Last night, Nintendo finally announced the existence of two new upcoming Pokémon titles for the Nitnedo Switch and released a trailer, which is posted below. The next games, dubbed Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee will be set in the Kanto region and will feature the original 151 Pokémon. These games will be different than any other previous installments in the franchise with the notable inclusion of a multiplayer mode. The upcoming games will draw inspiration from Pokémon Yellow, which was a GameBoy title that banked on Pikachu’s popularity as the official mascot of the series. For the upcoming games, players will have either Pikachu or Eevee, depending on which version you purchase, sitting on the player’s shoulders or head.
Besides the announcement that these games are in development and will be available to the Nintendo Switch in November, Nintendo also shared a few unique mechanics that will be introduced for the first time in a core game.
First, Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee for the Nintendo Switch will take advantage of the console’s Joy-Cons during gameplay. Inspired by Pokémon Go, players will be able to use one Joy-Con, and during battles, players can catch a Pokémon similar to the way it is done in Pokémon Go by flicking the controller to simulate the action of tossing a pokéball to capture targets. Furthermore, Pokémon will also be visible on the player’s map so they can choose which creatures to battle instead of randomly encountering them as it was with previous games. To add to that, players will have the ability to transfer any of the original 151 Pokémon from their collection in Pokémon GO to the new upcoming games via a Bluetooth transfer.
Another impressive feature in these new titles is that both Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee will have a co-operative mode, which is a first for the series. “When you’re playing the game, you’ll see that there’s a kind of a mark indicating when a second player can join,” Junichi Masuda said director at Game Freak. “It’s pretty much anytime you’re in the fields or on the routes or in battles for example. All you do is take a second Joy Con and shake it and the second player will drop in, and you’ll be playing alongside your friends.”
Currently, these games will serve as the first proper Pokémon title for the Nintendo Switch aside from Pokémon Quest, which launched to the console today. Nintendo also announced that they will release a Poké Ball-shaped controller dubbed as the Poké Ball Plus for Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee. This controller will allow players to “bring one of their Pokémon with them as they explore the real world,” the company said in a press release.
Lastly, Masuda, who has been involved with Pokémon games ever since the beginning, shared that they wanted to experiment with different play styles to bring a more unique experience than traditional games in the past.
“With these games specifically, we’re trying to introduce these all-new play styles. It’s really a much-simplified experience compared to the traditional series. …At the same time, I think there’s going to be a lot for players who enjoyed the original games.”
Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee will be available on November 16 to the Switch. Don’t forget to check out the trailer for the game, which is posted below.
