Datamine Suggests More Pokémon Games Coming to Switch
▼ Summary
– Dataminers have quickly discovered that the new Nintendo Switch ports of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen ban profanity in character names.
– The ports include limited-time distribution items, allowing players to shiny-hunt the mythical Pokémon Deoxys.
– A key dataminer finding is that the emulator used for these ports also recognizes ROMs for Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald.
– This discovery hints that Nintendo may have plans to release these other classic Game Boy Advance Pokémon games on Switch platforms.
– However, the dataminer cautions that this code only shows past intentions and does not guarantee these future releases will happen.
The recent release of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on the Nintendo Switch has ignited a frenzy within the gaming community, with dataminers already uncovering potential hints about what might come next. While players are discovering new restrictions, like banned words for character names, and revisiting classic limited-time events, a more significant technical finding has emerged. Evidence within the game’s code suggests the emulator powering these ports is already prepared to handle additional titles from the same era.
According to a detailed analysis by dataminer LuigiBlood, the emulator, identified as Nintendo’s proprietary ‘Sloop’ software, explicitly recognizes the ROM files for Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. This discovery was made alongside initialization code related to enabling specific emulator features for those games. The finding strongly implies that developers had these iconic Hoenn region titles in mind during the development process, potentially laying the groundwork for future releases on the Switch platform.
It is crucial to interpret this information with measured expectations. As LuigiBlood clarified, the code represents a snapshot of development intentions at a specific point in time. While it hints at possible plans to bring more classic Pokémon games to the Switch, it does not guarantee their eventual release. The internal compatibility could signify a project that is actively in development, was once considered and later shelved, or simply reflects a streamlined development approach where one emulator was built to support multiple games from the same hardware generation.
The dataminer also noted that the ROMs for FireRed and LeafGreen have been heavily modified from their original state, which is a common practice for official re-releases to ensure stability and integration with modern platform features. This level of modification further supports the idea that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are investing significant effort into these classic ports, making the prospect of expanding the library a logical next step. For fans, the discovery fuels hope that the entire Game Boy Advance Pokémon series may eventually find a new home on the current and next-generation Nintendo consoles.
(Source: Kotaku)
