Back in the 90s and early 2000s, Nintendo created some of the most nostalgic games that the industry has to offer. Many children of this era grew up playing franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon among many others. Likewise, with each new generation of consoles comes a request from fans to port old, now inaccessible games to it, and Nintendo has done well to profit off seemingly outdated games. With events like Super Mario's 35th anniversary came an announcement to port multiple games to the Switch. For the Pokemon franchise, lovers of the classic Yellow were given the remake Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Eevee.
It's not odd to see Nintendo developing remasters and remakes of old beloved titles, and fans eat it up. Recently, a rumor dropped of plans to remake Pokemon Diamond and Pearl for the Switch. Having been at the top of the port wishlist of fans for quite some time thanks to Nintendo periodically releasing new versions of classic Pokemon games, Diamond and Pearl are naturally next in line to be remastered. But two games have flown under the radar as simple spin-offs to the GameCube, but still hold a special place in many fans' hearts. Nintendo should consider bringing them to the Switch: Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness.
A Unique Format
Pokemon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness did away with the same format of main-series Pokemon games while keeping some core fundamentals. Instead of traditional gym battles, they further embrace the JRPG style by employing a complex story with many enemies and boss battles that are tied together with quests. Instead of the normal route of capturing Pokemon in the wild, Colosseum tasks the player with capturing Shadow Pokemon from the villains and restore them to their normal forms by battling with them.
Colosseum and XD also change up the style of Pokemon battles by more often than not using double battles, even when only single trainers are facing off with one another. This adds a layer of difficulty to the game because the point is not necessarily defeating the opposing trainer, but rather snag their Shadow Pokemon, which cannot be done if the Pokemon faints. While stealing Pokemon is normally a huge no-no, this is an important mechanic in the game. It introduces The Snag Machine, which everyone from Team Snagem is trying to get their hands on.
Not only did Colosseum and Gale of Darkness mix up the regular formula of Pokemon games with a (rough) 3D graphics style, but it changes the angle that the games of the main games have seen for 24 years. Some fans have argued that the main-series part of the franchise has stayed relatively the same, making them feel somewhat exhausted at the time of Sword and Shield's release. But porting the GameCube duo to Switch could be a refreshing way to explore the universe.
History of Porting Games
It's not outlandish to think Nintendo might port or remake these games for the Switch. Again, Nintendo loves to re-release titles as both a money grab for new players and flourish nostalgia among long-time fans. The Japanese developer sees current-gen success with games as old the NES and SNES eras. After Nintendo began releasing them via Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo responded to speculation of GameCube ports saying that it would consider using the feature to support ports on the Switch and recognizes fans' want to play past titles.
Interestingly, Shadow Pokemon appeared in Pokemon GO, which may be a hint towards The Pokemon Company's future plans for the duo, though this theory is a bit of a stretch. Although, Colosseum and Gale of Darkness did see financial success and was well-received by critics. Similar to Nintendo's celebration of Super Mario's 35-year anniversary, 2021 will not only be The Legend of Zelda's 35th anniversary but will also be Pokemon's 25th anniversary. More than likely, the gaming giant has plans to celebrate it somehow, but fans will have to wait and see what's in store for the massive franchise.