3 Pokemon That Could Kill You

Nintendo fans have a reputation of being loyal and enthusiastic, and it seems pretty likely that plenty of consumers from the die-hard Nintendo legions will be visiting their local gaming stores this summer to snag copies of the upcoming Zelda and Pokemon-themed Monopoly sets. If the idea of slapping your favorite Nintendo icons onto the classic Hashbro board game isn't enough to get you excited, maybe the awesome box art will be.

Thanks to an early listing by Southern Hobby Supply, we now have our first sneak peek at the box art for both the Zelda and Pokemon Monopoly skins. Both boxes are clearly labeled as prototypes, so it is possible that we'll see some changes before the final products hit shelves this August. Pokemon trivia experts probably remember that the Red/Blue games also inspired a Monopoly board way back in 1999.

[gallery link="file" columns="2" ids="221755,221753"]

Although we don't know what the interior looks like yet, the box art is pretty great in both cases. If the boards, player pieces, and cards are as cool as they have been for previous video game version of Monopoly (like this awesome Mass Effect one), then they should be a pretty great addition to any Nintendo fan's board game collection.

Casual board gamers will likely get a kick out of the new skin on the old classic, but we doubt either game will bring anything new to the basic Monopoly gameplay. If you're looking for a more original spin on the video to board game transition, you may be more interested in something like StarCraft: The Board Game or Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game.

In addition to both Monopoly sets, Nintendo fans will also be able to piece together a pretty rad Zelda puzzle later this summer. The 550-piece Legend of Zelda puzzle is scheduled for an August 15 release date.

The puzzle features plenty of characters from the Zelda universe and measures 18" x 24". The box claims it is a Collector's Puzzle, but there's no indication yet of a limited print run or anything else that might make the puzzle hard to track down.

Will you be making room in your board game collection for both the video game-inspired Monopoly boards this summer?

____

Zelda Monopoly and Pokemon Monopoly are both scheduled for an August 21 release. The Legend of Zelda collector's puzzle will be released on August 15.

Follow Denny on Twitter @The_DFC.

Source: Southern Hobby Supply