Detective Pikachu Is Getting A Western Release

One of the most talked about games that came out a while back for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan was Creatures' Detective Pikachu, an adventure game that followed a talking gumshoe Pikachu and his adventures with a young boy as they go around solving crimes. Well, that game is now scheduled to make its debut in the West for the very first time.

Nintendo announced that, starting March 23rd, 2018 Detective Pikachu will launch for the Nintendo 3DS on the Nintendo eShop and at local retail shops for $39.99. The launch of the game will also be accompanied by a brand new Amiibo figurine based on the little yellow detective as well, which will unlock new content within the game to help give players a hint on how to solve the current case.

The game sees a tough-talking, no-nonsense Pikachu teaming up with a young boy to uncover clues and solve a variety of mysteries around the tough streets of Ryme City.

The thing that makes Detective Pikachu stand out so much is the fact that the Pikachu actually talks to players. When many gamers found out about this they instantaneously started up a petition to get Nintendo to hire Danny Devito to voice the Western version of Pikachu or have Danny Devito play Pikachu in a live-action movie.

I'm not sure how gamers had such prescience, but movie studios were eying the property to turn it into a movie, and, lo and behold, it's actually becoming a live-action film. However, Danny Devito from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Batman: Returns fame is not starring in the film. Instead, the studios put their eyes on Deadpool leading man, Ryan Reynolds. I don't know how well Reynolds will adapt to the role of being a detective Pikachu, but the choice is definitely out in left field. I can see why fans may have wanted Danny Devito to play the little yellow monster, because in the press release the detective Pikachu is described as being a "tough-talking" gumshoe, and that's not something I necessarily pick up from Ryan Reynolds.

Nevertheless, the game itself is like a mix between Ace Attorney and Professor Layton but with an old-school point-and-click flair to it, as players will have to venture around the city, interview and interrogate suspects, and examine clues from the crime scenes.

The game didn't really burn up the sales charts in Japan, likely due to the fact that the Nintendo 3DS was cooling off in sales by that point and rumors and hype around the Nintendo Switch were burning up. Also, throughout 2017 the game mostly just kind of faded from view up until Universal Pictures was announced as a distributor for the live-action film, with a director being attached and Ryan Reynolds being brought on board as the leading actor. According to Hype Beast, not everyone was pleased with the casting, but it will be interesting to see how Reynolds approaches the role.

The movie isn't due out until 2019, so gamers in the West will have plenty of time to catch up on the English language version of Detective Pikachu when it launches for the Nintendo 3DS this March.