After a disastrous launch last month, The Pokémon Company technical director Masaaki Hoshino has addressed the underwhelming visuals of the free-to-play battle simulator.
On launch, many were unhappy with the state of Pokemon Champions, not just due to its underwhelming roster of Pokemon, but also the game’s graphics, performance issues, and multiple moves that did not work as attended.
Speaking to Eurogamer Germany, Hoshino, who also worked on Pokken Tournament, explained that they “naturally understand the various discussions currently taking place within the fan community”, but explained that they did not expect the backlash from fans.
“Regarding the graphics and gameplay, we’ve truly tried to do our best in both areas,” the developer said. “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.
As for the graphics, Hoshino explained that their work on Pokken Tournament, the series’ fighting game spin-off, pushed to “make the Pokemon game with the best graphics at the time”. However, with additional creatures on screen in Pokemon Champions due to multi-battles, this wasn’t possible.
“I think we did a good job with that back then,” Hoshino said of Pokken, “But only two Pokémon were ever visible on screen at the same time. With Pokémon Champions, we have more limitations.”
However, Hoshino did not discuss the true reasons behind the complaints of Pokemon Champions. While the game’s visuals are slightly underwhelming, it’s the animation quality that has truly disappointed with prior battle-focused titles like the Wii’s Pokemon Battle Revolution having more detailed animations despite being almost 20-years-old. Additionally, Pokemon Champions’ Nintendo Switch 2 version still runs at just 30fps, the same performance level as its last-gen counterpart, which is a major disappointment.
Despite this, Hoshino still defends the game’s visuals, explaining that they prioritised that “all the Pokemon have their own shadows” and reviewed “every single one” of the game’s battle effects. Hoshino did not reveal whether or not the game’s visuals will be updated over time.
As a free-to-play game, Pokemon Champions is in its infancy, and the battle simulator will see more Pokemon, more evolution gimmicks, and more come to the game over time. However, as the main platform for the series’ esports tournaments from this point on, many are rightfully worried about the state of the game.
