Much to the dismay of many 3DS and Wii U owners, Nintendo recently announced that it would be closing down their respective eShops in March 2023. The news came as a bit of a surprise to many Nintendo fans; although the Wii U hasn’t been the company’s most successful console, it’s gained quite a cult following over the years, and both it and the 3DS eShop have been home to countless stellar titles that aren’t easily obtainable elsewhere. However, by far, one of the biggest losses coming with thisNintendo eShop shutdownis the disappearance of some excellentPokemontitles.
Thankfully, this cloud does have a silver lining.Pokemonfans have almost a whole year before the eShops shut down, so there’s still plenty of time to pick up somePokemongames that are otherwise pretty hard to find, and transfer some classic pixel-art monsters into some more modernPokemontitles.
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Pick Up All The Classic Game Boy Titles
For those growing up in the 1990s, and a handful of those who came after, theoriginal set ofPokemongameshave an extremely powerful nostalgic hold over them. Even just glancing at the iconic, beautiful water color box art is enough to send a shiver down manyPokemonfans' spines, in the best possible way.
Unfortunately, picking up an old copy of the original Game Boy games isn’t the easiest task, with even shabby second-hand copies coming in at about $30-50, and boxed copies starting at a whopping $100.The 3DS eShop offers a saving grace.
TheVirtual Console is one Nintendo’s greatest concepts. Beginning on the Wii, the Virtual Console offers a plethora of old NES, SNES, Game Boy, and GBA games, along with a few other consoles. There are two main benefits of the Virtual Console, those being that it preserves older games, and that it allows new players to experience these historic titles at minimal cost and effort.
The 3DS' Virtual Console is home to all of the original Game BoyPokemongames. For just $10 a pop, fans can get their hands onPokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, Crystal, Gold, Silver, and even theJapan-exclusivePokemon Green. On top of this,Pokemonfans can also grab thePokemon Trading Card Game, andPokemon Puzzle Challenge, another two classic Game Boy Color titles.
AnyPokemonfan that hasn’t yet given these original titles a go, or those who want to guarantee that the option is there in the future, should pick up these games while they can. It’s fascinating to seehow thePokemonfranchise has evolvedover the last two decades.
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Transfer Any Classic Pokemon To Pokemon Home
One of the 3DS' bestPokemontitles isn’t even a game. Releasing in 2013,Pokemon Banklets 3DS users store and transfer their Pokemon between games. When the service first dropped, it was limited to just the games players had on that specific console, but withthe release ofPokemon Homein 2020, players could upload their Pokemon collection to the Cloud. From there, players could use their collection in a number ofPokemontitles across different platforms.
With the announcement that the 3DS and Wii U eShops are closing down next year, Game Freak decided to makethePokemon Bankservicefree for all users, as opposed to asking for a subscription. So before March 2023,Pokemonfans should ensure that they upload any of their classicPokemontoPokemon Bank, and then upload them straight toPokemon Home.
Pick Up Any Pokemon Virtual Console or eShop Exclusives
While the original set ofPokemonGame Boy games will likely be most fans' first port of call, the vast swath ofWii U Virtual Console and eShop exclusivesshouldn’t be forgotten about. While titles likePokken Tournamentcan still be played on the Switch, there’s one or two Wii U exclusives that may be worth picking up for fans of the franchise.
One such Wii U exclusive isPokemon Rumble U, the third entry inthePokemon Rumbleseries, and actually the firstPokemongame released on the console. With 649 Pokemon to choose from, players set about battling their way through arena after arena, unlocking new Pokemon as they go.Pokemon Rumble Umay not have received the best reviews upon launch, with many outlets finding the game too simplistic and repetitive, but it’s certainly a unique part ofPokemonhistory, and something worth preserving for those who love the series.
When it comes toPokemonVirtual Console games, the Wii U has a pretty good range. Starting with the Nintendo 64 era, fans can grab the originalPokemon Snap. The gameplay is pretty simple, but it’s fun tocompare the original to the most recentPokemon Snapoffering on the Switch.
Moving onto the Game Boy Advance era, the Wii U Virtual Console has two offerings, one beingPokemon Pinball: Ruby and Saphire, and the other beingPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team. ThoughMystery Dungeonisn’t the most popularPokemonspin-off, it’s still worth trying, especially if fans didn’t pick uptheMystery Dungeonremake on Switch.
The Wii U Virtual Console brings a slew ofPokemonDS games to the console, includingPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, andPokemon Ranger. While the former is simply a DS version of the GBA’sRed Rescue Team,Pokemon Rangeris one of the more uniquePokemontitles. InRanger, players take on the role of a titular Pokemon Ranger, and capture Pokemon by drawing circles around it with the stylus. It received pretty mixed reviews, but it’sanotherPokemontitle that deserves preservation.
The Wii U Virtual Console is also home to thePokemon Rangersequels,Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, andPokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs, which both fared slightly better when it came to reviews.Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Skyis also available on the Wii U Virtual Console. There’s a lot ofPokemoncontent for fans to pick up before theWii U and 3DS eShop closesin March 2023.
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