Dynasty Warriors: Pokemon nearly happened instead of Pokemon + Nobunaga’s Ambition

When the (so far) Japanese-only Pokemon
+ Nobunaga’s Ambition was announced
we were initially confused by the new Pokemon game before us. Not only was it a
strategy RPG teaming pocket monsters with Japanese history, it was coming to
the nearly dead DS. Now we know that, according to a translated interview, it
was almost even stranger.

Above: The most recent Japanese trailer

When Tecmo Koei came to the
Pokemon Company with the proposal for a crossover game, they pitched the
adorable creatures crossing over with Dynasty Warriors games just as Gundam had
done before to huge profits. But even though any normal person’s mind would be
tempted by visions of Pikachu taking down dozens of warriors in one attack, the
Pokemon team decided combining with the older, more RPG-styled series Nobunaga’s
Ambition would be better. The translation doesn’t say why, but our theory is
the Poke-bosses wanted to sidestep the need for Pikachu and others to hold a
sword and kill people like Warriors games require (experienced Poke trainers
know fallen opponents merely pass out).

The game is planned for a March
release in Japan, and we really hope that Nintendo gives this one a chance in
the US. However, when you combine the tiny selection of upcoming DS games, the
niche nature of the series outside Japan and the difficulty in localizing
something so steeped in Japanese culture, it doesn’t look good. Perhaps a
letter writing campaign is in order. It worked for Xenoblade.

Source: Andriasang