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(24th September 2006)
It's three years since I wrote the first Future of Pokemon
Article, originally spurred on by the fact that Diamond and Pearl
- or the 'Fourth Generation' as we only knew them at that time - had
fairly recently been announced to the world via Munchlax and had surprised
me by proving that Ruby and Sapphire would not be the end for our
favourite games.
1 Tenth Anniversary, 2 new layouts, 2 movies, 2 incarnations
of the DS, 4 new Pokemon games, as well as English releases for FireRed/LeafGreen
and Emerald, 30 revealed new Pokemon, and dozens of revelations on
the new aspects of Diamond and Pearl later, here we are. In just 4
days from now, the Fourth Generation will be here. Indeed, knowing
the general way of things thanks to the pirates, chances are by the
time this article goes up there will already be a ROM of the games
floating around and info will already be flooding in.
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Back in 2004 it was always acutely obvious that
the future of Pokémon lay entirely with Diamond and Pearl,
just as it did 2 years before with the upcoming release of Ruby
and Sapphire. Though it's unlikely Pokemon will wrap up after
Diamond and Pearl, just as it didn't after Ruby and Sapphire,
just because D/P ARE the future, doesn't mean it ends there.
We already know that in just 3 months a new Pokemon game for
the Wii, Battle Revolution, will be out in Japan, linking up
to Diamond and Pearl and proving just how intrinsic these original
games are to the Fourth Generation as it rolls out.
What can we expect to see in the next 3 or 4 years for Pokemon?
My response to that is, and this isn't to be taken the wrong
way, "more of the same". Yes, Pokemon is constantly
criticised for being the "same game over and over"
- though anyone taking the time to get in-depth with these games
would realise just how unfitting that description is - but 'same'
doesn't automatically equal 'poor'. |
In the Third Generation, we saw 5 main games in Ruby,
Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald. As well as that we also
saw 9 spin-off games: Colosseum; it's sequel XD: Gale of Darkness;
Pokemon Channel; Pokemon Pinball: RS; Pokemon Dash; Pokemon Trozei/Link;
Pokemon Mystery Dungeons Red and Blue; and Pokemon Ranger (As well
as the 'Trainer Tool', Pokemon Box). That's a total of 14 games in
a single Generation - an unprecedented level surpassed only by adding
together the previous two Generations with their total of 15 main
and spin-off games between them, and the first two Generations were
there are the peak of the Pokemon fad.
With Battle Revolution already leading the way almost
immediately after Diamond and Pearl's release, it would be safe to
say that we can expect the same level of activity in the next couple
of years.
Genius Sonority have set themselves up as a
corner-stone of the Pokemon Franchise after only 3 games and
while Battle Revolution looks likely to be a follow-up to XD
- with a story-mode unannounced but highly probable - we can
definitely expect to see another follow-up to that and maybe
even another by the time the Fifth Generation rolls around.
With the Wii providing as many unique experiences
as the DS, and with games like Trauma Centre making use of the
Wiimote in a similar manner to the DS Stylus, it would also
be fair to say that a sequel to Trozei/Link on the Wii is not
out of the question either.
While the Mystery Dungeon series' involvement
with Pokemon is almost certain to end with Red and Blue, its
sister game as part of the "Path to Diamond and Pearl",
Pokemon Ranger is likely to continue into a full game franchise
on it's own. Already heavily supported by the Pokemon Company
as a whole by plugging it in the anime and, indeed, devoting
an entire movie to it, it's pretty clear that they view Hal
Labs' game as a new and important part of the Pokemon franchise
and one worth expanding on. |
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Again, with similarities between the Wiimote and DS
Stylus, we may even see Pokemon Ranger Wii in the future, or simply
a continuation of the series on the DS. Either way, when Ranger launches
in America in October and in Europe sometime next year, it wont be
the last we'll see or hear of it.
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Finally, the third piece of the spin-off puzzle, Ambrella,
is likely to continue its commitment to providing Pokemon games
for young children with another Pikachu themed game for either
the DS or the Wii, if not one for each. With a typing game already
being set up to get kids trained up on keyboards by Pikachu
and pals from Ambrella, their commitment to the series is just
as clear as ever. Their games may not be the cream of the PokeCrop,
or all that appealing to the older fans, but they know, as do
Nintendo and Gamefreak, just how important the younger audience
is to Pokemon and will continue to give them their fix of easy,
simple, but fun, entertainment.
It became clear, however, in the Third Generation that we don't
have to rely on the other companies and their spin-offs to keep
the Fourth Generation moving forward. With the remakes of Red
and Green accompanying the by-now, standard, third title to
the original Ruby and Sapphire games, GameFreak proved that
they could provide the Pokemon fandom with a lot more than simply
creating the first games of a Generation and merely coming back
a year before the turn of the new Generation to give them another
taste of it with a third game. |
Can we expect the same this time around? I'd say it's
almost certain. While the possibility of a remake for Gold and Silver
in the same manner as Fr/Lg is questionable - and certainly a constant
hot debate topic on many forums - it's also similarly possible that
the gap between Diamond, Pearl and a third Shino Region title could
be filled by two completely new games set in another region. This
region could be Johto - which would certainly appeal to me as Johto
was horribly setback in G/S/C by the inclusion of Kanto, overshadowing
it and downsizing it's potential from the beginning - or it could
be a completely new region. It could even be somewhere like Orre or
Fiore...
It's really impossible to say right now what Gamefreak
themselves will be providing as part of the Fourth Generation outside
of Diamond/Pearl and another 100 or so Pokemon. They have no set pattern
outside of the "Third Game" system. For them, it will be
a case of "wait and see". This time next year, we could
be sitting looking at an upcoming Gold/Silver remake, an entirely
new game or maybe even something completely off the charts and unpredictable.
And that's just the thing about Pokemon... it CAN be unpredictable. When FireRed and LeafGreen were
announced in 2003, it was a massive shock and almost completely
unbelievable. When Colosseum was announced to be a proper 3D
Pokemon adventure (even if it delivered only half an experience
in the end), it was again, a massive shock. No-one expected
something like Pokemon Box, "The Path to Diamond and Pearl"
has thrown up titles like Mystery Dungeon and Ranger - neither
of which could even have been considered as a possibility before
their release. And already we were left surprised as Pokemon
Battle Revolution was announced, not only before the games it
was set to use were released - but even before those games had
a release date.
As I sit here, attempting to look into my magical
Crystal Ball to see what Pokemon has in store for us, I'm also
constantly reminded simply by looking back at the past how impossible
it is to place yourself one step ahead of the thinkings of GameFreak,
Genius Sonority and their developer buddies - because even though
we generally think of Pokemon as providing the same experience,
only slightly modified and spiffied up, every time - the fact
is, it's not the truth.
Do I expect the majority of my predictions made
today to come to fruition? Yes, pretty much. Do I expect to
be surprised by developments I couldn't have even begun to predict?
Most definitely. |
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This, however, is the final part of the Future of Pokemon
trilogy, and those developments will have to be dealt with in other
features. With Diamond and Pearl looming on the horizon, the Future
of Pokemon isn't something on it's way - the Future is here.
Everything else is the debris caught in the hurricane of the Fourth
Generation that we'll be hit with for years to come. Though arguably
- it's that debris that will hold the most surprises and will continue
to make Pokemon a fresh and active thing from now until the time we're
looking at the next hurricane about to hit us...
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