Feature: The Legacy of Pokémon
Preface
For over twenty-three years, the Pokémon franchise has been a constant and welcomed presence in my life. This massively successful series started in 1996 in Japan, with the release of Pokémon Red & Pokémon Green for the Nintendo Game Boy by a company called Game Freak. Its huge financial success and popularity eventually found its way overseas, finally reaching Europe in 1999. It continued to dominate the lives of children and their parents’ wallets with an obscene amount of content and merchandise, such as toys, animation, trading cards, and video games. At twelve years old, it was impossible for me to avoid the craze that had captured the attention and imagination of kids throughout the world. Here, I will attempt to recount my own memories of the Pokémon series, and share highlights from my personal journey through a franchise that means so much to me.
Darren
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REVIEW – Pokémon Scarlet
The ninth generation of the hugely popular Pokémon franchise released on November 18th 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. It marks the first open world title for the series, and is the first to offer a more extensive multiplayer experience. Up to three other players can join in online modes. Ever since Pokémon Legends: Arceus released back in January, I have been excited by the possibilities of a game in a similar vein, but with the core features of the series I have known since I first became a fan back in 1999. Could generation nine, a massive departure from the past games I played on the Game Boy and Nintendo DS, which were joyous experiences that have been embedded into my life, truly match my expectations? I had the privilege to review Pokémon Scarlet, and take a deep dive into a game I had been counting down the days for, ever since it was first announced.
I played Pokémon Scarlet roughly 90% of the time in docked mode, using Version 1.0.1 of the game. Since we are sharing this post-launch, this review will contain some light spoilers.
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REVIEW – Bayonetta 3
After a seemingly torturous wait for the titular witch’s third outing, being initially announced in 2017, the time has finally come to be bad and look fabulous doing it. Long regarded as PlatinumGames’ crowning glory, the Bayonetta series has not been one for being a straightforward affair, the series hasn’t exactly been the most stable over the years. If it wasn’t for Nintendo helping greenlight 2014’s Bayonetta 2, we wouldn’t even be in this situation. But here we are, down for a third helping of being a bad witch and punishing anyone willing to disturb the natural order of the world, but now it’s not just one world that needs saving.
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REVIEW – Splatoon 3
Since 2015, Nintendo fans have been enjoying the ink-based action shooter Splatoon, featuring the beloved Inkling characters on the Wii U, with a highly successful follow-up in 2017. Now, in September 2022, the third title splashes down on Nintendo Switch with new features, quality of life improvements, and the return of many classic abilities, weapons and clothing with many more outfits to help keep things fresh!
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REVIEW — Cult of the Lamb
In real life, cults can be rather horrifying. More often than not, these groups take advantage of the most vulnerable people, while empowering some occult mastermind. It might be a rather odd premise for a video game, but Cult of the Lamb does a remarkable job of presenting it as a gameplay mechanic and to satirical comedic effect.
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REVIEW – Kirby’s Dream Buffet
Dinnertime can be a bit of a battle. Who will get the succulent leg of that roast chicken, the crispiest potato, the biggest slice of cake? Kirby’s about to discover the real trouble of dinnertime as he battles it out over decadent courses to become the biggest of them all.
They say you are what you eat, so does that make Kirby’s Dream Buffet the crème de la crème or worse than an over-flambéed brûlé? Find out in our review after the break!
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