it's honestly a bit worse, because the Rental Pokémon have been nerfed significantly. It makes it a lot less fun and replayable than the first game was in my eyes, which is definitely a disappointment. Also, I know I mentioned earlier that some of the minigames are very fun, but as someone who loved the original's minigames, I felt the lineup this time around was not quite as strong. There were definitely a lot more of them, and they were certainly enjoyable, but I think the predecessor's lineup of minigames remains just a bit better than this one's.
Overall, "Pokémon Stadium 2" doesn't quite scale the heights of the first "Pokémon Stadium" to me, but it's nevertheless a very fun and enjoyable Nintendo 64 game. Much like the original, I would love to see this game make a return and get brought back out, even if its style might seem outdated by today's standards. Regardless, I definitely recommend you give the game a look if you haven't already.
Final rating: 7 out of 10 "Good"