Effectively, it was enjoyable whereas it lasted. Nintendo has taken motion in opposition to the Palworld mod that may have made the “Pokémon With Weapons” label rather more literal. So for those who have been hoping to play Pocketpair’s monster-taming survival recreation as long-time Pokémon anime protagonist Ash Ketchum capturing and enslaving Sport Freak’s monsters, you would possibly need to mood your expectations, because the mod appears to be in a extra doubtful place.
The mod was revealed yesterday, January 22 by considered one of its creators, YouTuber ToastedShoes, who posted a brief clip teasing the mod and a full video that went up on the channel at present, January 23. Nonetheless, the teaser has been hit with a DMCA from Nintendo on X (previously Twitter). In consequence, the mod won’t be made publicly accessible proper now as beforehand deliberate, as ToastedShoes desires to “tread frivolously in the intervening time.”
The video showcasing the mod reveals Ash combating, capturing, and enslaving totally different Pokémon to construct his strongholds, in addition to combating anime antagonist Jessie throughout one of many recreation’s boss battles. Whereas this mod is clearly constructed off the bones of the unique recreation, it’s additionally been one of many higher showcases for why the methods through which Palworld distinguishes itself from Pokémon end in a recreation that simply doesn’t click on with me. The weapons have been at all times a grabby, memetic inclusion that made Palworld stand out, however they’re additionally emblematic of some edgier mechanics and vibes that aren’t actually what I’m on the lookout for in a monster-taming recreation. However to every their very own.
Notably, there’s a good bit of voiced dialogue within the mod for Ash, and whereas he sounds so much like actor Sarah Natochenny’s tackle the character, provided that he says traces like “I need to’ve had an enormous bender final evening,” I assumed these weren’t pulled from precise clips of the anime. In a press release to Kotaku, ToastedShoes mentioned Ash’s traces have been offered by a voice actor versus an AI program mimicking Natochenny’s voice, however the actor wished to stay nameless.
Whereas the mod that truly makes use of Pokémon characters could also be on Nintendo’s radar, Pocketpair believes the sport itself is secure from Mario’s authorized crew as a result of it doesn’t explicitly use any copyrighted characters.
