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Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee - Masuda talks Eevee voice actor, keeping things kid-friendly, doing away with established ideas, and more

by rawmeatcowboy
15 November 2018
GN Version 5.0

With Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! launching this week, the devs are making their rounds to give the game one last pre-launch promotional push. Let's Go director Junichi Masuda sat down with GNN to discuss a number of topics on the game, which we've shared below.

- voice actor Aoi Yuuki is the voice of Eevee
- she was instructed to make sounds that mix together the characteristics of the different names for Eevee around the world
- these games have a kid-friendly look and music that sticks closely to the original tunes to keep parents happy
- the devs wanted to make sure the games didn't showcase too much violence, or make too much noise to bother parents
- the games save on the console, rather than on the game card,
- there are new protagonists/rivals so newcomers to the Pokemon series have their own characters to connect with
- the story doesn't deviate much from the original Pokemon Yellow
- with that said, there was some streamlining of confusing aspects in the original
- the pace has been sped up to accommodate the lifestyle of new gamers accustomed to smartphones and YouTube
- the run button was removed, as you can push the joystick all the way to achieve running speed
- Team Rocket will have a bigger part than before
- other influences from the anime include how Pikachu sits on your shoulder
- Game Freak holds regular meetings with Pokemon anime makers OLM, Inc.
- the two have a joint planning committee for movies, where two to three Game Freak members participate in the planning
- these teams also work together to confirm the new Pokemon designs
- 2P Mode was added into the game as a way for parents to play with their kids or for players to work together with a friend
- the catching mechanic is focused on the fun of catching itself, as you do not battle wild Pokemon to capture them in this game
- using Partner Pokemon for Secret Techniques is an evolution of wanting to remove HMs
- the aim was to remove HMs without losing the sense of progression
- Pokemon are encountered in the overworld because Game Freak knew players would evade tall grass to avoid encounters
- the PC/Box system was scrapped because they wanted to let players use their Pokemon anywhere
- Eevee knows more exclusive moves than Pikachu
- the game uses the original 151 Pokemon as to not over-complicate things for newcomers
- Meltan can evolve because Game Freak wanted Meltan to embody the enjoyable aspect of ‘catching Pokemon many times and collecting candy to evolve’ found in Pokemon GO

[Link]