Great Detective Pikachu
| Great Detective Pikachu Meitantei Pikachū: Shin Konbi Tanjō | |
|---|---|
 Promotional image showing the protagonists Tim Goodman and Detective Pikachu | |
| Developer(s) | Creatures |
| Publisher(s) | The Pokémon Company |
| Distributor(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Naoki Miyashita |
| Producer(s) |
Hiroyuki Jinnai Masamichi Anazawa Hirokazu Tanaka Takato Utsunomiya Eisuke Kasejima Hitoshi Yamagami |
| Designer(s) |
Yasuhiro Ito Hirofumi Matsuoka Nobuhiro Seya Yukinori Torii Youta Hirano Yoshio Echigo |
| Programmer(s) |
Katsunori Orimoto Jun Kanda Tomofusa Shimamura |
| Artist(s) |
Kenichi Koga Ikumi Fujishiro Sachiko Nakamichi Yasuko Sugiyama |
| Writer(s) |
Tomokazu Ohara Haruka Utsui |
| Composer(s) | Takuto Kitsuta |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Meitantei Pikachū: Shin Konbi Tanjō (Japanese: 名探偵ピカチュウ ～新コンビ誕生～, lit. "Great Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Duo"), commonly referred to as Great Detective Pikachu outside Japan, is an adventure video game developed by Creatures and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is a spin-off in the Pokémon franchise, in which players work with a talking Pikachu to solve mysteries. The game was released on the Nintendo eShop in Japan on February 3, 2016.[1]
Setting
The game follows a peculiar talking Pikachu who, despite not being as powerful and nimble as other Pikachu of his kind, is rather intelligent and claims to be a great detective. One day, Pikachu encounters a boy named Tim Goodman, who is able to understand what he is saying. Thus, the two begin working together to solve various mysteries revolving around Pokémon in the city.
Plot
One day, a boy named Tim Goodman encounters a rather intelligent Pikachu that claims to be a great detective, and finds out that he can understand it. After meeting and talking, the two begin to chase two Aipom, one with ketchup on its hand and the other white paint, who were causing trouble by harassing citizens and stealing jewelry. The two chase them to a fountain, where they find the ketchup-handed Aipom lying on the ground with a black feather lying next to it. After trying to compare the black feather with the feathers of several Pokémon and talking to other people and Pokemon, they find that the feather belongs to a Murkrow, and confront the Murkrow. After talking to several other Burmy and Wormadam, Pikachu guesses that Aipom and Murkrow were both trying to hit a Burmy that had stolen the necklace the ketchup-handed Aipom had stolen when Murkrow accidentally hit the Aipom and flew off. The duo then retrieve the necklace from the Burmy and return it to the girl, solving the Aipom case.
After solving the Aipom case, Pikachu takes Tim to his house. After exploring the house, the pair explore a cavern and discover two people being chased by a red-eyed Glalie. After discovering that Detective Pikachu can't use any moves, the pair distract the Glalie by throwing rocks, only to almost be hit by a powerful Dark Pulse that makes the cavern unstable. After being chased by the Glalie, a rock falls on top of the Glalie and knocks it unconscious, with Tim taking advantage of this to roll the unconscious Glalie down into the depths of the cavern. They then talk to the people and discover they are reporters. After finding the reporters' missing backpack, they watch the footage inside to see a normal blue-eyed Glalie having fun with some Drifloon when it suddenly hit the ground and it's eyes turned red, before it starts firing off random Ice Beams, which do not seem to have been specifically aimed at the reporters. After exploring more of the cave, the pair discover a stunned Glalie and a frozen Drifloon. The pair manages to free the Drifloon from the ice and talk to Glalie. They then find a Drifblim hiding in the cave. The pair accompany Glalie to an underground river, which Glalie freezes with Ice Beam. After exploring the cave some more, the pair manage to solve the Glalie case and leave the cave by hanging onto Drifblim.
After finishing the Glalie case, the pair encounter a normal Pikachu, who wants them to follow him.
Gameplay
Great Detective Pikachu is an adventure game in which players control Tim Goodman as he works together with Detective Pikachu to solve various mysteries. This is accomplished by walking around scenes, finding potential clues, and speaking with people and Pokémon to uncover new information.[2]
Development
Development on Great Detective Pikachu began in mid 2013.[2] The game was first revealed in October 2013 during an episode of the Japanese television show The Professionals as part of a profile on The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara.[3] NHK, the show's television network, leaked some information about the game on its website in advance of the show's airing.[2] Early shots of the game depict Pikachu in blue.[4] Later that year, Nintendo filed a trademark for the name Great Detective Pikachu.[5] The developers released a debut trailer in late January 2016, a week before the game's launch.[4]
Great Detective Pikachu was released in Japan on February 3, 2016.
Following the Japanese release of the game, dedicated fans started a petition requesting American actor Danny DeVito as the English voice actor for the titular character. The petition gained 40,000 signatures, but DeVito declined to audition for the role.[6][7] There has been no response from Nintendo regarding this matter.
Film adaptation
On July 20, 2016, American film company Legendary Entertainment announced that they have acquired the rights to make a live-action film based on the Detective Pikachu character. The film will begin production in 2017.[8] Later that year, it was reported that Alex Hirsch and Nicole Perlman will be writing the script.[9] Dean Israelite, Robert Rodriguez, and Tim Miller were being considered as potential directors. Toho will distribute the film in Japan, while Universal Pictures will distribute it outside Japan. On November 30, 2016, Deadline reveals that Legendary Entertainment has chosen Rob Letterman to direct the film.[10]
References
- ↑ Brian Ashcraft. "First Look at the Talking Pikachu Detective Game in Action". Kotaku. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- 1 2 3 Emily Gera. "New Pokemon game featuring Pikachu in development". Polygon. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ↑ Alexa Ray Corriea. "New 3DS Pokemon title is a detective adventure starring Pikachu". Polygon. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- 1 2 Allegra Frank. "Great Detective Pikachu talks up a storm in debut trailer". Polygon. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ↑ Alexa Ray Corriea. "Nintendo trademarks 'Great Detective Pikachu'". Polygon. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Pokémon Fans Petitioning to Make Danny DeVito the Voice of Pikachu (He'd Be Perfect)". Yahoo! Tech. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Paley Center on Twitter: "Audience Q:Will Danny DeVito voice the Detective Pikachu videogame? Danny says "No" and asks what it is, "What the F is Pokemon?" #PaleyLive" (Twitter post). Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ↑ Fleming, Jr, Mike (July 20, 2016). "Legendary Catches 'Pokemon' Live-Action Movie Rights Deal". Deadline.
- ↑ Chitwood, Adam (16 August 2016). "Pokemon Movie Writers Set with Marvel Vet, Gravity Falls Creator". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- ↑ Fleming, Jr, Mike (November 30, 2016). "Rob Letterman To Direct Pokemon Film 'Detective Pikachu' For Legendary". Deadline.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)