Truth be told, not even a pandemic can stop the momentum of the Pokemon franchise.
In commemoration of the series’ 25th anniversary, the Pokemon company held a special online direct to announce a slew of incredible news, including a new Pokemon Snap game, two upcoming remakes, and an open-world title set centuries before the first core game.
Strut Your Photography Skills in New Pokemon Snap
The Pokemon Company unveiled new gameplay footage for New Pokemon Snap, the long-awaited sequel to the beloved N64 classic. The new footage showcased the lush and colorful areas that you will encounter across the Lental region. In this game, you will assume the role of a pokemon photographer, and you are tasked to collaborate with Lental region’s resident expert Professor Mirror and his assistant Rita to build a compendium dubbed as Photodex.
While New Pokemon Snap shares the same core features as its predecessor, the game sports new mechanics such as a photo-editing option, a ranking system, and a photo-sharing mode that will allow you to post your snaps online.
New Pokemon Snap comes out on April 21.
Return to Sinnoh in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl
Originally released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS system, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl introduced us to the wide expanse of the Sinnoh region and its native Pokemon inhabitants such as Bidoof, Luxio, and Drifloon. The games are slated to be born anew with the arrival of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Akin to the franchise’s previous remakes, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will serve as faithful adaptations of the original titles, albeit with enhanced visuals, new battling mechanics, quality of life upgrades, and chibified looks for the games’ cast.
Game Freak expects to release the title later in 2021.
An Open-World Adventure Awaits in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Fans have been clamoring for an open-world Pokemon game since the release of Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. Game Freak has finally granted that wish with the upcoming release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the franchise’s first foray into the open-world RPG genre. Like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the game takes place in the Sinnoh region, albeit in an earlier era.
The game will feature a variety of Pokemon from various regions like Piplup, Rowlet, Oshawott, and Cyndaquil. Unlike core games of the series, players are required to study the pokemon’s behaviors and sneak up to them before throwing poke balls. Players may also trigger battles by summoning their ally pokemon near a wild pokemon.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus hits the Switch in 2022.
Excited to catch them all? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Happy 25th anniversary, Pokemon!