Pokemon is going through a creative renaissance at the moment, experimenting with its tried and true formula to bring us unique titles like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Let’s Go and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Legends: Arceus that try to do something different. It’s even brought back long-forgotten spinoff titles with New Pokemon Snap, as Game Freak is looking to spice things up and provide a wider range of Pokemon experiences to cater to different interests. You only have to look at 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Scar𝄹let & Violet’s marketing and the distinct campai🌠gns to see that this is ☂Game Freak at its most creative.

We haven’t seen this much experimentation with the franchise since the golden era of Pokemon, as Gen 4 saw not only the release of Platinum and SoulSilver but multiple excellent spinoffs like Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky and Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. Now that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Game Freak is feeling a little more ad𓄧venturous, it should make Gen 9 one to remember by attempting to replꦰicate the success of its Gen 4 spinoffs, starting with the aforementioned Pokemon Ranger.

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It’s no real surprise the series has remained stuck on the Nintendo DS ever since Guardian Signs. The friendship loops that make up the core gameplay were performed with a stylus an🅺d a touchscreen, meaning the jump to the Nintendo Switch destroyed any chance of getting a modern Pokemon Ranger game. That was before Pokemon Snap made a return though, and Game Freak’s willingness to return to a then 22 year old, one-time spinoff, completely out of left field, opens up a range of new possibilities.

B🔯ringing Pokemon Ranger to the Switch would require transforming the series’ touchscreen loop mechanics into something that can be perf⛦ormed with a traditional controller. The Nintendo Switch has limited touchscreen capabilities, but battering the screen of your £300 console with your digits while desperately trying to loop around a horde of Rattata isn’t something that Nintendo or I would recommend trying at home.

A Pokemon Ranger riding a Raikou with Entei, Latios, Latias, Suicune, and Pichu surrounding him

However, with the release of Let’s Go and Legends: Arceus, I’m more confident than ever that Game Freak could come up with a suitable control scheme. Let’s Go managed to perfectly translate Pokemon Go’s simple catching method to a console game, while Legends: Arce🍎us finally let players chuck Pokeballs around wherever they liked. Let’s Go was a little simple for my liking and the less said about Legends: Arceus the better, but both capture methods were new to the Switch and very well implemented.

Pokemon Ranger always felt like a Pokemon experience more aimed toward adults too. It had the standard 🍷“power of friendship” guff that is the focal point of most Pokemon games, but the writing was wittier, there was more of a focus on worl♐d-building, and they can be pretty damn difficult when they want to be. I still haven’t finished the first Pokemon Ranger due to the grueling battles on the run-up to an unforgiving boss fight with Entei.

Charizard breathing fire into the air while a player attempt to loop around them.

Mainline Pokemon games are a walk in the park these days, and while I’ve come to terms with that as I’ve gotten older, a more challenging Pokemon title after 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Scarlet & Violet would be a refreshing change of pace. We’ll probably get Pokemon Black & White remakes instead, but if Game Freak really wants to flex its 🧜creative muscles and keep its hot streak going after Legends: Arceus and Scarlet & Violet, it should do something that ಞnobody is expecting. Pokemon Ranger is that something.

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