Last evening, The Pokémon Company officially announced the first Pokémon games for the Nintendo Switch. Pokémon Let’s Go! will be launching this November, and a new proper Pokémon RPG will be released sometime next year.
Something Old and Something New
In a tweet released last evening, the official Pokémon Twitter account released some big news:
Return to the Kanto region and experience a classic Pokémon journey in a whole new way with Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! on the Nintendo Switch! Coming November 16, 2018: https://t.co/kXLdxUMjjA #PokemonLetsGo pic.twitter.com/EKzQsTbDuE
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) May 30, 2018
As some people correctly guessed via the leaked titles, these two games are basically remakes of Pokémon Yellow, the third iteration of the first generation Pokémon lineup. Director Junichi Masuda explained their reason for going back to the Kanto region in a conference call with Polygon:
Let’s Go! Pikachu and Let’s Go! Eevee are kind of inspired and based on Pokémon Yellow version. They had added elements from the animated series, like Team Rocket and the characters that appeared in the animated series. It’s one of those things that made it resonate more with young kids at the time. When we were thinking of a game to go back to … we thought that this would be the next version.
These new Pokémon games will have players exploring the original region of Kanto with a Pikachu or Eevee following the player around. They’ll be able to catch the original 151 Pokémon (plus the Sun and Moon Alolan variants and possibly a brand new Pokémon.) Unlike the core versions, Pokémon in these games are caught using the Joy Con’s motion controls, similarly to the swiping motion for Pokémon Go. The Pokémon Company is gearing this game towards newcomers to the series who are more familiar with their mobile game. There will still be trainer and gym battles, as well as a familiar storyline. There will also be drop-in, drop-out co-op that lets players play together at the same time. Finally, a special peripheral that will be sold seperately, the Poké Ball Plus, will let players transfer their Pokémon between Pokémon Go and Pokémon Let’s Go!
For those looking for a more traditional experience, don’t fret! The Pokémon Company also reminded fans that the next proper Pokémon RPG will be released the second half of 2019.
