10 Things You Didn't Know About GameFreak

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10 Things You Didn t Know About Game Freak

Though best known for their work on the Pokémon series of games, there are tons of secrets about Game Freak of which most fans aren't aware. The developers of , Game Freak, is one of the most successful companies in video game history. While dozens of studios and publishers have released wildly successful franchises, few have featured so many titles or lasted as long as has. While even nominal fans of the series are familiar with the different Pokémon games and popular characters such as Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Charizard, even the biggest fans of the franchise do not know every fact about the series or about the developers. If you are seeking to add to your own trivia knowledge about Pokémon and its developer, Game Freak, you have come to the right place. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY

Its Founder Dropped Out of High School

The legendary creator of Pokémon and Game Freak, Satoshi Tajiri, is obviously a very intelligent person. It takes an extremely creative person to build a universe from scratch with hundreds of unique creatures, even if many of them have clearly taken inspirations from real-world animals, plants, and objects. Because Tajiri was so obsessed with video games and collecting bugs that he regularly skipped classes and dropped out of high school because of his hobbies. While he did eventually receive his diploma and enroll in a technical school, he took a non-traditional route to success.

Game Freak Was Originally A Magazine

via aminoapps.com In the 1980s, long before the first Pokemon game was ever released, Game Freak was not a video game studio. Game Freak was originally a magazine for the hobby. Focusing on arcade games, Tajiri's first love in the video games industry, the project never had a large circulation. Even if the magazine never became a huge success, it provided the young Tajiri an outlet for his passions and gave him an opportunity to discuss the industry with other likeminded individuals. Considering that video games were a somewhat niche hobby at the time, this was even more important to the fledgling developer.

Their First Game Was Mendel Palace

When the company eventually began to shift its focus away from writing about video games towards producing their own entries into the medium, Game Freak published Mendel Palace through Namco as their debut into video game development. Known as Quinty in Japan, the game did not endear itself to gamers like other games from the era, such as Nintendo's legendary franchises , , or . The game did, however, perform well enough for Game Freak to continue making games and allow the developers to hone their skills.

Nintendo Didn t Understand Pokemon

via: pinterest.com After Tajiri envisioned the potential of Pokemon and the ability to trade pocket monsters through the Game Boy link cables, the title was pitched to Nintendo as a game for the handheld console. Nintendo struggled to understand some of the core concepts behind the gameplay that Tajiri was suggesting, but the company was confident in the developer's track record and backed the game. Considering the eventual success of the game franchise, there is little doubt that Nintendo was glad that they had faith in Tajiri and Game Freak. Even the most optimistic probably couldn't predict just how successful the series would become, however.

Pokemon Almost Killed Game Freak

The original Pokémon games took six years to develop, and money was tight for the development studio. Game Freak was in such bad shape that Tajiri sacrificed his own salary in order to provide the studio with more funds to continue making the game. Pokémon's ambitious nature helped make it a success, but it was almost too ambitious for its own good. Thankfully, the games were still finished and were a financial success.

Game Freak And Nintendo Aren t the Only Pokémon Owners

Because money was so tight during the development of Pokémon Red and Blue, Tajiri had to look for outside investments to continue to cover operating costs. His own sacrifices saved money, but they could not pay the salaries of employees or keep the lights on. Creatures, Inc. stepped in with additional funds to continue making the games, and the developer received a portion of the franchise's ownership in return. The gamble paid off, with Creatures involving itself in many Pokémon spin-offs and several editions of .

They Still Develop Non-Pokemon Games

Even after massive successes of the Pokémon franchise, Game Freak has continued developing other games to avoid burnout in employees. Although many of the workers probably love working on the series, especially younger employees who probably played the games as children, working on the same, fundamentally consistent series every year can be a mental challenge. As a result, other games have been made by Game Freak to give developers a break from the monotony. Some of their games, such as Pocket Card Jockey on the 3DS, have even received praise from critics.

There s A Reason You Don t Know Their Other Games

Unfortunately, most of their games that do not tie into the Pokémon series fail to impress fans and reviewers. Apart from Pocket Card Jockey, which received an 83 on Metacritic, their games have generally fallen in the low 70s and high 60s on Metacritic. While these scores do not mean that the games are bad, they do indicate that these titles may not feature the same magic that made the Pokemon series so popular. HarmoKnight, Giga Wrecker, Tembo the Badass Elephant, and are all worth checking out, especially if available at the right price.

Pokemon Y is Their Best Metacritic Score

The Pokémon formula generally has not changed all that much through the years; the main differences between the originals, Pokémon Red and Blue, and the most recent titles have been 3D graphics and a ridiculous number of pocket monsters to catch. However, the remarkable consistency doesn't mean that all Pokémon games are created equal. While every fan has their favorite rendition of the series, critics gave X and Y the best scores in the series (although Metacritic doesn't have data for some of the oldest games). Mega evolutions added a new mechanic to a series known for taking few risks, and critics rewarded the franchise with high scores.

Not All of Their Pokémon Games Have Been Good

As good as most of their Pokemon games have been, might be the worst game the studio has produced in recent memory. The Switch and iOS game is free-to-play, but the title carries with it the same pitfalls as other freemium phone games. The brick graphics may remind fans of , and the nonexistent price of entry will entice superfans of the series to download Pokémon Quest as a timewaster on public transit or in a doctor's office. Unfortunately, the game is probably not worth playing if you can access almost any other Pokémon game.