Game Freak’s Pand Land isn’t the Pokemon game you asked for
When it comes to consistent developers, we've got to hand it to Game Freak. It knows what it's doing. Although the Japanese developer's history dates back to 1989, it was the release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green in 1996 that really put it on the map.
Away from the mainline Pokemon games, Game Freak's first release was Mendel in 1989, with other notable titles being the likes of 1991's Yoshi, Mario & Wario, Drill Dozer, and Tembo the Badass Elephant. It's also remembered for the cutesy Pokemon Quest, which looks to have been a major influence for its latest release.
Pand Land is Pokemon Quest...but not as you know it
These days, it seems impossible for Game Freak to shake the shackles of the Pokeverse. As seen by the mixed reviews of Little Town Hero, players simply want the developer to churn out Pokemon games and refuse to accept anything else. As well as the inevitable Gen 10 game, there's the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but now, Game Freak is trying something different.
Its latest game is Pand Land, which is a free-to-play RPG that sings of a Minecraft clone. We knew Pand Land was coming, but now, the game has officially released in Japan. Our Japanese is a little rusty, but by the looks of it, you take to the high seas and explore a series of blocky islands.
Released on mobile and published by WonderPlanet in Japan, this is one of Game Freak's rare mobile releases and also has the caveat of not being a Pokemon game. Still, we find ourselves reminiscing about Pokemon Quest's art style, which looks like a clear influence here.
Taking you down to Pand Land
Click to enlargePand Land looks suitably massive and lets you take to this world in teams that can supposedly recruit up to 400 companions. Over on YouTube, Pand Land has been getting a bit of a mixed reception. As well as grumbles that it seems to only be releasing in Japan and is locking many of us out of playing, others simply aren't convinced by it.
One sceptic moaned, "IDK why they chose the Pokemon Quest art style. I'd like it more if it was chibi overworld sprite but visual novel full illustration for characters when talking." Another added, "This is all Minecraft 😱," while a third said, "Looks horrendous."
Someone concluded, "This makes me worry about Game Freak's future. It's looking pretty bad if you ask me. I hope they deliver greatness when they finally remake Black and White. Like truly bring the works (mix of PLA and HG/SS with a hit of S/V (without the bugs and glitches)."
It's increasingly rare for Game Freak to develop something other than Pokemon, and with its ambitions to make a console-style game on mobile, we'd love to give Pand Land a go. That's just the problem, though - most of us can't even play it.
