20th Anniversary of Pokémon - 20 Years of Gotta Catch ‘em All

The global phenomenon known as Pokémon is turning 20 this year and Nintendo is going all out. Multiple game releases, a foray into mobile gaming, free mythical Pokémon and even a Super Bowl commercial are being used to mark the cultural significance the franchise has brought to millions of children and adults throughout its monumental 20 year lifespan.

The first big things for Pokéfans to salivate over are the 3DS eshop re-releases of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow. I remember playing, battling and training in these games as a kid and I can’t wait to hop back in, 20 years later when they hit the eshop on February 27th. The re-releases promise to stay true to the original with a few minor changes, the biggest of which is being able to battle and trade wirelessly. Let's just hope MissingNo is still in the game.

There will also be a special bundle released including the regular sized New 3DS with swappable faceplates, one of which shows Charizard while the other shows Blastoise. The system will also come with Red and Blue preinstalled. The bundle will retail at $199.99 and, while it may be hard to get ahold of, is a must have for all you Pokétrainers out there.

Next up in 2016 is Pokémon GO, a mobile Pokémon title being developed by Niantic. The trailer for Pokémon GO shows random people from around the world stalking and trying to catch Pokémon followed by showing the ability to battle others. The game will use location to determine where certain Pokémon will be catchable and there seem to be location based events shown in the trailer as thousands of fans come together to catch a Mewtwo in Time Square. While there is no date on Pokémon GO, the game has been confirmed to be making a showing at the Game Developer’s Conference in California next month.

The rest of the year is wide open for Nintendo but it is likely that we will finally see Pokémon Z in the fall. A few things point to this happening such as the new season of the anime being called XYZ and the fact that Nintendo has never skipped 2 years with a mainline Pokémon game.

Many of us have fond memories of playing the Pokémon series and 2016 looks to be an exciting for fans, new and old alike. From the re-release of the original games, to Pokémon GO, to the possibility of Pokémon Z, it's looking like Pokémon fans have a lot to be excited about this year. Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go back to wanting to be the very best!