Pokemon Let’s GO Pikachu/Eevee Almost Had Photorealistic Graphics

When Pokemon Let’s GO Pikachu/Eevee was first revealed, many were disappointed by its simple graphics, as they had expected Game Freak to make full use of the Switch’s extra power to make it look even better.

Today, Pokemon Let’s GO Pikachu/Eevee lead game environment designer Kensaku Nabana revealed game director Junichi Masuda wanted the game to have photorealistic graphics. But as they explored that option, they realized the photorealistic approach “wasn’t really working” for what they were trying to do.

Here are their full comments:

“Usually, when you would have much more power with the Switch and taking it into HD, I think the natural tendency is to go for a more photorealistic approach. In the earliest days of development, we actually explored that direction quite a bit. But we got the direction from Masuda, just like he just mentioned a moment ago, to go for this more kind and soothing and inviting experience with the visuals. After some experimentation, we just realized the more realistic, more photorealistic direction just wasn’t really working for what we were trying to do.”

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