New Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Diamond & Pearl Remake | Trailers and dates
The Pokémon Company announced two exciting new games at Pokémon Week 2021. Here's all the details about the upcoming releases from the Sinnoh region.
Pokémon is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021 and The Pokémon Company is eager to pull out all the stops to mark a special birthday. Their Pokémon Week 2021 concludes today after big some big announcements in recent days.
But for many Pokémon fans the best news may well have been saved until last, as they unveiled the first details of a brand new open world Pokémon game on Friday.
Announced in a Pokémon Presents live stream on Friday morning, Pokémon Legends Arceus offers a glimpse back in time. The new game will take players back to the Sinnoh region and is expected to come to Nintendo Switch in early 2022.
New trailer shows Pokémon Legends Arceus gameplay
Friday’s live stream brought possibly the most exciting new development in the world of Pokémon gaming, as a gameplay trailer announced the arrival of Pokémon Legends Arceus.
The footage shown on the stream gave us a good look at what to expect from the upcoming title, which takes place in the mythical Sinnoh region. The game’s trainers bear a striking resemblance to those included in Diamond and Pearl, but with a Japanese twist.
There appears to be plenty of variety in the Pokémon selection with the three starter Pokémon hailing from a variety of regions: Cyndaquil from Johto, and Oshawott from Unova, Rowlet from Alola.
Gameplay from the roughly two-minute clip suggests that players will be free to roam around the world, throwing the old-style Poké Balls at wild Pokémon to build their collection. The region looks incredibly rich with a variety of bushes, trees and other natural features in which to search for Pokémon.
Given the name, Arceus, the god-like Pokémon, is expected to feature heavily in the game but we do not yet have any information on the inclusion.
Pokémon announces Diamond and Pearl remakes
The other takeaway announcement from Friday’s Pokémon Presents video was news that two iconic games from The Pokémon Company’s back catalogue will be getting a remake. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl should be arriving in late 2021 and retain much of the feel of those original title.
During the announcement, the developers confirmed that “the sense of scale of the original games, towns, and routes has been carefully preserved.”
True to that ethos the remade games will stick with the same three starter Pokémon from those original titles: Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup. We also know that the Legendary Pokémon for Brilliant Diamond will be Dialga, with Palkia for the Shining Pearl edition.
There have been some changes though with the announcement promising the introduction of “player-friendly conveniences” and “up-close-and-personal Pokémon battle scenes.”