Pokemon Pokopia Would Feel Incomplete Without These 5…

One of the more unexpected announcements during September 12's Nintendo Direct broadcast, Pokemon Pokopia brings cozy farming and life simulator elements to the world of Pokemon. In Pokemon Pokopia, players take on the role of a Ditto who is able to mimic human form. They bond with a variety of Pokemon and work together with them to harvest crops, build structures, craft items, and more. Pokemon's venture into the farming simulator genre should ideally take a few nods from Stardew Valley by including these features.

An Affection System For Pokemon

pokemon-pokopia-switch-2-nintendo-direct-game-rant-4

Stardew Valley features both an affection system for residents of Pelican Town and one for animals raised on the player's farm. Ideally, a hypothetical affection system in Pokemon Pokopia should be a mix of the two. The Ditto should be able to pet Pokemon and feed them their favorite foods, but also give them gifts and spend time with them to get to know them better, especially as the protagonist is capable of speaking the language of Pokemon unlike a standard Trainer.

A Dungeon Or Other Area For Combat And Exploration

While the farming simulator genre is all about farming, most good farming sims also feature an area where players can fight, look for treasure, and have a more traditional adventure. In Stardew Valley, players can explore the Mines and later the Skull Cavern to find all sorts of treasure and fight against a variety of monsters. Given its Pokemon roots, Pokopia should definitely include something similar — perhaps a dungeon in homage to the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. Maybe Ditto will even be able to gather a party of Pokemon allies to go exploring for resources and treasure?

In-Depth Cooking System With Different Meal Effects

pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-sandwich-distribution-event

Food and cooking have been a big part of the Pokemon series for a long time, and have seen a greater emphasis in recent games such as Sword and Shield's curry-making and Scarlet and Violet's picnics. Pokopia should draw on that and include a cooking feature where players can make meals with different effects that can help them perform their farming and crafting tasks. Berries, a staple of the Pokemon series since the beginning, could form the core ingredients, although some of the sandwich fillings from Paldea or Galarian curries would be a fun inclusion as well.

Some Form Of Fishing Mini-Game

Pokemon GO Player Gets Incredibly Lucky with Shinies

Farming and fishing go hand-in-hand - from Stardew Valley to Rune Factory, most games in the genre have a fishing mini-game of some kind. And, with a wide range of Water Pokemon available to help out, fishing seems like an absolutely natural addition to Pokemon Pokopia. Perhaps the Ditto protagonist will have to fish for Pokemon such as Magikarp and Feebas before they are willing to help out. Alternately, they could fish for treasure like pearls or non-Pokemon cooking ingredients like seaweed, with the help of Water-type Pokemon of course.

A Seasonal Cycle And Limited-Time Events

Most games in the cozy life simulator genre regularly offer limited-time events and festivals for players to participate in. Animal Crossing's were based around the real world calendar, while Stardew Valley used in-game seasons. Pokopia could see Ditto and their friends celebrating events throughout the 'year,' such as festivals honoring a specific type of Pokemon or region.

The inclusion of a seasonal calendar in the game could allow for a focus on Pokemon with different forms, like Deerling or Castform. The latter could even potentially help Ditto control the weather or cause the occasional rainstorm that automatically waters crops. Both a real-time calendar like Animal Crossing or an in-game one like Stardew Valley could work, although the latter might allow players to find and recruit a large variety of Pokemon more quickly.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image