Another great Nintendo fan game, will Nintendo go nuclear on it?
Following over nine years of development, Pokémon Uranium, a fan-made addition to the Pokémon universe has finally been released as a free download for PC as a standalone game.
Set in an entirely new region with over 150 new Pokémon to catch, eight gyms to conquer, and online play, the ambitious project captures a similar aesthetic to the Ruby and Sapphire games.
Nuclear is now a new Pokémon type, adding another layer of complexity to type matchups. Nuclear Pokémon are reportedly similar to Shadow Pokémon from the Pokemon Coliseum games, whereby they can be caught and used in battle, but are disobedient and unruly. The game’s official Twitter account confirmed these Pokémon can be cured of their nuclear condition, meaning they will become obedient to their trainers, but will still remain nuclear-typed for battle and type matchup purposes.
After spending a short while with Uranium, it is immediately evident how much care has been put into the game; things such as subtle animations make simple tasks like navigating menus more lively, and dynamic sweeping camera shots make battles look like they’ve been directed by Quentin Tarantino (minus the copious blood and swearing).
The story is also much darker than many Pokémon games; the main character is left picking up the pieces of their broken family following a nuclear plant meltdown. It will be interesting to see how the game approaches delicate political issues like the effect of nuclear power on the environment.
The new Pokémon in the early game are impressive and look like they could easily be a part of the canonical universe.
One feature hardcore Pokémon fans will be clamouring over is the in-built Nuzlocke mode. When starting a new game, players have the option of choosing the regular mode, or the popular perma-death mode which discards Pokémon when they faint – think Pokémon’s equivalent to Fallout’s survival mode.
Uranium is not perfect, as is to be expected from such a small team with minimal budget. Movement lag is a problem in places, and players are reporting game-breaking bugs deep into the game. The developers have reassured players that they will be continually patching and supporting the game post-launch, and have already released patch 1.0.1.
Considering the swift retribution Nintendo unleashed on the fan remake of Metroid II, it may be only a matter of time until Uranium is excavated to be processed by the nuclear Nintendo copyright plant and then stored deep underground for hundreds of years, never to be seen again. Hopefully this is not the case, and The Pokémon Company don’t take action on what promises to be a delightful game made with genuine passion by fans, for fans.
Nintendo are likely to be more than a bit miffed
In the meantime, you can visit the Pokémon Uranium website here to have a look at the project and download the game. The website’s servers are struggling under the heavy traffic, so it may take a few tries to get in.
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