Pokemon Stars
Nintendo has officially announced a Pokemon Direct airing tomorrow morning, just before the start of E3. It’s a short show, clocking in at only eight minutes, but there’s sure to be some kind of surprise announcement that’ll get fans excited. Here’s a few ideas on what we could see tomorrow.
First and foremost the thing we could see is an updated version and/or port of Pokemon Sun and Moon. Before the launch of the Switch, rumors were plentiful about a Pokemon Stars. Considering most games in the series have gotten a third edition, adding on new content, it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility.
All signs pointed to Stars being announced for Switch, but Nintendo’s presentation came and went without any kind of Pokemon announcement. With the huge success and positive reception to Sun and Moon, it makes sense that Nintendo might want to make their game available on their hot new console. Stars would also be a good, and somewhat easy, way to tide fans over while they wait for a brand new entry in the franchise.
Pokken Tournament for Switch
Pokken Tournament is certainly a Pokemon game unlike anything else. It’s a 3D fighter made by Bandai Namco bearing some resemblance to games like Tekken, while also incorporating classic Pokemon elements. It was certainly an interesting, frenetic brawler, but the fact that it was only on Wii U, and arcades in Japan of course, meant it’s release was fairly small. Pokemon has humongous appeal, there’s no doubt about that, and had Pokken released on a more widely acclaimed console it may have done better.
This makes a Pokken game the perfect choice for Nintendo Switch, either a port of the original or a brand new follow-up. The portability of the Switch and the increased graphical power means Pokken would be stronger and more available than ever. The arcade game in Japan also added on a few post launch characters like Sceptile and Scizor that unfortunately were never made available for the western version. Once again, there’s a perfect opportunity here to port the original game over to Switch with new content, tiding fans over while they wait for new experiences.
There have also been some rumors about Pokken coming to the system, after a Japanese retailer listed an arcade stick as compatible with a Switch version of the game. Either way, we’ll find out soon enough.
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Remake
At this point we’ve received full remakes of the first three generations of Pokemon games, with Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby being the last to hit 3DS in 2014. Of course, Diamond and Pearl are the next games in line for the remake treatment, and it makes sense that we’d see them at some point.
Remakes of older games already have a guaranteed fan base that’ll instantly pick up the game, not that Pokemon generally has any problem with that of course. At this point we’ve seen a ton of titles from the series on 3DS, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that Nintendo could release a remake on both 3DS and Switch at the same time. The portability and screen of the Switch tablet makes it perfect for a handheld Pokemon experience, even if it’s only at the visual level of a 3DS title.
Once again, remakes and re-releases will be a good option for Nintendo to give fans, while we wait for big new titles on Switch like Mario Odyssey.
Pokemon Snap 2
We’ve gotten plenty of spin-offs over the years, but few are quite as memorable as Pokemon Snap. It may be a bit of a dream that we’d see a sequel to the title, but boy would Snap be perfect for either 3DS or Switch. Gyroscopic and motion controls would work wonders for the game, and the portability means you can take pictures of Pokemon wherever you go, and even share them on social media with your friends.
Even with Pokemon GO, the augmented reality features definitely brought to mind the spin-off on Nintendo 64. Snap on 3DS is a given, as it’d just add to the already impressive library of games from the franchise. Pokemon Snap 2 on Switch, however, has huge possibilities especially if it releases after Splatoon 2, while we’re waiting for another big Nintendo game.
A Brand New Pokemon Game on Switch
Of course, better than any remake or re-release is a brand new Pokemon experience for Nintendo Switch. Many of the heavy hitters of Nintendo are all on their way, with Breath of the Wild already released, Splatoon 2 this Summer, and Mario Odyssey for the holiday. Besides Mario and Zelda, you can’t get bigger than the Pokemon series, and a brand new 3D entry has the potential to really move some console units.
We’ve never actually gotten a mainline Pokemon game on a home console, as they’ve all been released on the various Game Boy iterations so far. Of course, there have been plenty of spin-offs like Pokemon Stadium and Colosseum. With a brand new Switch entry it’d be great to see a new 3D game like Colosseum and Gale of Darkness, that introduces some unique mechanics or ideas to the series. Of course, it might also be fun to see a lavishly rendered HD Pokemon world, with more intricacy than we’ve even had up until now.
Last year, The Pokemon Company’s CEO Sunekazu Ishihara helped suggest that the Switch, then called the NX, would be a hybrid console. He also pledged that the company would be making games for the new system, and other reports said that a Pokemon game would be on the Switch within at least half a year of the system releasing.
While revisiting old games and ideas can be great for both Nintendo and the Switch, it’s ultimately new experiences that are going to keep driving the new console forward.
Feel free to chime in down in the comments below, and let us know what you hope to see from tomorrow’s direct.
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