Detective Pikachu Returns - Not to Be Forgotten
While the world of Pokemon furiously debates whether Detective Pikachu can become the next great anime, the little detective is off solving more crimes. Detective Pikachu Returns isn’t a game that gets talked about very often, but maybe it should be. In an age where Pokemon is moving more towards quickcash mobile games, Detective Pikachu may be one of the most unique and charming entries in the RPG series.
From the get-go, Detective Pikachu sets itself apart from regular Pokemon games. We’re introduced to the titular detective, a talking Pikachu, and his new human companion, Tim. The pair sport unusual outfits, with Tim wearing a flamboyant red jacket and black jeans, while Pikachu dons a dapper little top hat and carries his little notebook. Using these as a prompt, you start to build your Pokedex of “characters” in Detective Pikachu – the lovely waitress from the diner, the gas station attendant with shifty eyes, and others. Chief Clay of the Rhyme City Police Department is a Growlithe, for instance.
Right from the start, Detective Pikachu embraces its quirkiness and sets out to tell a story that feels very familiar. The plot follows similar beats to the movie in that it involves Mewtwo and a whole conspiracy. If you haven’t watched the movie recently, I won’t spoil too much, but fans of it will get even more from the game.
Detective Pikachu takes a while to get going, but when it does, its charm carries it through. The story is enjoyable enough and the writing works well. The beginning is a little slow; you’re doing standard Pokemon things like catching and training Pokemon, peeling off the turn-based battle mechanics. As you get further in, though, it begins to differentiate itself. You have the field, where you tackle regular Pokemon battles, but then there’s another layer – you need to talk to people and interact with objects in order to solve mysteries.
This isn’t that far off the mark from something like Ace Attorney — those games are brilliant, but this is more family-friendly and uses your own deduction skills rather than thinking like a lawyer. Other times, you’re simply investigating a “crime scene” involving a sleepy Aipom. These moments really put you in the mindset of a detective, piecing together fragments of information to find the bigger picture. I really enjoyed using my brain in these parts of the game.
The other main difference is the lack of turn-based battles, which is mostly done through quicktime events and button prompts instead. This makes the battles a lot more cinematic, and your Pokemon can generally handle themselves without you having to micro-manage them. I never struggled with a battle or felt like I made any wrong choices.
All of this, along with the excellent art direction and sense of humour (an old lady has “80% off” stickers all over her Misdreavus, while investigating a “crime scene” involving a sleepy Aipom), makes Detective Pikachu quite a charming experience. It’s funny, it’s different, and if you’ve missed the first Detective Pikachu game, never fear, the movie will catch you up on the story.
If you’re a fan of Pokemon and want to dive into the world of Detective Pikachu, go ahead and start detecting them all. The game may be less mechanically different from more traditional Pokemon games than others, but it offers a unique and fleshed-out world that you won’t get in regular entries. Detective Pikachu may not be wholly new, but it’s certainly different.
