Nintendo’s latest Pokemon Presents left me a bit confused. It looks like Game Freak and Nintendo aren’t sure of the future direction of the series.

The series transitioned well to 3D on the 3DS. They did the remakes of Ruby and Sapphire in 3D, along with X and Y, Sun and Moon, and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. They then continued with Sword and Shield on Switch in 2019 – but in 2018, they released Pokemon: Let’s Go for Switch, which went back to 2D.

Now they’re releasing yet more remakes on a system much more powerful than the 3DS, this time Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on the Switch, but back in 2D this time. Then on top of that, you have Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which is going open-world 3D.

So they have three pans in the fire right now, and are waiting to see which one ends up tasting the best: 2D, 3D, or open-world 3D. I don’t remember the Pokemon RPGs being this disparate in their direction before. Pokemon Legends: Arceus looks the most interesting and fresh in its ideas. Hopefully, it will end up being the open-world experience that fans wanted Sword and Shield to be.