Hey guys, just to let you know that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the first open world mainline Pokemon installments, will be out for Nintendo Switch on November 18. Not only that, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will mark the return on darker E-rated Nintendo releases. Something that hasn't been since Paper Mario: The Origami King which came out 2 years ago. So without further ado, let's jump right into this article.

So I was thinking, what is darker E-rated titles? I'll be gladly answer that. Darker E-rated games is where E-rated games gets to have a darker and edgier tone and rates not only USK 6 in Germany but also PG in Australia. This is a deep E-rated titles that is only suitable for ages 6 and up rather than suitable for all ages. That is darker E-rated installments. How does darker E-rated titles get their origin? The answer is a 2002 game for Game Boy Advance called Metroid Fusion. Metroid Fusion is a Game Boy Advance game released in 2002 and the 2002 title has its own fair share of morbid content. A late-game boss fight with an enemy named Nightmare particularly unnerving.

Then 3 years later, shortly after the ESRB's E10+ rating introduced, Australia has revealed the PG rating which is a replacement for G8. So in 2005, Advance Wars Dual Strike for Nintendo DS is the first E-rated games to rate Australia's PG and USK 6. Thus, darker E-rated Nintendo games were born. So far, this type of E-rated releases hasn't perform too well with just Advance Wars Dual Strike and Wario Land: Shake It. Then 2010s came along and things aren't looking better. Sure, third party titles like Epic Mickey exist. But darker E-rated handled so poorly with just small market and digital distributions like Pokemon Rumble U. But in 2019, things are about to change.

With the massive success of Nintendo Switch, darker E-rated titles wanted to give Nintendo Switch a chance. And thus, we have Sushi Striker: The Way Of Sushido (also on Nintendo 3DS). But that hasn't gone so well as it released in 2018. After the dark age of darker E-rated releases performed poorly between 2014 and 2018 like Kirby Triple Deluxe, 2019 saw the light for darker E-rated installments when The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening, a remake of a 1993 Game Boy game with the same name, and Luigi's Mansion 3 was announced. Darker E-rated titles finally give some screentime at last. But that's not all, Pokemon Sword and Shield will be the E-rated Nintendo games that could change darker E-rated titles forever as Pokemon Sword and Shield were the best selling Nintendo Switch games of 2019. Not bad for a darker E-rated game that could've handled poorly. Now then, let's go back to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's darker E-rating, shall we?

Now then, as you may know that similarities Pokemon Scarlet and Violet share with other darker E-rated Nintendo games like Kirby: Planet Robobot and Pokemon Sword and Shield may point to a darker tone for Nintendo's E-rated games.

Nintendo has worked diligently to establish its image as a family friendly company. Ever since 2009, the company's branding has been comprised of bright colors, inoffensive subject matter, and an abundance of E-rated titles. That means, Nintendo's E-rated titles has to be light-hearted and kid friendly. That means, no darker tone on E-rated titles like Kirby Triple Deluxe. While the E rating is what Nintendo sells, the lack of darker E-rated titles were pretty lacking for Nintendo's E rated software. Especially on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, but nonetheless the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet may indicate a return to darker times on Nintendo's E-rated games.

Nintendo isn't a stranger to publishing video games with an E rating when it comes to morbid undertones. 2 examples include Kirby: Planet Robobot and Pokemon Sword and Shield. Both E-rated titles contain elements of impending doom and hopelessness, and infamous moments have stuck players years after their release dates. Whether it's Kirby's brutal battle against Star Dream Soul OS in The True Arena where Star Dream Soul OS's heart surges before its heart shatters. Or, Game Freak cutting back the National Pokedex during the development of Pokemon Sword and Shield causing not all Pokemon to appear in Pokemon Sword and Shield upsetting alot of fans during 2019 E3 presentation. So in the light of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's presentation at The Pokemon Company's Pokemon Presents showcase on YouTube, Nintendo may be drawing inspiration from the earlier darker E-rated titles like Paper Mario: The Origami King. The parallels between Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and other darker E-rated Nintendo games like Kirby Triple Deluxe certainly make it seem that way. So first up, Kirby: Planet Robobot.

