Pokemon 3DS

The goal of a new piece of hardware is to introduce new franchises, opportunities and ideas to – ideally - a growing audience with enhanced improvements to current franchises, functionalities and generally to update the software available.

The goal of any software is to ultimately fully realize the potential of a particular franchise within the limits of each generational system. Nintendo, and in particularly the Pokémon Company, have finally achieved just that for the DS system with their recent release of Pokémon Black & White 2.

The question is what is next for the flagship handheld series?

Firstly it did quite surprise me when the new outing was announced as a DS only game, being that the Nintendo 3DS had just started creeping up in sales and that the ‘sequels’ (so-to-speak) didn’t make the generation jump.

That being said the layout for the region was already in place, as were the regular sprites, so this instalment might have been seen as a quick win in order to give the company some time to create a substantial leap in the regular systems for the new hardware. It wouldn’t honestly surprise me if they have been working on the next instalments for a good period of time already.

While the dedicated Pokémon Masters will have hours and hours to sink into this deep, new adventure, it is very natural to look at where we are going from here. It’s going to be a long time before we get some answers but let’s have a educated guess.

Most Nintendo portables only ever receive one set of Pokémon games but the 2D DS generation has become the exception to the rule; as they now hold two full generations comprised of four separate sets of games. This basically shows us that the DS has now been conquered, it seems clear that Nintendo can’t push out another Pokémon title onto this format, especially with the growth of the new hardware sales over the last 6 months. Pokémon is known to promote and define Nintendo’s portable experiences and I expect that they want to do the same with the 3DS. It was already 18 months since the release of the 3DS when the recent Black/White 2 were released.

I would first almost entirely state my claim that one of the older Pokémon games will obtain a facelift first. BW2 broke the mould by offering a numbered sequel and it would stand to reason that Nintendo don’t expect this to be the one and only true area return. All the previous remakes have been facelifts a’la Heart Gold/Soul Silver but this doesn’t mean we won’t be venturing back to somewhere like Johto.

In reality my instinct is business me towards the GBA titles Ruby and Sapphire that have yet to be re-released in any sort of style. Also given the lack of a GBA port it means that the critters from these games are especially difficult to exchange with the 3DS or DSi families. It would also mean that the team will get a handle on the 3DS hardware before they release their first ‘new’ release (so-to-speak).

It would surprise me if they left the next outing on the DSi systems but then again any Pokémon game is going to have a following, and a good game is a good game regardless of the system it’s limited to.

Of course the question on everyone’s lips is what the franchise would choose for the visual style? You know the one I mean, that top down yet slightly angled approach with static sprites and monophonic cries.

2D and 3D both present very different art forms but both have their suitable advantages and disadvantages so making such a decision cannot be taken lightly. The opportunity is whether to progress with the 2D art style with some additional 3D models or to take on a completely new approach.

Given the forthcoming release of the Pokedex 3D Pro – which features fully realised 3D models for all the current 649 monsters – this seems like a likely option. After all, what is the point of spending all that development time and effort just to waste these good models on an application only?

We know Pokémon will stick the traditional, turn-based JRPG rules because that’s how the franchise works. I would expect a 3D battle system at a minimum which may follow the steps originally set out with the likes of Pokémon Stadium all those years ago on the N64. The ‘stadiums’ could follow the designs of the routes around the game world with animations to coincide with the attacks being used. A tunnel area could be shown as such with a standard background to support.

One area I do not expect an overhaul would be in the world map. Although we can safely assume that the design would fit in with the 3D enhancements I would expect this to follow a heightened camera angle but with clearer sprites moving around the world. I cannot imagine the Pokémon Company putting in the time to show the Pokémon in the world map and expect the standard random battles approach to still be used.

Whatever happens we know the series has a substantial following and will further advance the art of portable multiplayer. With the 3DS specific features of StreetPass and SpotPass – both of which seem custom made to facilitate this sort of franchise – it’s a safe bet to assume you could trade on the fly or pick up ‘ghost’ versions of other peoples teams to battle at a later date.

Unfortunately nothing concrete has been announced yet so until we find out more all we will ever be able to do it speculate. The franchise will always make money and incidentally we’ve never had a ‘bad’ Pokemon game – at least not within the main games – so we can assume the generation leap will be no different.