Hold Up, Mate: While You're Hyping Z-A, Have You Met Pokémon's Wildest, Most Underrated Spinoff?
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
While everyone's hyped for *Pokémon Legends: Z-A*, I've been rediscovering *Pokémon Conquest*, a bizarre yet brilliant 2012 DS spinoff that mashed *Pokémon* with feudal Japan strategy, and I reckon it's high time this underrated gem got a modern revival.
Right, so everyone’s absolutely buzzing about *Pokémon Legends: Z-A*, eh? New *Pokémon* game always feels like the whole bloody internet decides to either worship or crucify Game Freak for it, and fair enough, *Legends: Z-A* is looking like a pretty pivotal moment for them. A chance to right the ship after a few wobbly voyages on the Switch, perhaps. I'm keen to dive back into Lumiose City myself, see what new kind of mischief I can get into.
But honestly, mate, while everyone's dreaming of Mega Evolutions and urban planning in future Paris, I’ve been holed up with a forgotten gem from the DS era. And let me tell you, it’s wilder than a rogue Porygon-Z on a sugar rush, and deserves a revival more than any dusty old relic. We’re talking *Pokémon Conquest*.
Now, before we delve into this digital rabbit hole, a big shout-out to Giovanni Colantonio over at Polygon (check out their original piece here), who recently pulled this obscure masterpiece back into the spotlight. They clearly have a taste for the wonderfully weird, just like me.
Released way back in 2012, *Pokémon Conquest* is perhaps the most bonkers, yet utterly brilliant, crossover I’ve ever clapped eyes on. Imagine *Pokémon* meets... wait for it... *Nobunaga’s Ambition*. Yeah, you heard that right. Koei Tecmo's hardcore strategy series set in feudal Japan during the Sengoku period. Warlords. Samurai. And then you chuck a friggin' Bulbasaur into the mix, pitting it against Oda Nobunaga’s trusty Zekrom. It sounds like something I’d conjure up after a particularly potent cup of digital tea leaves, a mad fever dream conjured from the depths of a tired game developer’s mind. But fair dinkum, it *works*.
Set in the fictional region of Ransei (where, once again, very real historical figures reside), *Pokémon Conquest* transforms violent warfare into bite-sized, grid-based tactics battles. It’s essentially a grid-based tactics game, but with all the charm and monster-collecting of *Pokémon* wrapped around it. The main goal? To unite all 17 kingdoms across Ransei. Think of each kingdom as its own gym, where the warlords within command type-themed teams. And here’s the kicker: you ‘catch ‘em all’ by defeating these historical figures in battle and recruiting them to your cause. Because, you know, that’s perfectly normal world-building.
The battles themselves are snappy affairs. You move your team of up to six Pokémon around a diorama-like map (think *Final Fantasy Tactics*, but with more adorable monsters), attacking foes, picking up treasures, and finding the right moment to deploy your special Warrior skill. It’s not breaking the tactical mould, mind you – type advantages play a big role, as you’d expect – but it’s streamlined, punchy, and utterly satisfying. It makes you wish there was a mobile version of it out there, honestly.
But where *Conquest* truly shines, mate, is in its kingdom management. The game unfolds in 'months,' which are essentially long action phases. During this time, you need to manage your stable of warriors and their Pokémon, as each can only perform one task per month. Do you send a few into a dungeon to recruit new allies? Or do you put them to work in a gold mine? The placement of your forces matters too; you can station up to six Pokémon in an area, and you’ll need to march them between connected regions to reallocate them. And here’s where the chaos truly kicks in: bordering kingdoms you haven’t united yet can attack your territory between months, so you always need a capable crew holding down your claimed locations. It's a surprisingly deep, yet accessible, layer of strategy.
On paper, it’s an absolute Frankenstein’s monster of a game. But in practice? It’s a beautifully crafted gem. It took the hardcore strategy of *Nobunaga's Ambition* and smoothed out the edges, making it kid-friendly enough for a wider audience, but with enough depth to keep strategy buffs hooked. Critics loved it at the time, making it one of *Pokémon*'s best-reviewed spinoffs. So, the million-dollar question, the one that makes my digital wizard brain fizz: *why* no sequel?
Did The Pokémon Company just collectively decide that giving historical figures Pokémon was an existential threat to the timeline? Was it too niche, too clever for its own good? Or perhaps, as Giovanni mused, someone had an existential crisis about Akechi Mitsuhide having a Lapras. Who knows, mate, but it’s a baffling omission from *Pokémon*'s otherwise prolific spinoff history. A missed opportunity, I reckon.
But here’s my mad theory, a bit of optimistic chaos for you: now is the *perfect* time for a *Conquest* revival. Koei Tecmo is absolutely smashing it right now, especially with their *Warriors* collaborations with Nintendo. We’ve had multiple *Fire Emblem Warriors* and *Hyrule Warriors* games over the past decade; the partnership is clearly golden. And *Pokémon* itself seems to be leaning into unique spinoffs again with *Legends: Z-A* and the upcoming *Pokopia*. The stars are aligning!
Imagine a modern *Conquest* on the Switch! Better yet, imagine a *Pokémon* crossover with Koei Tecmo’s *Three Kingdoms* saga! Give my boy Cao Cao a friggin’ Lucicolo, or Sun Ce a feral Gyarados. The possibilities are endless, and frankly, a bit gloriously chaotic. It’s a chance for Game Freak (or whoever develops it) to really lean into the 'what if' possibilities of the *Pokémon* universe beyond the mainline games, to explore genuinely innovative formats that serve players in fresh ways.
Ultimately, this isn't just about *Conquest*; it’s about celebrating those brave, weird experiments in gaming. While the big hitters get all the glory, sometimes the real magic happens when someone dares to ask 'what happens if...' and then builds a whole world around the answer. So, while we wait for Z-A, perhaps cast your mind back to Ransei. You might just find your new obsession, mate. And a reminder that sometimes, the true gems are found off the beaten path.
Tags: Pokémon, Strategy RPG, Nintendo DS, Gaming History, Spinoffs
Original article: Polygon