We now have the official release dates for the next open-world Pokémon games including Pokémon Legend Arceus and the upcoming remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. All three titles were announced back at the tail end of February during a special Pokémon Presents showcase where we saw more of the now released New Pokémon Snap. The Nintendo Switch exclusives will start to hit store shelves just in time for holiday 2021, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer than that for the next highly anticipated mainline Pokémon RPG. All of the details are waiting for you below.
Pokémon Legends Arceus release date
Pokémon Legends Arceus is apparently a “bold new direction” for the franchise that fuses action with RPG elements as players are tasked with creating the very first Pokédex in the Sinnoh region — the same setting, albeit many years earlier, as Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Players must once-over the mysteries of the new titular legendary Pokémon known as Arceus while the cover art for the upcoming RPG depicts “Mount Coronet towering over the expanse of a bygone Sinnoh region.”
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is now set for an exclusive Nintendo Switch release on January 28, 2022. Pre-orders are now live at Amazon and elsewhere.
Here’s our first glimpse of the official cover art:
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Now let’s take a look at Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl — remakes of the Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl titles originally released on Nintendo DS back in 2006. Players will be exploring the mysterious connection between Dialga or Palkia — the game’s two legendary Pokémon — across the Sinnoh region many years after the events of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Here are more details from Nintendo:
…look forward to this great adventure, reborn on Nintendo Switch. The original story has been faithfully reproduced, and various game functions have been colorfully revitalized. Trainers can expect an adventure through the Sinnoh region that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2021. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are now up for pre-order.
9to5Toys‘ take
Well, there’s not many surprises here. The remakes will hit just in time for holiday season 2021, but we are going to have to wait for Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Judging by the naming scheme on the mainline RPG and the verbiage we are getting regarding the all-new kind of experience we are in for, it was only to be expected that a release for this one would get pushed into 2021. Nonetheless, we are in for some “new” Pokémon Switch experiences come the end of the year to tie us over until the next mainline Pokémon RPG hits store shelves.
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