Detective Pikachu

I’ve been a fan of the pokemon series for as long as I can remember. Watching the anime was my gateway into the pokemon world, so I have always been interested in the kinds of stories to be told in that setting. The core pokemon rpgs are undeniably successful, but their stories are often a bit lacking. Usually, the various pokemon spin off games are gifted with a better narrative. So, when I learned about the release of Detective Pikachu, a story driven spin off game set in the pokemon universe, I was understandably excited. It released to decent reviews, as high as eight out of ten, but only averaging out to around the six out of ten range, so I told myself that it could wait while I looked at games that had been better received. That is, until I saw a trailer surface for a movie based on the Detective Pikachu property. At the time of writing, the movie is set to hit theaters on May 10th, 2019. Once it does, I’m excited to compare and contrast the movie to the game it was based on. The trailer alone shows a few similarities already, and many differences, but I’ll save that discussion for when we have more information. For now, I’d like to talk about how the DS game, and how it stacks up as a narrative experience.

When it comes to assessing the success of stories, I try to do so without giving too many spoilers in the process. That being said, I’ve run into some issues with that in regards to this particular title. I have a lot to say about the story being told in Detective Pikachu, but most of it involves a few spoilers. If you’re worried about me spoiling the plot of the movie here, I want to take this time to say that I believe the movie’s plot, while heavily based on the game, will be very different. I still hope to not divulge too much of what happens in the story here, but for the sake of clarity, this article will contain some spoilers. You’ve been warned. With that out of the way, the game’s story begins when our protagonist, Tim Goodman, arrives in Ryme City to search for his missing father. Almost immediately, he crosses paths with the titular detective pikachu, who he can understand. The reason for Tim being able to communicate with this pokemon, but no others, is never explained. This is one of a few big mysteries that the pain never solve. What we do know is that this pikachu was Tim’s father, Harry’s partner, at least before he went missing. Tim and Pikachu team up in order to solve the case of Harry’s disappearance. The gameplay takes the form of different cases that the pair must solve. Most of the cases are directly related to the search for Tim’s father, while some sprout up serendipitously on their own. During these mysteries, the player meets an eclectic cast of characters, featuring both people and pokemon. Since pikachu can talk directly with pokemon and act as an interpreter for Tim, this allows each pokemon to have their own character and personality, which adds an extra layer to the setting that other pokemon games go without. On that note, another thing this game’s story does well that other pokemon games lack is showing the relationship between pokemon and people who aren’t trainers. In the core rpgs, we see examples of different pokemon working in mines or otherwise helping a partner without battling, but Detective Pikachu pushes that relationship even farther. Almost every character you meet has their own partner pokemon, who usually helps them in their profession. Inclusions such as a yacht captain using his Nosepass’ magnetic nose as a compass or a woman who’s Spritzee makes natural perfume for her add to the worldbuilding in an interesting and meaningful way. Switching back to the main narrative, most of these pokemon don’t serve much purpose to further the story, but their inclusion really fleshes out the world, which didn’t go unnoticed. While our detective duo search for Tim’s father, they uncover a larger case that they believe he was close to solving before he disappeared. That’s when the game switches gears a bit. In the hopes of finding Harry, the duo starts to investigate this case as well. The spoiler I warned about earlier, and also my biggest complaint with the game’s story, is that it ends when this second case is solved. Tim and pikachu did go on a meaningful adventure solving this case, but the game ends before they find Tim’s father. As a player, I felt slighted by the introduction of a mystery that drives the story, that wasn’t solved by the end. I feel that in just a few extra chapters, the story could have wrapped itself up nicely and explained all the questions that are left unanswered. But without a resolution to the inciting incident, the game feels like it lacks a true ending. That’s why I’m forced to give Detective Pikachu’s narrative a 6/10.

An example of gameplay. Tim and Pikachu are about to begin an interrogation.

Being Developed by Creatures, and produced by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, it’s safe to assume that the game designers knew what they were doing, faltering story aside. That being said, the gameplay is radically different from the average pokemon title. Nintendo has more than their fair share of experience in many different game genres, but The Pokemon Company and Creatures often stick to more typical rpg style games. So, the visual novel / point and click style that Detective Pikachu utilizes is perhaps a bit new to them. The gameplay of Detective Pikachu is made up of a few phases. Most of the time, the player explores various environments, investigating things that seem out of the ordinary, and taking testimony from people and pokemon that they meet along the way. This part of the gameplay is the core of the game, and is how most of the information in the game is discovered. This is when the player gets to meet the characters and interesting pokemon mentioned before. The mechanics are simple, walking until you see a prompt to investigate, and then pressing the right button, and they get the job done. Most of this gameplay serves the purpose of pushing the story forward. The second phase is easily my favorite. When it comes time to solve the case, the player is given a menu with all of their evidence and testimony, and are allowed to piece together the answer themselves. Being above the age range of the game’s target audience, I rarely needed this menu to solve the case, but I can easily see how younger players could enjoy sliding the clues around until they arrive at an answer. The third and final form the gameplay takes is quick time events. These are in much more story driven areas of the game, so I’ll be talking about them in a moment. The gameplay above isn’t revolutionary, but it does its job. The addition of the case menu is something I truly enjoyed, even if I didn't use it much myself. So, for the gameplay rating, I give Detective Pikachu a 7/10. It’s nothing special, but I did have a good enough time playing.

As I mentioned before, some cutscenes in the game have quicktime events to push player interaction. Most cutscenes don’t, and are only present to deliver story, but when quick action is needed, such as in action or stealth sequences, the player may be prompted to push certain buttons with the right timing, or mash until the job is completed. This breaks up the gameplay and the cutscenes a bit by combining them. Their inclusion doesn’t strike me as something that makes the game any better or any worse for having them though. This is mostly because there is no penalty for failing these events. Once, I was caught by surprise, and missed the timing, resulting in detective pikachu falling off of a roof. I felt bad for causing him to fall, but the only change to the game was that I had to repeat the prompt until I got it right. Even if I’d had to watch pikachu climb the roof again to try another jump, the failure would have had some meaning to it. But the screen faded to black, and I was taken back to right before I missed the prompt, giving me no penalty for failure. With this being the key way that gameplay is integrated into the narrative, I’m giving Detective Pikachu a 6/10 for its use of gameplay to drive the narrative.

In this quicktime event, the player must press the A button with the right timing, or out heroes will miss time their jump.

So, overall, Detective Pikachu was a fun ride for me as a pokemon fan, but underwhelming as a game. It’s a shame to say it, because I would like more story driven games in the pokemon universe. But unless they are presented with more player involvement, I can’t say I’d imagine much success in that area in the future. If you’re a die hard pokemon fan, and are interested in seeing the pokemon world gain some new layers with pokemon interaction outside of battle, then there’s no reason not to give Detective Pikachu a look. But, if you’re interested in the story alone, then I’d recommend joining me in the wait for the movie. Though I have my theories about the unanswered questions left open in the game, I have high hopes that the movie will answer them for me.