Effectively, it was enjoyable whereas it lasted. Nintendo has taken motion in opposition to the Palworld mod that might have made the “Pokémon With Weapons” label rather more literal. So in case you had 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 may wish to mood your expectations, because the mod appears to be in a extra doubtful place.
The mod was revealed yesterday, January 22 by one among its creators, YouTuber ToastedShoes, who posted a brief clip teasing the mod and a full video that went up on the channel as we speak, January 23. Nevertheless, the teaser has been hit with a DMCA from Nintendo on X (previously Twitter). Consequently, the mod is not going to be made publicly out there proper now as beforehand deliberate, as ToastedShoes needs to “tread calmly in the intervening time.”
The video showcasing the mod exhibits Ash preventing, capturing, and enslaving totally different Pokémon to construct his strongholds, in addition to preventing 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 during which Palworld distinguishes itself from Pokémon end in a recreation that simply doesn’t click on with me. The weapons had been all the time 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, on condition that he says strains like “I have to’ve had an enormous bender final night time,” I assumed these weren’t pulled from precise clips of the anime. In an announcement to Kotaku, ToastedShoes stated Ash’s strains had been supplied by a voice actor versus an AI program mimicking Natochenny’s voice, however the actor wished to stay nameless.
Whereas the mod that really makes use of Pokémon characters could also be on Nintendo’s radar, Pocketpair believes the sport itself is protected from Mario’s authorized workforce as a result of it doesn’t explicitly use any copyrighted characters.