From cartoons to trading cards to toys, Pokémon has been a successful media franchise for 25 years, with a ton of fans from all over the world.
But fans of the Pokémon video games have been begging for a big shake-up of the series – and now, with the new news Pokémon Legends: Arceus, they might get one.
Earlier this month, Pokémon player ChocolateKieran – who asked us to refer to him by his username for privacy and safety reasons – watched the company’s 25-year live stream with his followers on Twitch.
“This is how they always start off, you know,” he told his fans. “A little bit of nostalgia.”
A few minutes later the company announced remakes of two classic Pokémon games, Diamond and Pearl. It was predictable, given the kind of things fans have come to expect.
And then something less predictable happened: The company unveiled a new Pokémon game, “open world” for the Nintendo Switch. To ChocolateKieran, it looked a lot like the classic Switch game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
“Is this like this Breath of the Wild Pokémon? this is Breath of the Wild Pokémon, “he shouted happily on the stream.” Oh, can you just stick to just mons? I’m not going to lie down, that’s kinda fire. “
The new Pokémon Legends: Arceus promises what the company says is a “new approach to the Pokémon video game series” that is “breaking new ground.”
Open world games have been around for a long time, but ChocolateKieran says this is new for Pokémon. He has been playing the games since he was four years old, and “as well as some sort of little gimmicks when it comes to battle, or tuning what they have, the formula for Pokémon is on stay the same, “he tells me.
This is in contrast to other legacy rights which have taken great risks with their famous versions – as Breath of the Wild. That game changed the famous franchise design, giving players a vast world to explore, while still retaining the feeling of adventure fans.
Some fans want to see the same thing for Pokémon. “I want to see more folklore, and more heavy focus on the story and the construction of the world,” said ChocolateKieran. “I want it to feel like a real AAA game so that those who are not interested can in Pokémon to be like – what is this game like? “
But doing something new takes time, says video game producer Grant Shonkwiler. “It can be hard to innovate when you have a tight deadline to say, Novemeber every year.”
And Pokémon games are often made on tight deadlines – sometimes a year -.
Shonkwiler knows a thing or two about the pressure of working on a franchise license with a lot of fan expectations. He worked on the 2016 remake of the first-person shooter Doom. “It’s stormy, right? And that pressure is similar – I don’t want to be like the one who destroyed it. I don’t want to be the one who controls Pokémon.”
Rosemary Kelley, known as Nekkra in the Esports community, works for the Pokémon company as a reporter for competitive events and as a voice actor. But speaking as a fan, she says the game has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember.
“I remember vividly sitting down with my older brother playing Snap Snap, Pokémon Coliseum, Pokémon Stadium, “she says. These games were spinoffs – just proof that Pokémon have taken some risks with the formula over the years.
That’s the reason for it, what happens to it Pokémon Legends: Arceus that doesn’t matter. Kelley sees Pokémon as something much more than just one game.
“You have the speedrunners, you have the competitive players, you have the legs that are just passionate about playing the game. And you have card fanatics too.” she says. “There are so many different ways you can interact with an equally optimistic community. “
Pokémon is a global media empire. It’s fair to say no matter what happens with this bigger, more ambitious game – the Pokéball will keep going.
This story was edited for radio and adapted for the web by Petra Mayer.
