Follow me back in time for a moment. To 1996. The world of gaming was steadily growing by the year. Arcades were all the rage. And home entertainment systems were starting to become more widespread. Less than ten years prior Nintendo released the Game Boy. While this wasn’t the first handheld console, it was definitely the most popular and culturally significant one. But there is one title that was released in 1996 that really launched the world of handheld gaming into the stratosphere. Pokemon!
Pokemon has become one of the most iconic franchises on the planet. With characters like Pikachu being recognizable even to people who have never played a video game before. From humble beginnings the franchise has become a worldwide phenomenon that has spawned numerous mainline games and many spinoff titles, animated shows, comics, mangas, and an endless stream of merchandise.
Next year will be the 30th birthday of Pokemon. And we have no doubt that Nintendo will pull out all the stops to make it a year to remember. But before that happens we want to take a look back at the best Pokemon titles of the last decade. And with so many to choose from this was not an easy list to compile.
Sword And Shield
Pokemon is an odd franchise in that every mainline game release is actually split into two titles. Both titles are identical in almost every aspect. The main difference between them is the available Pokemon pool. And, most importantly, which legendary Pokemon you can capture.
Sword and Shield were released back in 2019 and they were unique in that they were the first mainline Pokemon titles to be released for the Nintendo Switch. Previously mainline titles were reserved for handheld systems like the DS or Game Boy. And this upgrade in regards to technological strength shone through. The game’s graphics were a huge step up from previous titles and the world map was sprawling and beautifully designed.
These titles also made it so that you could see Pokemon within the tall grass. Allowing you to better decide which Pokemon you wanted to fight. But it also served to make the world feel more genuine. The level of immersion offered by Sword and Shield is a big reason why we believe they are some of the strongest titles of the last decade.
Pokemon Go!
Released back in 2016, Pokemon Go was a slight departure from the traditional Pokemon format. It is an augmented reality title that uses real world maps rather than being set in a fictional location. Various landmarks and locations within every city are designated as Gyms and PokeStops. Players join one of three teams when they create an account and work with their team to control different territories.
Unlike other titles, Pokemon Go forces you to go out and about to catch and level up your Pokemon. The game uses your phone camera with an AR overlay to show you where the pokemon are. When the game was released thousands of people took to the streets to start catching and battling Pokemon. And it is still going strong to this day.
One of the main issues new players face when joining Pokemon Go now is that they are likely going to be too far behind the veteran players to make any significant impact on their teams territorial efforts. But, unlike other Pokemon titles, players can get a strong Pokemon roster with these accounts available from sites like Mysticmisery.com or GameBoost.com.
One of the main issues with many of the mainline Pokemon games is that the available roster of Pokemon is limited due to the fictional region the game is set in. Whereas Pokemon go has a staggering 884 Pokemon available for players to catch. And considering there are only 1025 Pokemon in the entire franchise, this is an impressive amount. And it will likely continue to grow as the app receives more updates.
Pokemon: Let’s Go
Let’s Go Eevee and Let’s Go Pikachu were released back in 2018 to thunderous applause. They were remakes of the classic title Pokemon Yellow and served as a way to introduce new fans to the series while also providing a solid nostalgia hit to veterans.
The game features all 151 original Pokemon and utilises a similar Pokemon capture system to Pokemon Go. Players have to use the motion control systems in the Switch’s Joycons to throw Pokeballs. Depending on which version of the game you bought you would have either a Pikachu or an Eevee sat on your shoulders as you roamed around the overworld.
Pokemon Ranked: The Best Titles Of The Last Decade
Follow me back in time for a moment. To 1996. The world of gaming was steadily growing by the year. Arcades were all the rage. And home entertainment systems were starting to become more widespread. Less than ten years prior Nintendo released the Game Boy. While this wasn’t the first handheld console, it was definitely the most popular and culturally significant one. But there is one title that was released in 1996 that really launched the world of handheld gaming into the stratosphere. Pokemon!
Pokemon has become one of the most iconic franchises on the planet. With characters like Pikachu being recognizable even to people who have never played a video game before. From humble beginnings the franchise has become a worldwide phenomenon that has spawned numerous mainline games and many spinoff titles, animated shows, comics, mangas, and an endless stream of merchandise.
Next year will be the 30th birthday of Pokemon. And we have no doubt that Nintendo will pull out all the stops to make it a year to remember. But before that happens we want to take a look back at the best Pokemon titles of the last decade. And with so many to choose from this was not an easy list to compile.
Sword And Shield
Pokemon is an odd franchise in that every mainline game release is actually split into two titles. Both titles are identical in almost every aspect. The main difference between them is the available Pokemon pool. And, most importantly, which legendary Pokemon you can capture.
Sword and Shield were released back in 2019 and they were unique in that they were the first mainline Pokemon titles to be released for the Nintendo Switch. Previously mainline titles were reserved for handheld systems like the DS or Game Boy. And this upgrade in regards to technological strength shone through. The game’s graphics were a huge step up from previous titles and the world map was sprawling and beautifully designed.
These titles also made it so that you could see Pokemon within the tall grass. Allowing you to better decide which Pokemon you wanted to fight. But it also served to make the world feel more genuine. The level of immersion offered by Sword and Shield is a big reason why we believe they are some of the strongest titles of the last decade.
Pokemon Go!
Released back in 2016, Pokemon Go was a slight departure from the traditional Pokemon format. It is an augmented reality title that uses real world maps rather than being set in a fictional location. Various landmarks and locations within every city are designated as Gyms and PokeStops. Players join one of three teams when they create an account and work with their team to control different territories.
Unlike other titles, Pokemon Go forces you to go out and about to catch and level up your Pokemon. The game uses your phone camera with an AR overlay to show you where the pokemon are. When the game was released thousands of people took to the streets to start catching and battling Pokemon. And it is still going strong to this day.
One of the main issues new players face when joining Pokemon Go now is that they are likely going to be too far behind the veteran players to make any significant impact on their teams territorial efforts. But, unlike other Pokemon titles, players can get a strong Pokemon roster with these accounts available from sites like Mysticmisery.com or GameBoost.com.
One of the main issues with many of the mainline Pokemon games is that the available roster of Pokemon is limited due to the fictional region the game is set in. Whereas Pokemon go has a staggering 884 Pokemon available for players to catch. And considering there are only 1025 Pokemon in the entire franchise, this is an impressive amount. And it will likely continue to grow as the app receives more updates.
Pokemon: Let’s Go
Let’s Go Eevee and Let’s Go Pikachu were released back in 2018 to thunderous applause. They were remakes of the classic title Pokemon Yellow and served as a way to introduce new fans to the series while also providing a solid nostalgia hit to veterans.
The game features all 151 original Pokemon and utilises a similar Pokemon capture system to Pokemon Go. Players have to use the motion control systems in the Switch’s Joycons to throw Pokeballs. Depending on which version of the game you bought you would have either a Pikachu or an Eevee sat on your shoulders as you roamed around the overworld.
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