Nintendo kicked off 2020 with a Nintendo Direct exclusively for its Pokemon series of games today detailing around 20 minutes of information. This including a new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game, the long-awaited Pokemon Home, and an expansion pass for Sword and Shield.
Let’s take a detailed look at what was announced, and you can view the entire direct down below.
Enjoy.
Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
This remake has all the charm and art design of a children’s book and will see a release on the Nintendo Switch. March 6th, 2020 is the release date for the title but a demo will hit the eshop today to get “a sample of the fun”.
This remake of the 2006 game will have players take on the role of a human turned Pikachu as they explore a strange new land. This new version of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon will add a few new features as well. First is auto-mode which will automatically control the players through the environment. It won’t do your battles for you as the mode will turn off during combat. However, there is an auto-attack mode that will perform your battles for you, performing that Pokemon’s strongest attack during combat. These modes are essentially for players that either just want to explore the story, or possibly those with disabilities.
Players will also be able to add up to eight Pokemon to their team, and if they are all knocked out of battle, then players can request a rescue from another player on their own team. This rescue will then let players resume their battle where they previously fainted.
Pokemon: Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra
These new expansions for Sword and Shield Include both old and new Pokemon to track down and add to your ever-growing Pokedex. The Isle of Armor will release sometime in June 2020 whereas The Crown Tundra will see its release in the fall. The pass can be purchased later today and will net you special Pikachu and Eevee uniforms to wear in-game.
These new expansions are not what we’ve seen from Pokemon Games before, at least not in how a “third” game has operated before; offering the same game with a few new additions and new content. These two expansions are two whole new areas and will contain around 200 new and returning Pokemon with several of them being new Galar variations such as the legendary birds, and a Slowpoke that will see evolutions through both expansions.
While the expansion pass will run $29.99 USD, they are built around being a pass for that version meaning that if you are playing both Sword and Shield, you will need to purchase the pass for each of those versions.
Isle of Armor will see you receive training by the very same master that trained the previous champion and will give you Kubfu, a legendary Pokemon that evolves into Urshifu, a fighting type Pokemon that depending on your version, will have either a dark or water sub-type that is extremely powerful. Crown Tundra is a frozen spacious environment that will allow players to co-op through brand new Pokemon Dens, in their effort to capture some familiar legendary Pokemon. The Crown Tundra will also allow players to catch Calyrex, a new psychic/grass type Legendary.
Much like Sword and Sheild, and frankly, every Pokemon main series game to-date will feature exclusive pieces of content to each version. Sword and Shield will see you fight against different rivals, track down a different selection of Pokemon, and even more differences yet to be fully detailed.
The co-op features of Sword and Shield, despite the technical problems that plagued the titles, were some of the best aspects added with the jump to the Nintendo Switch hardware. These expansions will feature new co-op Max Raid Battles to enjoy with friends or a group of random players. For those that choose not to purchase the expansion pass, you’ll still be able to be traded these new Pokemon and even take part in these new Max Raid Battles.
Sword and Shield players can log into their respective games today and be introduced to their rivals from the Isle of Amor'; Klara for Sword, and Avery for Shield. This will also be where players will get their first look at Galar Slowpoke and also be able to track him down. As indicated in the Pokemon Direct, Slowpoke will evolve once per expansion, with his final form coming to The Crown Tundra.
While I’ve seen many people complain about DLC coming to Pokemon, each version of the series has featured a full price expansion in such titles as Leaf Green and Ultra Moon, so seeing this expansion be entirely new areas and not just small upgrades with limited content is something I think Pokemon fans have wanted for some time now. I personally am excited to explore two whole new areas, catch all the new Pokemon, and dig into to all the new customization options coming our way, starting in June.
The last bit of content dropped in the Direct is that Pokemon Home will be dropping this February and allow players to bring in these new Pokemon that were present in previous versions to Sword and Shield.
For a look at the whole direct, check it below.