Soapbox features allow our writers to express their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that are not necessarily the voice of the site. In this piece, Ryan explores the idea of a restart of the video game Pokémon TCG and why now might be the perfect time for this version …
Considering how many Pokémon games there are and how good the Pokémon Company has always been able to get to the last penny of its global fan base, it’s pretty surprising to realize that the official business card game Pokémon has only been adapted into a video game form twice, and even then, one of these was unique to Japan.
While ideas aren’t always for me, I’ll always appreciate Pokémon being used in new and interesting ways, such as an app that helps kids brush their teeth, but let’s talk about a series that doesn’t have fear of recycling old ideas whether fans care about them or not. There has been a frenzy eleven Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, for example, and between major series entries, remakes, derivations, and mobile titles, fans of the franchise have become accustomed to seeing a small handful of new Pokémon experiences released each year.
So how come the trading card game format (a game already established by itself that has changed 30.4 billion cards over the last twenty-five years) has been used so little? Would a new card game-based video game make sense? It would generate the crazy revenue levels the company would expect and help change evenly month physical letters? The answers to these last questions are “probably” and “very possibly,” but I would say there has never been a better time for the Pokémon gods to try it.
As you’re likely to hear countless times over the next few months when new products hit store shelves, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Pokémon. It’s been a year of “very special” celebrations (Katy Perry is already on board, for starters) and knowing how much she likes The Pokémon Company revisiting the past, you can be sure there will be some gestures where she goes start the series thrown into the mix. In fact, on a proper topical note, some iconic Pokémon cards are re-launched as part of the fun.
Suddenly, a whole community of players who would gather in clubs or game stores to play and trade can no longer do so.
This is a good enough reason for a TCG video game to reboot itself, but of course the anniversary falls at a strange time, with the COVID pandemic collapsing; while video games have flourished due to the permanence of people inside, the trading card game is another story. A potential drop in sales aside, trading card games shine brighter in social settings, the only thing that currently can’t exist. Suddenly, an entire community of gamers who gathered at clubs or game stores to play and trade can no longer do so, and heading to a store to pick up some booster packs isn’t exactly the same joyous journey as before.
Now, TCG Online, an official and expanding digital version of the game that can be played on smart devices, almost check all boxes. At TCG Online, you can fight opponents with the digital covers you create yourself, buy new cards to add to your digital collection, and even change actual physical card package codes to add more month. It’s a wonderfully accurate recreation of the game, and it certainly works as a substitute for reality, but something is missing, and that’s the magic of video games.
Let me quickly intercept one or two lines about what inspired me to write this piece in the first place: Pokémon trading card game for the Game Boy. One of the two TCG-based video games that will appear on the console, was released during 1998-2000, depending on your region, and had players build their own card decks from the first three card games of the game. real card game. From there, grab eight clubs to defeat their masters and win medals, before grabbing a version of Pokémon’s classic Elite Four setup. Once you’ve certified yourself the best (like no one ever did), you can continue to fight and negotiate with friends who have a copy of the game on their Game Boy.
I’ve been playing it for the last couple of weeks and while nostalgia helps me, I’ve fallen in love with both it and the card game itself. Meeting the goals to receive in-game boost packs (no shopping required) is a lot of fun and getting a digital version of the shiny Blastoise card that I still have in my home folder today made me happier than a few lines of code from the game should have. It has a decent plot, NPCs to talk to, a full collection of cards to unlock using skill and gameplay instead of additional purchases, and can be played on a Nintendo console. It’s heard right.
So let me introduce the idea of a new Pokémon trading card game for Switch. Like mainline games, players can start as novices, but this time with a single deck of cards as they embark on a journey to become the best card player the world has ever seen. The letters from the past of the series are all correct and present – can you imagine getting that Shriz Charizard that everyone wanted, but now, in 2021? – and once the game story is over, you can continue and play against all your Switch friends online.
Now, you have something that feels like a 25th anniversary celebration, that helps players enjoy the game safely online, that would attract new players to the physical game, and that they could happily launch into a console that seems to energize any franchise that appears on it. Now it really is does check all the boxes and I’m bursting at the thought of the idea.
Normally, I would end up saying something in the line of “you know, this will never happen, so don’t get too excited”, but it’s really not out of the question. For one thing, Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution – A Switch game that allows you to collect over 9000 cards from the history of the series and represent scenes from your anime – it does almost everything I’ve been talking about here, except for the Konami collectible card game. What if We Pokémon Snap tin finally recovers a series that last saw the light twenty years ago, why couldn’t a “New Pokémon Business Card Game” do the same?
Please, Pokémon gentlemen. Let it happen!
Are you a fan of the Pokémon trading card game? Want to see a new, updated game for Switch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.