Detective Pikachu is an adventure game developed by Creatures Inc., published by The Pokémon Company, and distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is a spin-off of the Pokémon franchise, in which players work with a talking Pikachu to solve mysteries. A shorter, downloadable version of the game called Great Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Duo (???????? ????????, Meitantei Pikachu ~Shin Konbi Tanj?~) was released in Japan in February 2016, while the full version was released worldwide in March 2018.
A live-action/CGI-hybrid film adaptation will be produced by Legendary Entertainment and released by Universal Pictures in May 2019.
Video Detective Pikachu
Premise
The game begins with a peculiar talking Pikachu (voiced by Kaiji Tang), 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 (Voiced by Khoi Dao), who is able to understand what he is saying. Together, the two begin working together to investigate the disappearance of Tim's father and Pikachu's owner, Harry Goodman, as well as solve various mysteries revolving around the people and Pokémon in Ryme City.
Maps Detective Pikachu
Plot
After Tim and Pikachu's initial meeting, the duo end up having to help a young girl whose necklace has been stolen by an Aipom. They chase it into the park to find that it has been injured and that the necklace is gone. They realize that due to a series of circumstances, the necklace ended up being part of a Burmy's cloak and manage to retrieve it for the girl while also befriending native Emilia Christie. They head to Baker Detective Agency and meet Mike Baker and secretary Amanda Blackstone both of whom were close to Harry. Despite his reassurance, Baker tells Tim to stay out of trouble. They head to Harry's apartment and look for clues, deducing that he was investigating Litwick Cave.
The duo arrive at the cave and find Emilia and GNN reporter Meiko Okamoto getting attacked by a Glalie. Pikachu, who is incapable of performing any moves, teams with Tim and knock him out, but are all trapped in the cave. The Glalie does not remember its sudden rampage, but they manage to find a broken vial of some kind. After finding a Drifblim and creating a cold draft, Tim, Pikachu, Emilia and Meiko manage to escape the cave. As the duo gather clues, Amanda notices that Pikachu has an odd obsession with candy while Hi-Hat Café owner, Pablo Millan, notices that it likes coffee. Both of these were traits of Harry's and that Pikachu initially did not care for these items.
Tim and Pikachu realize that the vial came from the Pokémon Comprehensive Laboratory and pretend to apply for a part-time job there as Tim Ottman. Emilia and Meiko arrive to report on PCL's current findings, but a Trevenant suddenly goes on a rampage like Glalie. Due to the clues left behind, Tim and Pikachu deduce that a Gengar was at least partially responsible and discover that it has been working with PCL employee Carlos Hernando who had created a drug called "R" that has been causing the rampages. Carlos is arrested by Frank Holiday who promises to interrogate Carlos while Baker decides to support Tim's quest to finding answers. While resting by the side of the road, a Mewtwo flies in the moonlight.
Gameplay
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.
Development
Development on Detective Pikachu began in mid-2013. 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. NHK, the show's television network, leaked some information about the game on its website in advance of the show's airing. Early shots of the game depict a Pikachu in blue. Later that year, Nintendo filed a trademark for the name Great Detective Pikachu. The developers released a debut trailer in late January 2016, a week before the game's launch.
In a 2018 interview, the creators of Detective Pikachu, which features a talking Pikachu, revealed that the original intention for the anime was to have the Pokémon talk, but OLM, Inc. were unable to come up with a concept that Game Freak were accepting of.
Release
The game's initial version, called Great Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Duo (???????? ????????, Meitantei Pikachu ~Shin Konbi Tanj?~), was released on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in Japan on February 3, 2016. On January 12, 2018, this version of the game was removed from the eShop in Japan, and later that day it was announced that an expanded version of the game, simply titled Detective Pikachu, was scheduled for a physical Nintendo 3DS release worldwide on March 23, 2018. This version of the game featured nine chapters of story, as opposed to the three of the original release.
On March 9, 2018, a Special Demo Version of the full game was released for free on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in Japan. The demo featured the first half of the first chapter of the game and allowed players to transfer their progress to the full game. This demo was later released in the West on April 5, 2018. Similarly, Japanese players who had completed the original download version of the game were able to start playing the full version from where they left off upon release. The game was released alongside a giant Detective Pikachu amiibo figure, which unlocks hints and optional cutscenes in the game.
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.
To promote the release of the full version of the game, The Pokémon Company released a free promotional eBook called Detective Pikachu Episode 0 - Eevee's Case, available until May 15, 2018 on Apple's iBooks and Amazon's Kindle stores. The short story acts as a prequel to the game, setting up its story. The book was originally released in physical form as a pre-order bonus for the game in Japan. Alongside this, a set of stickers was also released for free on iMessage and Line on the same day.
Reception
Detective Pikachu received "mixed reviews" from critics according to review aggregator Metacritic. Critics praised the game's presentation, storytelling, witty writing, voice cast, and puzzles. However, it was criticized for the difficulty, game mechanics, and short length.
Ryan Craddock of Nintendo Life gave the game a "great" 8 out of 10, stating that while the game was quite easy with no real penalty for incorrect decisions, "the game's art, storytelling, and genuinely likeable cast [showed] the world of Pokémon in a great new light". There was also praise given to the game's "gorgeous" visuals and the character of Detective Pikachu himself.
Film adaptation
On July 20, 2016, Legendary Entertainment announced that they have acquired the rights to make a live-action film based on the Detective Pikachu character. The film began pre-production in 2017. Later that year, it was reported that Alex Hirsch and Nicole Perlman will be writing the script. 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 revealed that Legendary Entertainment had chosen Rob Letterman to direct the film. The film stars Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe and Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Detective Pikachu. Filming began in London in January 2018 and the film is slated to be released on May 10, 2019.
Notes
References
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Official website (in English)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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