Believe it or not, Pokémon is turning 30 this year. Truth be told, it kind of makes me feel a bit better about my own age; whenever I add yet another digit, I can at least take some comfort in the knowledge that Pokémon isn’t too far behind.
I must admit, though, I’m not on particularly good terms with Pokémon at the moment. Back in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, I was obsessed. I bought each mainline game at launch (starting with Blue), watched back-to-back episodes of the anime, and collected the trading cards, storing the very best ones in a binder that’s sitting in my office to this day.
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Throughout my college and university years, however, I just… lost interest. I still bought the games, but my time felt more limited than when I was 10, and so I struggled to keep up with the ever-growing list of creatures being added to the Pokédex. Fast-forward to today, and my time is perhaps more limited than ever, and this combined with my disappointment in both Scarlet and Legends: Z-A means that my interest is at an all-time low.
I miss it, though, y’know? I miss that sense of discovery and wonder that mainline Pokémon games so consistently delivered back in the day. And so when the opportunity arose to check out The History of the Pokémon Games from James Batchelor, I couldn’t refuse. Perhaps this would be the spark to reignite my interest in the series.
Spoiler: I think it might have worked. This is a great, 148-page book that wisely focuses on the mainline games first and foremost, but nevertheless spends a bit of time on every — yes, every — spin-off title that’s been released over the past three decades.
The book is split up into sections focusing on each generation. So, the first includes a handful of pages talking about the development, release, and impact of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, while the following pages briefly touch on every spin-off title released within the time period before Gold and Silver launched. That's how each section plays out right up to the present day, with the last page detailing Pokémon Legends: Z-A along with a brief, speculative look to the future. Debates rage as to whether the Legends games are mainline or spin-off, but here at least, despite evidence to the contrary, they're designated spin-offs.
Batchelor utilises his games journalism experience to great effect (you'll likely know his name from his days as Editor-in-Chief at gamesindustry,biz), loading each segment with interesting quotes from the likes of Satoshi Tajiri and Junichi Masuda. The book is simply stuffed with background information that, while almost certainly well-known to passionate fans, will prove fascinating for newcomers who want to dive into its history.
Want to know why Pokémon faint instead of dying after battle? It's all right here. How about the challenges faced when transitioning to fully 3D visuals with Pokémon X and Y? Check. You'll learn the basics about lesser-known spin-off titles, too, like Pokémon Masters Arena for the PC and Pokémon Tower Battle for Facebook.
I do think the book would have benefited from a few more personal musings from Batchelor. The introduction notes that he didn't actually start playing Pokémon until he was able to get his hands on the Transfer Pak for the N64, ignoring Pokémon Stadium completely to play the mainline games on his TV. This is great, and a bit more along these lines peppered throughout would have been nice. Including a forward from Ash Ketchum voice actor Veronica Taylor is a lovely touch, mind you.
In terms of presentation, I have little to no complaints here. Every single page has at least something to catch your eye, and the images included are almost exclusively in-game screenshots from each title. I've been guilty of lamenting the apparent lack of visual evolution in the series over the years, but it's lovely to see at a glance just how much each game improves upon its predecessor. Overall, the book's interior is clean and inviting, striking a nice balance between its text and images.
But let's just mention the front cover. The main image here is a view of one of the many landscapes seen in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and yes, it looks just as barren and janky as it does in the game (it looks like the publisher didn't opt for a screenshot from the free upgrade on Switch 2). Granted, I like the way that the blue background blends seamlessly into the landscape's sky, but gosh, there's a reason so many people lamented the graphics for those games, so to use them as the main visual for the book is, well... a choice.
This is a nitpick, ultimately. The History of the Pokémon Games is a solid, enjoyable read whether you're a veteran or a complete newcomer. As for me, while I certainly won't be mainlining every Pokémon game in the near future, it's inspired me to go back and revisit one or two of the original Game Boy titles; maybe I can recapture my past love for the franchise before it escapes me completely.
Thanks to Pen & Sword Books for providing a copy of The History of the Pokémon Games for review. It's available now in hardback from the publisher, and from other booksellers worldwide soon.