Image: Nerdist / Best Pokemon
So, people are getting excited about the prospect of Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch. Question is: what would you want from it?
Firstly, I’ll hoist my colours to the mast: the game needs Psyduck. Mandatory requirement. Make it happen, Game Freak.
Secondly, is it time to completely revamp the Pokemon formula? And if so, how much can the Switch play a part in that?
We know that the Switch doesn’t have a suite of GPS capabilities, so doing some kind of cross between Pokemon Go-style discovery in the wild wouldn’t really be possible. But there’s no reason the gyro in the Switch or motion controls couldn’t be implemented. Game Freak confirmed a couple of years ago that they were exploring ways to interface with the mainline Pokemon games, and maybe we’ll hear more about that at E3 or during Pokemon Go‘s second-year anniversary shenanigans.
That might make portable Switch play a bit of a hassle – you wouldn’t want to disconnect your JoyCon out in the wild just for a random encounter – but I can see Nintendo mucking around with the JoyCon’s advanced features.
An expansion of the trading system makes sense, given the added power of online play and the wireless features in the Switch. Using the JoyCons to play classic Pokemon tunes is logical too, much in the way Golf Story used the HD Rumble for sound effects.
But with a new iteration of Pokemon coming to the Switch eventually – if not this year, then certainly next – it’s worth asking whether it’s time to make other structural changes. Should the system of legendary trainers and gyms, where the player chases each down to obtain badges, be revamped entirely? Is it worth considering having Pokemon level up moves as they use them, rather than just having them tied to a usage system with damage scaling to the level of the Pokemon?
But what would you like to see? Do you want the formula to change at all, or are you happy to just have a remastered Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow on the Switch for now?
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