Nintendo has been really busy behind the scenes. The company has been in the news with rumours of a more powerful, OLED equipped Nintendo Switch. However, the company’s biggest news came earlier in the year with the announcement of new entries into the current generation of Pokémon games.

Fans of the series have been anticipating remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for while now given the company’s previous release trends. The Pokémon Company and Game Freak have been releasing remakes of their original games since the third generation of games with Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen in 2004. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl feature updated graphics but continue to carry the charm of the original entries. Players are able to rediscover the Sinnoh region with details they’ve never seen before. The remake will be making its way to stores later this year on November 19, 2021.

The biggest announcement for the series since Pokémon Sword and Shield is the announcement of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The game looks to be the series first foray into the open-world RPG arena. Players are taken back before the events of Diamond and Pearl to discover the Sinnoh region in a different time. The game throws players into the past before technology and all the wonders of the modern Pokémon world. Players will be exploring the region with three very different starters: Cyndaquill, Oshawott and Rowlet. If you’ve played or followed the series, you’ll realise that none of these starters is native to the Sinnoh region – or are they?

Unlike the remakes, there has been very little information revealing the events that will transpire in Legends: Arceus. However, after a taste of an open-world game in Sword and Shield’s “Wild Areas”, there are high expectations for Legends. With a Zelda: Breathe of the Wild aesthetic, the game is also one of the most beautiful games in the series so far. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is hitting shelves on January 28, 2022.