The upcoming Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! games for the Nintendo Switch aren’t exactly the Pokemon titles we’ve all been waiting for, but don’t give up hope just yet.
In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Junichi Masuda, executive director and head of game development at Game Freak answered the question we’ve been asking since we were born (probably) – will we ever get an open-world Pokemon game?
“Well you know in general, I always want to be kind of facing new challenges and trying to you know, do new things with Pokémon.
“You know it’s a different matter whether players will actually enjoy that kind of playstyle, but really you know, things like setting up an AI so that you know real world Pokémon appear, or different ways to appreciate the game, I’m always kind of thinking how to approach the Pokémon series from a different aspect so, in that sense, it’s still on the cards.”
So…that sounds like a yes? If we keep begging, maybe?
As for Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! it’s a game that’s definitely not going to be for everyone.
Adopting some of the less-skilful Pokemon battling and capturing seen in the likes of the mobile game, Pokemon GO!, fans are still wondering why the most fun and challenging aspects of a console Poke-game were left out.
We’re still a month away from the games’ launch, but before you boycott the titles in favour of something with a little more meat, you might want to hear about the post-game content.
In an interview with Kotaku, Masuda stated: “A good portion of the more difficult stuff is in the post-game.
“There’s ways to strengthen your Pokémon, and the reason you wanna do that is, you take on these master trainers, these really powerful trainers that you encounter after the main story.”
Now, before you rush out to pre-order your copy of the game(s), it’s important to note that the rest of the game might definitely be a little easier than previous titles…especially if you play in co-op mode.
Masuda added: “There’s no getting around it.
“It is going to be an easier experience if you are playing with another person cooperatively.”
He went on to say: “There are some difficult trainer battles in the game, so [kids] may have trouble in the game.
“So they wanna ask for help. There are a lot of benefits that [co-operative play adds] to the difficulty factor.
“We used support play to get around players encountering barriers.”
At least co-op play is completely optional if you don’t fancy it.
What do you think about Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee? Are you adding one to your collection, or are you waiting for a more…conventional Pokemon Switch game?