{"id":136501,"date":"2026-03-18T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-198451"},"modified":"2026-03-18T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:00:00","slug":"opinion-pokemon-pokopia-is-nostalgia-done-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/03\/18\/opinion-pokemon-pokopia-is-nostalgia-done-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Pok\u00e9mon Pokopia Is Nostalgia Done Right"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n
\"Opinion:<\/a>
<\/span> Image: Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I step out of the starting cave for the first time in Pok\u00e9mon Pokopia<\/a> and look across the barren, dried-out grass, the withered trees, and abandoned caves, it all feels rather uncanny.<\/p>\n

The red brick roads. The Pok\u00e9mon Center wreckage with two empty plots for buildings right next to it. A blocked-off pathway to the north, east, and west. After breaking through the road to the east, I find an abandoned cycling road and a ninja outfit. This is<\/em> Fuschia City, and this is<\/em> Kanto; I\u2019m not going crazy.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen Kanto dozens of times over the years. It\u2019s the region The Pok\u00e9mon Company gives the most attention to, and rightly so, because it was the first. If you grew up with Pok\u00e9mon, whether you played Red & Blue<\/a> first or you hopped in with Scarlet & Violet<\/a>, you probably know Kanto, and you\u2019ve likely been there too via one of the many rereleases.<\/p>\n

Pok\u00e9mon loves a bit of nostalgia, after all, and what\u2019s more nostalgic than the Gen 1 region? Nostalgia is the reason the devs keep bringing back favourites<\/a> with every new generation \u2013 there\u2019s a reason people still get excited when they see Tangela or Krabby rendered in latest-gen graphics, no matter how many times it\u2019s happened before.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not immune to it, either. I almost dropped money on that Mini Game Boy music player<\/a>, and I\u2019m always hoping Arcanine, Gengar, and the Eeveelutions pop up in each new game. But it doesn\u2019t often get me excited because it frequently feels like a crutch.<\/p>\n

To dive into why I think nostalgia works so beautifully in Pokopia, I need to touch on the whole thing, so yes, it’s about to get spoiler-y in here<\/strong>. So if you want to preserve your memories, or the mysteries, then don’t read after the jump…<\/p>\n

\"Opinion:<\/a>
<\/span> Image: Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A series of moments pointing at the screen going \u201cOh my god, that interview is talking about the Vermillion City construction site<\/a>!\u201d<\/em>, discovering the ruins of a secret Team Rocket hideout, or realising that Jigglypuff needs a stage to come out of hiding doesn\u2019t usually set my world on fire. References like this are often set-dressing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the reason The Super Mario Bros. Movie<\/strong> doesn\u2019t do it for me; it\u2019s all empty calories, attempting to appeal to me in a sugar rush of historic callbacks that don\u2019t add anything to the experience besides a nod to your friend or a \u201clore dump\u201d.<\/p>\n

But in Pok\u00e9mon Pokopia, it works, and it\u2019s because of the way<\/em> the world is presented. This isn\u2019t your pristine Kanto, perfectly preserved or upgraded from those Game Boy pixels. This is a once-recognisable world shattered by a cataclysm which has forced humans to evacuate to space. It\u2019s the warmth of home, the comfort of something you loved as a child, irrevocably damaged, and it\u2019s up to you \u2014 the Pok\u00e9mon \u2014 to restore it.<\/p>\n