Good afternoon, Ladies, Gentlemen, and other gamers! Pokémon is a franchise that’s been around for 25 years, and it’s haunted just about anyone born from 1989 onwards. For me, it’s been something that I’ve engaged with over the years, but I more or less gave up on it after completing the Pokémon Sword and Shield games. They’re good games, don’t misunderstand me on that, but the games lack replayability. I feel gutted, as these are the first games that I really couldn’t sink my teeth into. However, hope is on hand to make us all feel better.
Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the first games’ release in Japan (Pokémon Red and Green), and to celebrate this, we got a new information dump from the Pokémon Company. Instead of our usual Pokémon Direct, we got a Pokémon Presents, celebrating “25 years of Gotta Catch ‘Em All”.
I’m Davey, this is the Gamerhub, and here’s a breakdown of yesterday’s news from the world of Pokémon.
Pokémon Snap?
Who remembers Pokémon Snap from all those years ago? I know it was one of my favourites as a young kid growing up. It was an on-rails game where you took pictures of wild Pokémon, and the remake looks a lot better than the original. The graphics seem to be on par with Pokémon Sword and Shield, and there’s more than a hint of Pokémon Let’s Go goodness in it too. At the end of this bit, we also got a glimpse at Pokémon’s very own answer to Doctor Who- Celebi. What this means from here, we don’t know yet, but we will keep you informed as we find out more details.
Then we got a montage of all the games, dating from now and going back in time, until we hit a magic year: 2007. Personally, at this point, I had already guessed what was coming, and you’d know that if you read my article on it. Lo and behold, we all saw the white whale of gaming journalism. Gamers, unlike Captain Ahab of Moby Dick, finally got what most gamers have been demanding for years. We got remakes of Pokémon Pearl and Diamond called Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Pokémon what now?
Since Gen 3 on the GameBoy Advance, Pokémon has remade games from previous generations every now and again. We have Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soulsilver, and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This was ostensibly started to allow people to keep a national Pokedex. The motto is, after all, Gotta Catch ‘Em All! However, since the release of Pokémon on the Nintendo Switch, the capabilities of what this game franchise can do has been greatly improved. Pokémon Let’s Go showed us that the ability to battle and catch can be altered to suit the player and allow more varied mechanics. Pokémon Sword and Shield showed us that the camera didn’t have to be fixed, and that a console based MMOG isn’t out of the realms of possibility any more.
Thanks to this, and due to a boatload of commentators on the franchise wanting it, we finally got what we wanted: The vast Sinnoh region on consoles. So, the Pearl and Diamond remakes are just that: Remakes with a few updates and a graphical overhaul. The one thing I’d like them to keep is the Pokémon in the bag limitations from Sword and Shield, however, as Let’s Go’s elimination of that made the game far too easy.
As we all calmed down to that instant shot of adrenaline and dopamine, Ishihara-san then let us look at another game, and honestly, my jaw dropped. I had known of a game coming out about Pokémon set way in the past for a while, but there was an embargo on the information.
The game in question is called Pokémon: Legends of Arceus, and to be honest with you gamers, it’s a relief to be able to talk about it. It’s an open world game set in the Sinnoh region, a long time before the events of Pokémon Pearl, Diamond and Platinum. In this game, your character sets out on a quest to complete the region’s first Pokedex. It’s completely open world, with more than a touch of Breath Of The Wild about it. It uses the wild area mechanic brought in through Pokémon Sword and Shield, as well as the catching mechanics of Pokémon Let’s Go. There are some lovely images about this game floating around on the internet, and I’m seriously excited about this.
The Dates
New Pokémon Snap will be released on the 30th of April 2021.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be released in late 2021.
Pokémon: The Legend of Arceus will be released in 2022.
So that’s everything that we know so far, but please keep up with The Gamerhub for more information. For The ‘Hub, I’ve been Davey
