One of the longest-standing traditions in thePokemonfranchise is the company releasing remakes of previous generation games on modern consoles. Since generations one, two, three, and four have all been through this process, fans are eagerly awaiting the remakes of thePokemon Black and Whitegames that took place in the Unova region. Unfortunately, a lot of speculation has made some fans come to the conclusion that these new releases will be made by the same company as the generation four remakes,Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
ILCA was the developer who partnered with GameFreak for these releases. The games sold and were reviewed well, with both titles receiving a Metacritic score of 73. However, there were some aspects of these games that some fans were not so impressed with, which has made them nervous about ILCA being put in charge of the generation five remakes for the Nintendo Switch. There are some solid reasons why this eventuality wouldn’t be so bad, though.
5Offering An Outside Perspective
Seeing Issues That Game Freak May Miss
Pokemon Black and Whiteare two great installments in thePokemonfranchise, and they are beloved by those who remember playing them on their Nintendo DS for the first time. However, these games were not perfect. Some common issues with these games include the fact thatonly new generation five Pokemon were available to catch in this regionand poor post-game content.
GameFreak and Nintendo may well be aware of these issues, but these criticisms are far more likely to be picked up by someone looking at the game from an outside perspective. As a company, ILCA is in a unique position to identify any previous flaws and address them in a way that makes these games better. They have already demonstrated this ability by removing the number of HMs players need in generation four by having these moves available to use in the Poketech inBrilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
4Return To A Previous Formula On Modern Consoles
Playing DS Games On A Console
When it comes toPokemonremakes,the main idea is to bring the previous games forward to be compatible with modern gaming consoles. As such, many fans expect these new games to change completely to match the hardware the company has available. However, this change has only occurred once in the past, when the generation three games were remade in 3D for the Nintendo 3DS in generation six. Both the Gen 1 and Gen 2 remakes were top-down experiences that were very similar to their original forms.
Many fans expectedBrilliant Diamond and Shining Pearlto take inspiration from the other games on the Nintendo Switch, likePokemon Sword and Shield. Instead, these games took the shape of a more updated version of the DS versions of these original games, while also adding modern battle styles and graphics. As a result, these games ended up being more of a faithful tribute to what came before, rather than a complete overhaul. If ILCA ends up in charge of the Black and White remakes, then players will get to experience these games as intended, rather than seeing an unfamiliar remodel of a previous region.
3Black And White For A New Generation
Appealing To The Next Set Of Fans
ThePokemonfranchise is one that has existed since 1996, but the developers' target audience hasn’t changed in all that time.The firstPokemongameswere originally intended to appeal to the players who were ten years old at the time, and every generation ofPokemongames has been released with the intention of selling them to the next group of ten-year-olds who have aged into wanting to play these games. The biggest example of this being true is the fact that every new protagonist starts out as a ten-year-old exploring thePokemonworld for the first time.
Plenty of fans have grown up with thePokemongames, and are more than happy to jump in and play anything new that the franchise has to offer. GameFreak and Nintendo are glad that they have these loyal fans, but it is important to remember that they are not the target audience. That is why a family-friendly company like ILCA is perfect for making these older-generation games more appealing to their core demographic. The company will release other titles, likePokemon LegendsandPokemon GO, to try and address the older players in thePokemoncommunity, instead.
2The Chibi Style Works Well With DS Graphics
An Art Style That Works
One of the biggest points of contention between fans about the Generation Four remakes was the use of the Chibi art style. This art style gives characters a head that is the same size as their body and is used to make things look cute. Some fans liked the Chibi style, while others hated it. Fortunately, this art style was only used in the over-world sprites and not the battle graphics. It also was not implemented inany of the Pokemon designs.
However, it is easy to see why this art style was used when looking at the old-generation games on the Game Boy. It may have been due to technical limitations at the time, but all the previousPokemongames released before the jump to 3D featured an over-world filled with sprites of characters whose heads were the same size as their bodies. Therefore, the 3D Chibi designs are perfect for recreating these games on the Nintendo Switch.
1Giving Nintendo More Time
Pokemon Is A Massive Franchise
Most players associate the main series games with thePokemonfranchise. There have been nine new generation games since 1996, and many of these new games have had to be developed while adjusting to new console hardware. However, thePokemonfranchise offers more games than just those in the main series.
Alongside the main series and generation remakes, the franchise also has to work onPokemon Go, Pokemon Home, Pokemon Sleep,spin-offs likePokemon SnapandDetective Pikachu,and they have recently announced a continuation of thePokemon Legendsseries which will take the form ofPokemon Legends Z-A.With so much going on at once, it is easy to see why Nintendo would look for help elsewhere. By giving a company likeILCA development duties over the remakes,the developers get to put more attention to their main series games to ensure they are of the best quality possible.
