Pokémon Winds and Waves Is the New Pokémon Red and Blue

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Pokémon Winds and Waves feels surprisingly similar to the previous generation. While the graphics are better than Scarlet and Violet, the game doesn’t offer much that’s truly new – it’s largely the same game with updated visuals. Even the player character looks almost identical, and like Scarlet and Violet, most buildings in the cities aren’t accessible, which is disappointing to many fans.

Repeating what works isn’t a negative. In fact, the similar visual style suggests the series is getting back on track. The way Pokémon Winds and Waves builds on ideas from the previous generation (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet) shows that the games have established a strong base for their 3D designs, much like the early 2D Pokémon games (Red and Blue) did three decades ago. It took Game Freak an entire console generation to reach this point.

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Following the debut of the Wind and Waves trailer during the February 27th Pokémon Direct, many viewers immediately noticed the resemblance to Phanpy. While it launched with a new generation, the new Pokémon looks very similar to previous iterations. It’s clear this isn’t a completely original creation; it shares a similar visual style and engine with Scarlet and Violet and Legends ZA, and even appears to reuse some of the same character models and animations.

The fact that this new game doesn’t drastically change things isn’t a bad thing – it’s intentional. Historically, Pokémon games haven’t focused on massive graphical or gameplay overhauls. Instead, each new generation typically offers a fresh story, a new region to discover, and some updated features or improvements to how the game is played.

Unlike most Pokémon games, Scarlet and Violet truly embraced an open world. As the first mainline series title to do so, Game Freak faced a lot of challenges during development, which contributed to the rocky launch and negative initial reception.

Scarlet and Violet marked Game Freak’s initial efforts to adapt to 3D graphics and a new style of gameplay for Pokémon, leading to a game with noticeable flaws but also some great concepts. While Scarlet and Violet were a bold first step into a truly open world—a major change for the Pokémon series—Winds and Waves feels like the series confidently building upon that foundation.

Pokémon Winds and Waves Proves Scarlet and Violet is The Franchise’s New Gold Standard

It makes sense that Winds and Waves continues the work started by Scarlet and Violet. Scarlet and Violet was a huge success, becoming the fastest-selling Pokémon game ever and having the best launch of any game exclusive to a single console – selling 10 million copies in just three days! Generation 10 has become the second most popular Pokémon generation of all time, only behind the original Pokémon Red and Blue.

While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sold well, critics weren’t as impressed. The game has an average score of 71% on OpenCritic and 72% on Metacritic, but players gave it a very low rating of just 3.5 out of 10.

While Scarlet and Violet had noticeable problems with graphics and how smoothly it ran, the actual gameplay was excellent. The game smartly built upon ideas from previous titles to make catching Pokémon and battling more exciting and lively. This created the fastest-paced main Pokémon game to date, and despite the technical issues, players loved how the game played.

A good Pokémon game doesn’t have to look incredibly realistic. What really matters is a unique and engaging style that draws players into the game’s world. This is what made the original Pokémon Red and Blue so popular, even though they were simple 8-bit games with limited colors. And it’s also a big reason why Scarlet and Violet were successful, despite having some technical problems.

Bugs and glitches have always been common in Pokémon games, and most fans wouldn’t say they ruin the experience. The main issue with Scarlet and Violet was that too many of these glitches broke the player’s immersion. However, the reveal trailer for Winds and Waves suggests that the new Switch 2 console is helping Game Freak fix this problem.

Winds and Waves Could Initiate a Return to the Golden Age of Pokémon

Pokémon Winds and Waves feels very similar to the previous generation, but it seems Game Freak has addressed some past issues. Surprisingly, the game is launching sooner than expected—in 2025 instead of 2026. Many fans thought the release would coincide with Pokémon’s 30th anniversary.

Fans are actually happy about the year-long delay because it gives Game Freak more time to refine and test the new game. This should mean the upcoming release, Winds and Waves, won’t have as many problems as Scarlet and Violet did when it first came out.

Technically, Winds and Waves appears to be the most impressive Pokémon game so far. It features expansive jungles and a complete underwater area with Pokémon that stay visible consistently. Considering it took five years to develop, it’s unlikely Game Freak could have achieved this without building on the groundwork established by Scarlet and Violet five years ago, or even the original Red and Blue thirty years prior.

A good Pokémon game doesn’t have to be revolutionary; it just needs to build on what came before and feel like a natural evolution for the series. While Scarlet and Violet tried something different, Winds and Waves feels like a return to form for Game Freak, delivering a solid Pokémon experience with a proven formula. This game has the potential to recapture the magic of the original Game Boy Pokémon games, and Winds and Waves could be the new Red and Blue.

Pokémon Winds and Waves is currently planned to be released sometime in 2027, though a specific date hasn’t been announced yet.

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2026-03-11 04:17