A lot of us grown-ups love it, yes, but this isn’t one of those game franchises that has sort of ‘grown up’ with its audience while trying to simultaneously appeal to older fans, like Final Fantasy or Zelda.
This is a franchise in a perpetual Peter Pan-like state of adolescence. For the longest time, I felt pretty sure that The Pokemon Company was largely content to happily ignore the adult fans.
I think this has been great for the childhood whimsy of the franchise, though not necessarily great for the quality of the games. But, slowly but surely TPC seems to be realizing there’s a strong separate market for these fans.
This is probably thanks to Pokemon Go being a huge phenomenon that touched many 90s kids who hadn’t thought about a Caterpie for over a decade. Now, the company is beginning to serve that segment more specifically – and honestly, I’m here for it.
For Pokemon’s anniversary we got some re-issues of classic cards and other such celebratory touches. This is for grown ups; the young at heart, and it’s a brilliant idea.
Pokemon has partnered with Nendo, most famous for its cutesy but expensive Nendoroid figurines, for the design. Basically, Battle Academy featured everything you needed to just play in one box.
Three unique decks, play board, everything you need to get going, and clear, detailed instructions. No booster packs, no starter kits that require a second deck to get going. Pokemon should continue to be focused on kids.
But throwing a bone to adult fans here and there can be thrilling and also very successful. Hopefully the TCG Classic is just the first step.