Detective Pikachu Returns separates itself from the movie with a fun joke
The 2019 Detective Pikachu movie was a fun way to remind fans of the beloved 2016 3DS game, however it stands in a weird place as a film which came out before the franchise is even over.
07th Oct 2023 20:57
Images via The Pokemon Company
Detective Pikachu Returns separates itself from the movie with a fun joke
The 2019 Detective Pikachu movie was a fun way to remind fans of the beloved 2016 3DS game, however it stands in a weird place as a film which came out before the franchise is even over.
07th Oct 2023 20:57
Images via The Pokemon Company
The 2019 Detective Pikachu movie was a fun way to remind fans of the beloved 2016 3DS game, however it stands in a weird place as a film which came out before the franchise is even over.
The sequel game, Detective Pikachu Returns, launched on Nintendo Switch on 6 October, and has a cute way of telling players that what happened in the film doesn’t really matter anyway.
A fun joke reminds players that films do their own thing
The Detective Pikachu film ends on a pretty comprehensive note which potentially spoils the ending of the sequel game.
However, a cute, throwaway metajoke joke in Detective Pikachu Returns suggests that maybe the film’s ending isn’t related to the games at all.
Approximately 30 minutes into the game, a conversation with the protagonist, Tim, his mother, and his sister includes a reference to how one of Detective Pikachu’s cases was turned into a film.
Tim’s mother, Irene, says: “They even made a movie based on the R case,” to which his sister Sophia replies: “Yeah, I thought the movie was pretty good, but how come mom and I didn't even show up in it?”
To this, Tim responds: “I have no idea, but movies usually do their own thing, don’t they?”
The first indication that the games are not going to go down the same route as the film comes from the existence of Tim’s mother Irene, who is deceased in the movie.
Irene's death is the main incident which drew Tim and Harry, his missing father, apart and led to the film's plot taking place.
As to whether or not the game will have the same conclusion as the movie, only time and completion of the new game will tell.
Personally I am hopeful that the game’s hints towards films varying from the source material will mean that the ending is at least slightly different, though I’m excited to play through it all the same.
About The Author
Megan Cooke
Megan is GGRecon's Evening & Weekend News Writer. She has an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing and is working towards finishing her masters in Journalism. When she isn’t writing about games she can be found reading romance novels or playing cosy games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, APICO, and Disney Dreamlight Valley.
