What do you get when you cross Pokémon and Street Fighter?
Despite the name, Pokémon battles are largely dull affairs. Select an attack, watch a canned animation, swear at whoever designed Wobbuffet; the Pokémon formula may be incredibly lucrative for Nintendo, but in practice it lacks bombastic action.
Enter: Pokémon: Type Wild, a 2D fighter created by an intensely dedicated Japanese Pokémon fan. The game is still only in the beta stages, but it already boasts a cast of 8 Pokémon fighters, each of whom can call on three other Pokémon to assist them during battle.
Sharp eyed Pokémon fans will also notice that the game’s arenas are esoteric blends of various Pokémon properties. Roughly six people actually played Hey You, Pikachu, yet elements of the game still appear in Type Wild.
Likewise, the characters themselves are designed with fan service in mind. Instead of a standard Lucario (a la Super Smash Bros. Brawl), the Type Wild roster borrows the stoic Lucario that accompanied Lord Erin in the Lucario and the Mystery of Mew film.
Of course, the key to any 2D fighter is in the gameplay, and as far as unfinished DIY games go, Type Wild is quite impressive. It’s been described as similar to Arc System Works’ BlazBlue series, a strong compliment for a game developed by amateurs.
Here, see for yourself:
Nintendo, being intensely protective of their intellectual properties, will no doubt crush this project in a hail of legal threats and litigation before long, but until that time prospective Poké pugilists can download the game from the fan’s website.
Recent media coverage has annihilated the download server, but it should, in theory, reappear soon.
In the meantime, would anyone like to comment on how awesome/terrible this is?
Alternately, would anyone like to petition for a Street Fighter X Pokémon title? I’d do it myself, but after I suggested an HD remake of Quiz & Dragons, Capcom won’t return my calls.
Source: Pokesho, via Tales Chronicles
Published: Jun 15, 2011 08:03 pm