OK, Kirby: Planet Robobot will be the first example. I'll do Pokemon Sword and Shield later. Kirby: Planet Robobot is noticeably darker than previous entries in the series. A lot of the music has a harsh techno feel to it, most of the standard enemies have some form of cybernetic implant and the story is more complex than most other games including President Haltmann wanting to see his presumed dead daughter again and being rewarded with having his body, mind, and soul deleted by a computer bent on destroying all life. With much of the music is considerably much darker and sinister as a whole what with the mechanical theme and all, Kirby: Planet Robobot is this compared to most other Kirby games. The opening cutscene alone is far more sinister than Kirby Triple Deluxe's, as the Haltmann Works Company's absolutely massive mothership effortlessly takes down Dedede and Meta Knight and immediately beging mechanizing Dream Land. The glowing red eyes that all the robot soliders have don't help. Compare this to Kirby Triple Deluxe (another darker E-rated Nintendo game) which still features lush, colorful, untampered nature scenery from the start. Wow, that's quite dark for a 2016 Nintendo 3DS title.

Nintendo has not always embraced mainline Pokemon games like Pokemon X and Y the same way, however, and kids and USK 0 pandering may be to blame. For instance, while Pokemon X and Y gives us several mentions of war and death and villains that want to commit genocide in the belief that they are the only ones worthy of living in the world, USK 0 was the rating on a game with the Ultimate Weapon cutscene. Why, USK? Then Pokemon Sun and Moon is meant to appeal to older teens and fans as the 20th anniversary, and it shows. Many fans were surprised it didn't get the USK 6 rating. It includes adult themes such as heavy parental abuse and an alien invasion and the world turing much darker as well as lost of Nightmare Fuel. Stupid USK 0. Also, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon also rates USK 0 despite the climax of Necrozma alongside harder challenges. Why USK 0 has to be the rating for X/Y/Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon instead of USK 6?
Kids and strict pandering. Yeah, that's why. But alas, main series Pokemon installments finally gets their first USK 6 title with the release of 2019's Pokemon Sword and Shield and mainline Pokemon titles finally gets to have a darker E rating for the first time. How does it hold up? It's huge, even bigger than Kirby: Planet Robobot. In fact, Pokemon Sword and Shield sold more units than Kirby: Planet Robobot wordwide. As for USK 6 itself, the rating works great as USK 6 fits the Dynamax mechanic perfectly. USK 6 also represents the attack animations very nicely. Especially Steel Beam, Dynamax Cannon, and Eternabeam. Let's not forget Gigantamax forms and the Darkest Day climax where Eternatus battles Zacian and Zamazenta. Overall, Pokemon Sword and Shield is a massive success selling more than 24 million units worldwide. This means, darker E-rated titles are here to stay.

In addition to their more unsettling qualities, Kirby: Planet Robobot and Pokemon Sword and Shield were released withing 3 years of each other. Kirby: Planet Robobot was released in 2016 for Nintendo 3DS while Pokemon Sword and Shield for Nintendo Switch was released in 2019. 3 years later, Pokemon fans can expect Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to come out on November 2022. So coincidences like this feel like deja vu. Especially parallels to Kirby: Planet Robobot and Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Also, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will have a darker tone on an E-rated release which includes a quick glimpse of of one of the Mega Man-esque Pokemon, Ceruledge, has a speculation running high. Ceruledge seems to have a shadowy aura around it, and while that may just be the effect of a new move, in case fans was wondering, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet might have fantasy violence. Especially with Mild Fantasy Violence being Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's content descriptor while both games are rated E. Let's not forget Terastalize mechanic and Mela, a Team Star leader. Her design fits the edgier tone very nicely. I can't wait for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's darker E rating.

So what this means for Nintendo's future? Also, what this means for Nintendo's E rated titles in the future? Supposing these similarities do spell out darker tones for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, it remains subject to speculation what approach Nintendo's future E-rated releases will take. Numerous light-hearted E-rated Nintendo titles like Mario Golf Super Rush and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are also available too. Most likely, Nintendo intends to please different experiments of E-rated titles with titles that vary in tone. How darker E-rated titles will perform remains to be seen, however. It's a safe bet that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, no matter how dark, will be one of Nintendo's best performers of 2022. Especially with Pokemon alongside Mario and Zelda will have the most sales for Nintendo. That said, it already seems Pokemon Scarlet and Violet may become a top seller.

Perhaps this shift in tone could also be attributed to Nintendo's employees or in this case, The Pokemon Company or Game Freak. Video games like any other creative endeavor, are influenced by the experiences of the people who make them. Nintendo is no exception to this despite the company's size. It wouldn't be surprising to see darker games that are E-rated too, given the challenges of 2020. After all, it's entirely possible that a trend of gloomy E-rated games will emerge as Game Freak start developing Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in fall 2019.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will release November 18, 2022 for Nintendo Switch. Please look forward to it.