Here's what a 3D Pokemon would look like in the OG art style, complete with chonky Pikachu
This needs to be a real thing
A Pokemon fan has teased the world with an extremely nostalgic look at what a 3D Pokemon game would look like if it were based on the original art style.
By "original art style," I mean the OG look of the Pokemon drawn up by Ken Sugimori and seen in the Gen 1 trading cards and game manuals - you know, the art that birthed chonky Pikachu before he trimmed down for the anime series. Anyway, this fan-made video imagines a 3D Pokemon game with those brilliantly nostalgic graphics, and this needs to become a real thing ASAP. Check it out:
これは時空の歪みによって生まれた、懐かしくも新しい『ポケットモンスター 初代』!(トキワの森編)#pokemon pic.twitter.com/Mm7bF4M80FMay 20, 2022
While we have no indication that this is anything more than just a fun little video, creator pokeyugami gave the project a title and a little premise. "This is a nostalgic yet new 'Pokémon: The First Generation' created by a distortion of time and space!," the translated tweet reads.
Apparently, in this lovely 17-second universe, the Pokemon from 1996 passed through a space time distortion - possibly the same one from Pokemon Legends: Arceus - and ended up in a 2022 3D Pokemon game set in the Viridian Forest. Now if only someone - *cough* Nintendo *cough* - would take this and turn it into a full game.
Of course, the actual Pokemon games we're getting this year, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, have a similar cel-shaded look to Arceus, but they're set in a place that looks vaguely based on Southwestern Europe. It still looks very pretty, but it won't hit you over the head with nostalgia like this fan-made dream.
For what to play right now, check out our guide to the best Pokemon games.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.