The first thing I thought of after watching the “Pokemon Presents” was, well, Pokemon sure are copying Zelda! The remakes of Diamond and Pearl, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, are reminiscent of Link’s Awakening HD, the September 2019 remake of the GameBoy classic. The art styles are even reminiscent of one another. They’re full of nostalgia and faithful HD remakes of beloved classics, pixel by pixel. The second announcement to come out of today’s “Pokemon Presents” is Pokemon Legends Arceus, which is a prequel to Diamond and Pearl which takes place in the distant past in the Sinnoh region. It is an action-RPG, and turns the conventions of traditional Pokemon on its head, very much like what Breath of the Wild did for Zelda. It is completely open-world, Pokemon are now caught outside of battle (and perhaps inside of battle as well), and the traditional turn-based gameplay appears to have been altered to ATB (active time battle.) This is a move many fans have been clamoring for, and The Pokemon Company is finally listening. It will be unlike any other Pokemon experience we’ve had; some will love it, some won’t, just like Breath of the Wild. But at least they are trying something different. Pokemon may be copying The Legend of Zelda, but that’s perfectly okay.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are very reminiscent of Nintendo’s Link’s Awakening remake for the Nintendo Switch; both have a unique, vibrant, chibi-like art style and bring classic top-down games into high definition. It’s actually remarkable how similar these two are when compared to one another. Like Link’s Awakening for Switch, it will be a faithful recreation of the original game; if you are expecting something much more than that, you will be sorely disappointed. There’s also the fact that each one will ship out with a cost of $59.99 according to retailers, but that’s fine. That’s the standard price for a new game and both have a lot of content to offer. Pokemon even more so than Zelda. Many of the 80 million Switch owners have never played either title before their release (or eventual release) on Nintendo’s hit console.
People may be upset and scoff at the price, but that’s simply a vocal minority on the internet. Twitter is not real life. If there is added content to Pokemon, it will be very little, and more quality of life (QOL) changes which don’t have anything to do with the mechanics of the game. I don’t blame The Pokemon Company for this; it’s a winning formula. Zelda is big, but Pokemon is massive. It’s a smart business decision and the games will fly off of store shelves and will move Switch units. That is the power of the Pokemon brand. People will buy the game at $59.99, which is a standard price for a game these days, so there is no reason to sell it at a lower price, much like how Link’s Awakening HD was $59.99 and how Skyward Sword HD will be $59.99. These are not simply upscaled remakes. Fans don’t realize how much work actually goes into game development. It’s a small minority, but, this point needs to be addressed.
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Pokemon Legends Arceus didn’t just emulate Breath of the Wild; it flat-out copied its trailer. There were several shots that were identical to Breath of the Wild’s trailer(s). I’m totally fine with this though. The Pokemon Company are doing two things here: paying homage to what some consider to be the greatest Zelda game of all-time, and telling us that Pokemon Legends Arceus will break the conventions of the traditional Pokemon experience. This has been a long time coming. Like Breath of the Wild, some will love it and some will hate it. Some will be in-between and nitpick. It’s simply natural. At the very least credit must be given to The Pokemon Company and Game Freak for branching out into the unknown and doing something completely new. The build of the game we saw was very raw, but for presentations like these, they typically create the build specifically for the presentation. They are probably much further along in development, especially since it comes out in early 2022, and will iron out the kinks as they move through the development process.
Pokemon Legends Arceus not as blatant of a copy as Genshin Impact, which is literally a carbon copy of Breath of the Wild, but it’s similar enough with an open-world, new combat, and new mechanics, to be compared to the Switch launch game. Pokemon copying Zelda is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to the franchise. And what’s better is like Breath of the Wild, it pays homage to all the games that came before, as they are including three starters all from different regions. It truly is a celebration of everything Pokemon, and is a nice way to celebrate the franchises 25th anniversary, even if it is slated for early 2022 (Mario still has things going on that commemorate the 35th anniversary of that series, and it’s almost March of the following year.)
There’s nothing wrong with The Pokemon Company emulating Nintendo’s Zelda formula for Pokemon. Both are monster franchises that are getting very similar treatment on the Nintendo Switch. The only thing that’s a shame is that this didn’t happen sooner, but that’s okay; Pokemon Sword and Shield were still wonderful entries in the franchise. Even at the price point of $59.99 for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, people will still eat it up like Skyward Sword HD, and it’s not an anti-consumer move on anyone’s part. That’s not up for debate. But what we’re witnessing with Pokemon, and Zelda as well, is a very special moment in gaming. This could be a turning point in how studios choose to approach their age-old franchises going forward, and this can only have a positive outcome. Pokemon copying Zelda is perfectly fine, and hopefully, more studios decide to do so with their classic franchises moving forward. If Pokemon’s outcome with these two new announcements has a Zelda-like result, the Switch will continue to dominate the video game market in Japan and abroad. It’s a very incredible time to be a Switch owner, to say the least.