So, the recent Pokémon Direct was pretty great! It opened with the announcement of a combined, deluxe remake for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team and it’s even releasing in 2 months with a demo out now to tide those eager to play it over. I stated during my reactions stream just minutes prior to the presentation going live that I could see a new Mystery Dungeon game be revealed, but I certainly wasn’t expecting that!
And then… Game Freak hit us with the goods. New Expansion Passes (yes, more than 1) were revealed for Sword and Shield, seemingly signaling the end of the third version with new features a la Emerald and Platinum or the sequels like Black 2 and White 2 or even the alternate dimensional stories like Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. They are called “The Isle of Armor” and “The Crown Tundra”.
They will include a slew of older Pokémon (200+ according to the presentation), some new Galarian forms (we were shown the entire Slowpoke line and the Kanto Bird Trio), new characters that will guide us along the way per pack, new locations yet to explore and even some new Pokémon (2 new Regis and new legendaries). Both passes will cost $29.99, with prices varying depending on location.
Essentially, that third version/sequel/alternate dimension is still happening but in a different approach and I like that. I have some additional thoughts on the Expansion Pass stuff that I will divulge now. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion and while you may agree with some things, you also might not and that’s fine. Just don’t start harassing me like you did Junichi Masuda over “Dexit”.
Let’s start with the somewhat resolution to “Dexit” I guess since I’m on that topic. I never frankly cared about certain older Pokémon species not being in Sword and Shield upon their release. If I wanted to play with an older Pokémon I was fond of that wasn’t in the game, I would just play the game they came from. It seems like a cop-out from Game Freak to cave to the rabid fanbase and bring back old Pokémon because people got their feelings hurt as if all those 400 Pokémon were erased from existence completely.
The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra from the little we’ve seen of them look outstanding. They’re basically Wild Area add-ons with extra buildings or even small towns. We don’t know everything about them yet, obviously, but I suspect we will be getting news about The Isle of Armor at least every month before release since that’s slated for June as of now, akin to the build-up for the base games since X and Y.
As far as The Crown Tundra goes, I’m fairly interested to see who exactly enlists our help exploring those underground dens, cause as I started during my reaction stream, those outfits the player character is wearing practically screams Roark the Rock-type Gym Leader from Sinnoh. Plus, come on the underground too? Exploring the Sinnoh region again must be near… Holiday 2021, anybody?
That’s pretty much all I have to say about this Pokémon Direct. It was great and I’m excited for what’s to come for Sword and Shield this year. Leave a comment or tweet me @TheJamesRolls with your thoughts.