An artist went viral online after their video reimagined Pokémon Red and Blue with the original manga art style. Originally debuting in North America in 1998, the Pokémon franchise launched with 151 Pokémon that were largely designed by Japanese artist Ken Sugimori. Although the Gen 1 RPGs were revisited in 2018 with the Kanto Remake's Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, an artist's video showed fans what the Pokémon Red and Blue remake could have looked like if it used the classic Sugimori artwork instead.
Although Pokémon Red and Blue was an 8-bit RPG on the Nintendo Game Boy console, many fans associate Gen 1 with the vibrant artwork from Game Freak's Ken Sugimori. The art director helped design the original Kanto Pokédex and was also responsible for creating some of the most beloved Pokémon Trading Card Game cards, such as Alakazam from the 1999 TCG Base Set. Decades later, Sugimori's iconic work still largely defines the art style used in the Pokémon franchise.
Pokémon artist pokeyugami gave viewers a look at what a modern Pokémon game could look like if it used Sugimori's art style in a 17-second video posted on Twitter on May 20th. In the concept demo, Pokémon Red and Blue trainer Red can be seen walking around a 3D overworld as he approaches the infamous Kanto NPC the Bug Catcher. The water-painted graphics truly capture the original artwork from Ken Sugimori, as it looks as if the characters and Pokémon have jumped off the pages of the Pokémon Manga.
The Pokémon Red and Blue concept video even has a user interface, which includes an item and map button layout similar to the UI seen in Game Freak's open-world RPG Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which was released in January. Pokeyugami's incredible video truly gives players a feel for what a game like this could be like, by showing off the wild Pokémon in the overworld foraging for food in the reimagined version of the Viridian Forest. The popular Kanto Pokémon mascot Pikachu can be seen in the clip adorably chewing away on a berry.
The Pokémon video quickly went viral, grabbing over 1 million views just a few hours after being posted on Twitter. Many fans were floored by the Pokémon Red and Blue remake's implementation of Sugimori's classic artwork into a 3D game. With the Kanto region already having gotten an official remake on the Nintendo Switch a few years ago, many fans said they would love to see this type of art style used for an Unova Pokémon Black and White remake. While the Pokémon series has continued to move towards a more modern graphics engine, the 2021 Sinnoh Remake's Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl purposefully used a retro art style to capture the game's original art design. So anything is possible for future remakes in the Pokémon franchise.
Source: pokeyugami/Twitter