Nintendo Switch, 2018 by Game Freak.
This is a real treat for those for whom Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow were their childhood, or indeed anyone who’s latched on to the recently popular mobile Go game and wants to jump into one of the main Pokémon RPGs.
Let’s Go Pikachu! and Eevee! (I chose the Pikachu version) bring the world of Kanto to life in 3D in a beautiful re-imagining of the first-generation classics, with a host of cool new features and changes to the well-worn formula that make it that little bit more player-friendly.
Random encounters with Pokémon are out and instead, each of the original 151 creatures can be seen running around in the wild, allowing you to approach them or avoid if you wish.
It’s a lot of fun just watching them in their natural environments and really makes the world feel that much more alive and busy, as you leave home and step out onto Route 1 for the first time and find Rattata and Oddish scampering through the tall grass.
Later in the game, as the larger Pokémon start to appear, their size dwarfs the player on the map making for epic encounters – while well-known sections, such as the encounter with the sleeping Snorlax that blocks your path, are all the more enjoyable when you see how big it is.
I also really enjoyed seeing the familiar faces of characters such as Brock, Misty and the Team Rocket duo on the big screen.
Let’s Go does things very differently when it comes to capturing and training your Pokémon as you’ll soon discover – wild creatures can no longer be battled, however, catching them is the best way to earn experience for your team.
When you bump into a wild Pokémon on the map you go into a sort of first-person view mode where you must flick the JoyCon controller (or that nifty motion controller pokéball peripheral Nintendo made for this game – I didn’t bother getting it) to throw pokéballs at it.
To get the best results you must aim the ball through a shrinking circle, and if you time it just before the circle closes you’ll record an ‘excellent throw’ and have a better chance of a successful capture – however, some of the Pokémon move around the screen and intermittently attack you, during which time they can’t be caught, so a little bit of patience and timing is required.
I quite like this mechanic, and for the most part it works well, though the motion controlls are a little bit questionable especially when you’re trying to aim to the sides of the screen. It’s fun learning different creatures’ ‘tells’ for when they will move, and getting multiple capture bonuses for a good throw is really rewarding, with stacks of EXP handed your way.
There’s also a ‘chain’ mechanic, whereby successfully capturing the same type of Pokémon multiple times back to back increases the chances of rarer creatures making an appearance on the map, as well as large, small and shiny versions of ones you may have already caught.
All of this makes capturing a massive part of the game – so as well as keeping your team strong for battle by gaining experience, you also get to collect and use lots of different creatures you might otherwise not have caught (and you can now swap Pokémon in and out of your team at any time, without having to go to a computer, which is a really great addition) – though it does mean you end up with a small army of surplus, duplicate creatures you’ll never use, left in captivity forever.
Battles against other trainers are of course still present, and you can level up adequately by taking on as many or as few of them as you see fit.
The basic structure of the game holds up well, with a steady flow of new creatures to keep the player interested, new characters to meet and settings to explore as you progress, from overgrown forest glades to sprawling cities and dungeon dives.
Nothing in Let’s Go is too taxing in terms of puzzle solutions and you’re always well signposted on where to go next, making it a fun and easygoing adventure – though some of the treks through caves and factories that come later in the game can feel a little tedious.
As far as battling goes, I found my creatures were always well in excess of the power required to take down any foes I encountered, from gym leaders, to rivals, expert trainers and Pokémon you’re forced to battle, and that was without any excessive grinding.
So long as you build a team that covers the main elemental bases, and have a decent understanding of the rock-paper-scissors game of what trumps what, you can get through most of it unscathed – though I would recommend blowing the cash you earn from battles almost entirely on the best available pokéballs, just so you always have plenty to hand when it comes to catching and levelling and don’t have to backtrack to get more.
Let’s Go Pikachu! and Eevee! are absolutely welcome new installments in the Pokémon saga, which cleverly harness the familiar trappings of that wonderful and nostalgic original adventure as a basis to add bold new twists and features which, for the most part, work very well.
I returned to the series with the 3DS games and played Pokémon X, Omega Ruby, Sun and Ultra Moon and the jump from 3DS screen to Nintendo Switch is remarkable, and it’s entirely what this great, long-running series deserves – and it bodes well for future installments.
FINAL GRADE: [C]
Zeexlash 