There Is A Pokémon Dating Sim, And It Is Surprisingly Amazing

When I was a child, I always loved the idea of Pokémon ROM hacks, but didn’t know enough about them, or indeed have the technical wherewithal to engage with them on any meaningful level. I merely admired these fan-made games from afar, appreciating both the level of effort that went into them and the many ways they innovated upon and often improved the core Pokémon formula. Skip forward more years than I care to admit, and I still haven’t fully invested my time into the fan-made content of Pokémon. So, in an effort to rectify that, I’ve recently begun looking more and more into it and came up with some rather surprising results.

Perhaps the most intriguing Pokémon fan-project I stumbled across is not one of the many incredible Pokémon ROM hacks that shake up the gameplay best associated with the series, but rather a dating sim visual novel that is closer in tone and style to Persona than it is to Game Freak’s creature collectathon. This game has been in the works for quite some time, shifted developers, and received an impressive level of support from dedicated fans, of which I hope to eventually consider myself. Pokémon Academy Life Forever is a very interesting take on Pokémon, and, more importantly, a potential blueprint for what the series’ future should look like.

Pokémon Academy Life Forever Is A Very Interesting Fan Game

I’ll be perfectly honest, had you told me that I’d be even remotely interested in a Pokémon dating sim a few years ago, I’d have likely shrugged you off with indifference and gotten on with my life. I have nothing against the genre, of course, it is just that I have never really gravitated toward it. It isn’t my proverbial cup of tea, much like souls-likes and puzzle games that require more than one or two brain cells to complete. However, nowadays, especially as my fascination with both the Pokémon fan game community and the evolution of the mainline series grows, there’s something about Pokémon Academy Life Forever that I find myself compelled by.

For those not in the know, unlike some of the best games like Pokémon, this social sim takes a completely different approach and eschews much of the typical gameplay conventions associated with the series. While you still absolutely get a starter Pokémon (you can pick from 54), and there are a plethora of battles to engage with, Pokémon Academy Life Forever is a school sim visual novel first and foremost. It explores the concept of people attending school to learn about Pokémon and what it means to be a trainer, rather than simply traveling the world as a 10-year-old child, and brings together characters from across the series into this extremely well-realized setting.

I really like this plot a lot, as it doesn’t rely on a lot of the tropes we’ve come to expect from Game Freak’s interpretation of the Pokémon formula, and it caters to a more mature exploration of a lot of these characters we’ve come to know and love. I also think it makes sense for Pokémon to evolve into a Persona-like, at least to an extent, especially as the perpetually youthful protagonist of each entry ensures that the storyline can never really expand beyond what would be appropriate for a child. I’m not advocating that the mainline games start delving into truly dark stuff, but a more mature protagonist, even one in school like in Pokémon Academy Life Forever, can deal with relevant issues, such as mental health, gender identity, sexuality, family issues, and more that are affecting what I’d imagine is a large amount of Pokemon’s core fanbase.

Sure, the dating aspects are there for those keen on romancing their favorite Pokémon characters, but really, I find the refreshing change in tone, narrative structure, and setting to be Pokémon Academy Life Forever’s biggest strength. It’s a more character-driven affair, one that places a bigger emphasis on the best aspects of the anime while still retaining the complexity of Pokémon’s battle mechanics and creature collection. It isn’t a complete game, just yet, with only a handful of in-game weeks available, but what is on offer showcases a formula that I absolutely believe should be aped by Game Freak in the coming years.

Pokémon Academy Life Forever Should Inspire Future Pokémon Games

As much as the change in setting should be adopted by future Pokémon titles, I also believe that the visual novel format would work rather well. While I can’t imagine that the mainline games will ever utilize this format, nor do I believe they should, spin-off titles could massively benefit from it. Not only is it cheaper to produce and therefore easier for Game Freak or a separate studio to create between mainline releases, but it also allows The Pokémon Company to bring the level of storytelling fans have come to expect from the anime to the video game space.

Visual novels are often frowned upon by the wider gaming community and rarely adopted by triple-A studios; however, I feel as if there is plenty of potential to utilize the format to tell similarly meaningful narratives as those portrayed in cinematic games with stunning photorealistic graphics. Frankly, if there’s one thing the Pokémon games need more than anything, it is a compelling narrative to contextualize the same gameplay loop we’ve been slogging through for the past three decades. If The Pokémon Company isn’t going to invest in flashy, Xenoblade Chronicles-esque fully-voiced cutscenes for its mainline games, then why not deliver nuanced narratives through the visual novel medium?

This has worked with other franchises, including Sonic: The Hedgehog, in the past, and many of the greatest narrative-driven indie titles are visual novels. I can absolutely see this working for Pokémon, especially after Pokémon Academy Life Forever has proven just how effective it can be. This is why fan games are so utterly crucial, not just because they provide more content within these beloved universes to enjoy, but because they showcase new ways of mining the same gold, only it’s often more effective, and the quality is so much higher.

Pokémon Academy Life Forever Showcases Just Why Fan Games Are Important

Say what you will about visual novels and dating sims, Pokémon Academy Life Forever’s innovations, creativity, and love for the source material showcase the power and value in fan-made projects. It is daring to do something a little different in a franchise that has stagnated for so long, and that is utterly refreshing to see. Indeed, I’d argue that the majority of the most interesting ideas to come out of Pokémon have been from its fan games. I’ve seen roguelikes that switch up which Pokémon you start with, ones that drastically increase the challenge, some that not only offer up entirely new regions, but hundreds of new Pokémon to catch too.

I think it is time that The Pokémon Company stop looking at these fan games as a thing to quash, send cease and desist letters to, and generally be bafflingly negative about, and instead, as a sign that things need to change. Pokémon Academy Life Forever was born out of a desire for this kind of content made by people who grew up with the games and now want their current status to be reflected by the media they love the most. Pokémon is so stuck in the past, so rooted in tradition, that it has failed to evolve to not only meet its long-time fans, but also the tastes and culture of its younger fans, too.

There is so much more affecting the children of today than there was 30 years ago, and the level of quality they expect has drastically risen too. It isn’t enough to deliver the same game over and over again, and Pokémon Academy Life Forever, alongside the many other incredible Pokémon fan games, prove that. Sure, they may never be able to match Pokémon’s best-selling games in terms of budget or scale, but they are nevertheless filled with more innovation, more creativity, and more passion than Game Freak’s efforts have been for over a decade at least. It amazes me as much today as it did all those years ago just how dedicated and passionate the Pokémon fan game community is, and I just hope that The Pokémon Company finally starts to respect that, too, and maybe take a few pointers along the way.

What do you think of Pokémon Academy Life Forever and fan games in general? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

5 Best Pokemon Spin-off Games Ever Made