Detective Pikachu: Shockingly Fun Game

It has arrived and I'm stunned!

"Only one copy left" the store attendant cheerfully answered when I asked about the game.
My heart skipped a beat, then it was filled with excitement! I hurried home and played it until my system drained its battery. It was worth it.

How was it?

My current progress was still at Chapter 6, the mechanics is easy to understand, the basics and gameplay are retro fitted in the games main story line. You didn't even feel its a tutorial. The graphics are well rendered, although it has no 3D capability (which I think would be awesome in some cut scenes) but the 2D works well. The layout is linear, in a single steady fixed camera on each scene. It feels like you're watching a sitcom.  Navigation is easy, there are minimal buttons to press, the touch screen is utilized in various ways.


Tim and Detective Pikachu

The opening scene is powerful, it provided the hooked that I needed it was very well crafted. I'm not gonna spoil, but it will give you that drive to solve and finish the game. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding the main character providing Tim and Pikachu a good resolve and context. Given the "situational flow" it feels seamless and natural. The sub missions are well plotted that fits naturally in the main story arch. The character development is not forced. It'll be a slow start, but once you get the hang of it you'll gotta love the duo.

Adorable and Fun

Detective Pikachu's antics is what I love about this game. His reaction to different scenarios are entertaining and hilarious! His charm is super effective! I'd like to drink some warm coffee after playing.

Other Pokemon also provided a new light in this world.
You see, I'm used to battling this creatures, capturing them, training them and that's it.
Here they have a personalities and traits that contribute to the puzzles, and mystery solving. They have functions that you can utilize that makes sense now.
For example the steel fairy "keychain" pokemon,  the creepy candle soul sucking monster, and the shuckle berry juice blender pokemon. They have been criticized and deemed useless in the original franchise. (Even the garbage-bag-looking-trash-eating pokemon.) They co-exist with one another. It was a fresh shuckle juice for me. They are a bunch of lovable beings.

Communication and Problem Solving

NPC's are well crafted too! Tim gathers clues by talking to humans, while Pikachu is in charge in his own peers. It serves a unique link in solving the each case. It strengthen the partnership of our main character with a solid purpose to contribute. It eliminates the redundancy that most puzzle solving game I played in the past. There are hints in easy mode for kids.

Can't wait to continue playing. Maybe I'll write another blog once I'm finished. Hopefully this initial review and impression served you well.

Character Design

I'm not really comfortable at first about the choice of artwork, specially the western attack "the cartoon feels" however as soon as I progressed, it ingrained in me. I didn't even mind it at all. Maybe I got over saturated by other games, that have a heavy "anime-ish" influence.

Other stuff

The Amiibo

Case is closed with this fine merchandise! I'm looking forward to the over-sized Pikachu amiibo. I asked about this, however it is not yet available in our branch. I think I need to save some snaps for this one. It'll be a nice addition to my collection.


The Price:
The game cost about P1900 if you're in a hurry, but if you want to wait, In about 3-5 months, resellers would pop up. It'll probably sell around 1,500 to 1,100 depending on the condition. You can search P3DS Marketplace in facebook, one of the best and legit nintendo marketplace in the country. :)


Cheers!