Pokémon open-world game Legends: Arceus coming soon, plus Diamond and Pearl remakes

by Jessica Scharnagle

Today, Pokémon revealed what they’ve been working on in a greatly anticipated Pokémon Presents. The highlights included an open-world game called Legends: Arceus and long-anticipated remakes of Diamond and Pearl.

The information comes just ahead of Pokémon Day, which celebrates 25 years of the Pokémon franchise. Many fans expected the announcement of a new main-series game. Here’s everything that was announced in the Pokémon Presents video.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus — early 2022

This open-world adventure RPG is a new approach to the video game series. The game is also set in the Sinnoh region, and trainers will take Rowlet, Cyndaquil or Oshawott on their adventures. The starter Pokémon are said to have been brought into the region by a Pokémon professor.

The video is very reminiscent of the Sword and Shield art style, but with a completely open-world experience, such as in the Wild Area. In this adventure, trainers will catch wild Pokémon by studying Pokémon behavior, sneaking up to them and throwing a poké ball when the time is right. Players can also battle these wild Pokémon with their ally Pokémon.

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Since the starter Pokémon are from other generations of the game, it is unclear what Pokémon will be available in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

The rumor mill hinted at this kind of game, with some thinking it was an open world MMO, while others thought it would be a single-player RPG adventure. Gamefreak is developing this game, and development is in full swing, but because the game doesn’t release until 2022, fans probably won’t get much more information until the next Pokémon Presents.

Read more: Nintendo Direct: Skyward Sword, new Smash fighters and more

Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl — late 2021

New Diamond and Pearl remakes were indeed confirmed with a release date of late 2021. It is unclear if Nintendo plans to release these games in November, which has been the month of all released main-series Pokémon games since Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are advertised as faithful remakes to the game, and the graphics are certainly an indication of that. The art style is very similar to the original games, which were released in the US in 2007.

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Turtwig, Chimchar or Piplup will join players’ adventures through the Sinnoh regions where trainers will be tasked with catching all of the Pokémon that appeared in the original Diamond and Pearl games.

This main-series game will be released on the Nintendo Switch. The price and actual release date are still unknown.

Pokémon Snap update gives more gameplay

More gameplay footage was shown of Pokémon’s most imminent game release, Pokémon Snap, which releases April 30. This game is a remake of the popular Nintendo 64 game in which players ride along in the NEO-ONE and journey across the Lental region to take photos of Pokémon.

Trainers can throw food at Pokémon, or play melodies to attract their attention and create beautiful photos from their reactions. Photos can then be edited with stickers and frames and shared online with other players.

In this remake, players are tasked with investigating the Illumina phenomenon, which causes Pokémon to glow. Players will work with Professor Mirror and his team to investigate this occurrence.

Read more: Here are all the highlights from Sony’s State of Play

Pokémon Day celebrations

Many of the current Pokémon games are getting in-game celebrations to commemorate the 25th year of the Pokémon franchise.

In Pokémon Sword and Shield, special Max Raid battles are available from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28. Gigantimax Pikachu is available as a Max Raid battle along with Mewtwo, Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Charmander, Charmeleon, Squirtle and Wartortle. These Pokémon will all drop at least one notable item. Mewtwo cannot be caught, but he will drop Ability Capsules and Bottle Caps.

In Pokémon Café Mix players can receive 2,500 Golden Acorns for logging in.

In Pokémon Go, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Mewtwo are appearing in Legendary raid battles as part of a Kanto-themed celebration event. These raids have been available since Feb. 20 and end on March 1.

In Pokémon Masters: EX, Galar region champion Leon, and his Charizard arrive in the game through March 17.

Pokémon 25th anniversary concert with Post Malone

The celebration isn’t over yet, as the Pokémon company has partnered with Post Malone for a virtual concert. On Thursday, Post Malone posted a video in relation to the event and did a cover of “Only Wanna Be With You” originally performed by Hootie and the Blowfish in 1995. The songs feature bits of synthesizer sound effects that remind listeners of the original chiptunes in the early Pokémon games.

The song is included in the setlist for Post Malone’s virtual concert, which takes place on Feb. 27, and can be viewed for free on the official Pokémon YouTube and Twitch channels, and on the Pokémon 25th anniversary website.

Lead image credit: Pokémon

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