Pokemon Champions producer comments on the game’s graphics

Pokemon Champions producer Masaaki Hoshino has spoken about the game’s graphics as part of an interview.

In recent years, there have been various discussions around the visuals of the series’ different titles. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet really jumpstarted things due to things like poor textures and technical issues, but we also saw the discussion continue with Pokemon Legends: Z-A – buildings in particular were a talking point with that one.

Pokemon Champions is the latest entry in the series and Eurogamer Germany recently asked producer Masaaki Hoshino about the game’s graphics. The outlet pointed out scrutiny the series has faced in that department and asked if the team focused on getting the best visuals possible or whether the developers had other priorities.

In response, Hoshino said:

“Yes, as a Pokemon fan, I naturally understand the various discussions currently taking place within the fan community. I can totally relate to all of it. Regarding the graphics and gameplay, we’ve truly tried to do our best in both areas. The battle system is a huge focus. And what we’re really concentrating on is ensuring fairness – since it’s such a competitive battle game – and that the traditional game system works, and that we have that firmly under control. But as far as the visual side, the graphics, is concerned, I have experience from working on Pokken Tournament, and one of my goals for that game was actually to make the Pokemon game with the best graphics at the time.

And I think we did a good job with that back then. But only two Pokemon were ever visible on screen at the same time. With Pokemon Champions, we have more limitations. Nevertheless, there are some things I really wanted to tackle – as a kind of new challenge. One of the things you could see… for example, was that all the Pokemon have their own shadows. These shadows and the spatial depth they create are one of the things that was particularly important to me. I really wanted to incorporate that kind of visual reality into the game. And another thing I want to mention is the battle effects: we developed them from scratch in this game. I was very thorough in reviewing them and personally went through every single one. Phew, that was a lot of moves.”

While the Pokemon series has seen some criticism with its graphics, Pokemon Winds and Waves seems to be changing the narrative. Despite the fact that we’ve only seen one trailer so far, fans have been impressed with the initial results compared to some of Game Freak’s more recent games.

Pokemon Champions is now available on Nintendo Switch with a mobile version to follow. For those playing the game, we have a running list of Mystery Gift codes you can redeem here.