Like many fans, I eagerly sat at my computer, awaiting whatever it was the Pokémon Company would be bringing me today. Yesterday they had announced there would be a Pokémon Direct, and while many of us assumed it would be a reveal of the next mainline entry in the series, we were understandably keeping our expectations in check for fear of them revealing something like a Pokémon Pinball game. Luckily, they delivered on our expectations.

So what was revealed? Well, for starters, the name of the two companion games were revealed as Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. These games will be getting a worldwide simultaneous release in late 2019. It’s not a surprise, but definitely welcome news that it’s still on course for this year, and that there won’t be any lag time between the Japanese and worldwide releases.

They also revealed the new region we’ll be exploring. Sadly, speculation that we’ll be exploring all the regions seen so far in previous games were off base, but instead we’ll be exploring the Galar region, which certainly seems to be the most colorful one we’ve seen so far, and boast bright colors the likes of which we haven’t seen in the franchise before.

The three starter Pokémon for this game are the Grookey (plant), Scorbunny (fire), and Sobble (water), who are based on monkeys, rabbits, and lizards, respectively.

Sadly, apart from some sizzle reel footage, there was no reveal as to what the battle system would be like. It looked to be pretty standard, but we were treated to no menus, so it was impossible to tell. It’s also unclear if there will be battles against wild Pokémon, which is something they did away with in Pokémon: Let’s Go.

In terms of graphics, this thing looks to be a small step up from Let’s Go, but not a drastic difference. If you were hoping for a hyper-realistic take, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Also, it is a bit disappointing that this doesn’t look like it’ll be giving players any more freedom than they have in the past, so perhaps an overhaul of the system we’ve grown accustomed to was asking for a little too much.

But, there’s still plenty of time for more reveals, so we’re not exactly worried at this point. What did you think of the Direct? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Nintendo