Graphics in video games are very much a selling point for most titles. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2 pride themselves on being better than most other games because they have realistic graphics that push technology forward. But in contrast, games like Pokemon Let’s Go embrace the “cuter” side of graphics in order to appeal to a wider audience. And while it may not work for everyone, it does work for most, as proven by Let’s Go’s incredible sales since November.
For Director Junichi Masuda, he wanted the game to appeal to so many that he made sure that the graphics were “cute” and not “scary”:
“At the root of the visual direction was the idea we had of people playing these games at home in their living room. Like if an eight- or nine-year-old kid is playing games in their living room and their mom glances out from the kitchen while cooking dinner and catches sight of the TV screen. Then if she sees something weird on it, she shouts, ‘Stop that! What d’you think you’re doing, playing a game like that?!’ I wanted to look at it from the perspective of those moms and dads. I took care in every detail, aware that I didn’t want to make it a game that would cause parents to feel mistrustful of our games.”
He went on to note how the jumping in and out was a part of the factor to in terms of gameplay:
“And we kept in mind that we wanted them to be games that would let parents jump in and help out with Support Play whenever their kids might beg, ‘Help me out!’ Same for friends being able to jump in and help, too. We wanted people to come together thanks to these games, with everyone having fun in the living room together. That’s why we didn’t want it to look scary. We’ve built it up as a fantasy world. We set up the proportions of the player character to look a bit childish, too.”
You can get Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee on Nintendo Switch.
