Summary
- The Pokemon Company is collaborating with Yomiuriland to create a Pokemon-themed attraction called "PokePark KANTO" at the amusement park, potentially based on the original Pokemon Red and Blue games.
- The partnership between The Pokemon Company and Yomiuriland builds on their previous collaborations, which include an educational children's column and a Pokemon-themed gaming event.
The Pokemon Company is working to build a theme park attraction inspired by the original Pokemon games. Ever since Pokemon Red and Blue launched on the original Game Boy handhelds in 1998, Nintendo’s monster-catching RPG franchise has been a pop-culture juggernaut with fans all around the world. Aside from the Pokemon games themselves, the series has spawned a popular Pokemon trading card game, countless anime and manga adaptations, and even several theatrical films.
This is a trajectory shared by many of Nintendo’s first-party properties, which have become household names in the gaming world. The popularity of franchises like Super Mario Bros. And Donkey Kong would eventually lead to the development of Super Nintendo World, a theme park attraction in Universal Studios Japan that immerses fans in the colorful worlds of Nintendo’s games using interactive rides and augmented reality. After several delays, the US version of Super Nintendo World eventually opened in Universal Studios Hollywood earlier this year.
The ever-popular Pokemon mega-franchise could get a theme park attraction of its own thanks to a new partnership between The Pokemon Company and the owners of Yomiuriland. According to The Japan News, this collaboration will be called PokePark KANTO LLC, taking its name from both the real-life Kanto region that Yomiuriland is located in and the fictional setting of the original Pokemon Red and Blue games. As a result of this deal, a Pokemon-themed attraction named “PokePark KANTO” is being developed for the Yomiuriland amusement park.
The Yomiuri Group companies that own Yomiuriland have partnered with The Pokemon Company in the past on Pokemon-themed projects. In 2009, The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper started running an educational children’s column named “Pokemon to Issho ni Oboeyo! Kotowaza Daihyakka” (or “Let’s memorize a proverb encyclopedia with Pokemon!” In English). 2014 saw the gaming event known as “The Pokemon Ryuosen” being held for the first time. Finally, Yomiuriland is already home to an outdoor adventure attraction titled "Pokemon WONDER" which lets visitors search for Pokemon within the park's natural landscape.
It isn’t clear what this new Pokemon theme park attraction will entail, but the name “PokePark KANTO” implies that it will be based on the original Pokemon Red and Blue games that first took the world by storm in the late 90s. The Pokemon universe is rich with different creatures and settings that could make for an entertaining and immersive theme park experience, and if PokePark KANTO proves to be a success for Yomiuriland then perhaps it could even branch out into other locations like Super Nintendo World did eventually.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 48%
- Released
- November 18, 2022
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- no
WHERE TO PLAY
The school that you’ve enrolled in as you play Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet hosts a special independent study project. The theme of this assignment is "A Treasure Hunt." Explore the world and seek out your very own treasure!
Three stories will be woven into your adventure while traversing the sprawling Paldea region. Along Victory Road, you will go to Gyms in different locations in order to to achieve Champion Rank. On the Path of Legends, you can join Arven in search of rare ingredients. And in ★ Starfall Street ★, you’ll challenge Team Star, a group of delinquents causing trouble for the school.
These stories are set in an open world, so where you go is all up to you. A world teeming with Pokémon and people to meet is waiting for you—traverse the Paldea region wherever you heart desires.
