Japan’s greatest detective is… a Pokémon. Nintendo has released a new trailer for their upcoming Japanese Pokémon spin-off, Great Detective Pikachu: The Birth of a New Duo. The game, which was announced in October, 2013, will come to the Japanese eShop February 3.
The trailer with sprinkles very short gameplay clips in between larger cutscenes, does not paint a vivid picture of what players will do in the game. Pikachu will have a human companion, named Tim according to Polygon, who seems to play Watson to Pikachu’s Sherlock. It appears Pikachu will investigate crimes by and against Pokémon: gameplay images show Pikachu conversing with other species of Pokémon, including one who appears to be injured.
The cutscenes, which almost certainly can’t be trusted to paint an accurate picture of the game, show a moodier, more adult version of the adventure. Set to a decidedly Sherlock-inspired soundtrack, Pikachu tails a suspect, inspects a human corpse, and receives a kiss on the forehead from a human woman. Also, he drinks coffee!? C’mon Nintendo. Pokémon aren’t people.
Luckily, the trailer does have gameplay confirming that Pikachu will wear his adorable Sherlock-style deerstalker cap in the game.
The game’s release will kick off Nintendo’s year-long celebration of the original Pokémon’s 20th anniversary. Nintendo will re-release Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow on the Nintendo 3DS shop on February 27, the anniversary of Pokémon’s original Japanese release, and will be offering mythical Pokémon from throughout the series as downloadable content for Pokémon Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, X and Y, throughout the year. Nintendo will also ship a special edition Pokémon Red and Blue version of the New Nintendo 3DS, which comes with removable face plates and both games pre-installed.
Great Detective Pikachu will come to the Japanese 3DS eShop February 3. Nintendo has not announced plans to release the game in other regions… So keep your fingers crossed.
