Over the years, Game Freak has brought Pokémon fans all kinds of different games in the franchise, from sprawling open-world adventures all the way back to the original raft of Game Boy releases that started the whole journey. Along the way, there have been some arrivals that are markedly different from just about anything else.
Pokémon Pokopia is a solid recent example, applying the cute creatures we all know so well to a survival crafting formula. Back in the day, though, the examples that spring to mind most readily would be Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Colosseum, both of which had been relegated to the annuls of time for the last couple of decades.
Pokémon Stadium has been available to Nintendo Switch 2 players for a while now, but Colosseum has remained noticeably absent, despite being the better game in the eyes of many. That was scheduled to change, but things have gone frighteningly quiet, leaving many wondering what exactly is going on.
In case you missed it, Nintendo announced a bunch of iconic GameCube titles would be coming to the Nintendo Switch as part of the Classics Catalogue (as long as you have the Expansion Pack). Those included games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and SoulCalibur 2, as well as Super Mario Sunshine, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Super Mario Striker, Chibi-Robo!, and, crucially, Pokémon Colosseum.
The interesting thing about that is that all of those titles are now available for Nintendo Switch 2 players to enjoy, apart from the conspicuously absent Pokémon Colosseum. Neither Nintendo nor The Pokémon Company have commented on the reason why, though the length of the gap between the initial announcement and its still pending arrival would suggest that there may be some kind of issue.
As much as it’s hardly the very best of the series to date, it really was a lot of fun to play back then, and returning to it in the cold light of 2026 would likely be a nostalgic experience, if nothing else. It would also come along at the perfect time, as the vast excitement around the 30th anniversary starts to die down and we wait to see what’s coming next for the series.
What we do know in that regard so far is that the first games of the tenth generation will be Pokémon Winds and Waves. Within those, players will be exploring an archipelago of sorts, based on certain portions of South-East Asia.
As with all games that debut a new generation, we’ll have a whole fresh roster of ‘mons to track down and add to our dex. The last couple of generations haven’t really managed to be as memorable as they were likely intending, so they could really do with a set of releases that managed to nail down a handful of iconic designs.
The next Pokémon games could also do with more than a subtle evolution in terms of the gameplay as well, with the last few efforts feeling like they were treading water more than anything else. If they can get it all right though, the games easily have the potential to recapture the magic of those first few iconic releases.
- Released
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March 22, 2004
- ESRB
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e
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4
- Multiplayer
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Local Multiplayer