Pokemon Sword & Shield Galar Pokedex reimagined in 8-bit Game Boy style

A Pokemon Sword & Shield fan went viral after re-imagining every single ‘mon from the Galar Region in 8-bit Game Boy style. 

[jwplayer lZioFPcG]

In a first for the franchise, Pokemon’s eighth generation RPG was in both HD and on a home console. Despite that, many fans still have nostalgia for the way the games used to look on the Game Boy.

Those wondering what Sword & Shield’s monsters would look like in 8-bit graphics no longer have to dream as one incredibly talented artist re-imagined all of Galar’s ‘mon in the retro graphic style.

Game Freak / The Pokemon Company

A Pokemon fan reimagined Sword & Shield ‘mon with Game Boy-style graphics.

Pokemon Sword & Shield fan’s epic Game Boy Galar Pokedex

Illustrator Pat Ackerman posted his incredible artwork on January 20, and wowed the Pokemon community by recreating monsters from the eighth generation in Game Boy’s pixel graphic style.

While Sword & Shield technically boasts over 600 characters with its DLC, the fan tackled all the ‘mon either new to the series or region specific.

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According to Ackerman, he used the pallet from the 1998 title Yellow. “Finally finished all of generation 8 in Gameboy form! They use the Pokémon Yellow palette,” he wrote.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the incredibly skilled artist also re-imagined Sword & Shield Gigantamax forms in the retro Game Boy style. Those wanting to see the various ‘mon he’s created should check out his Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIlWh_3lMgr/

The Pokemon community absolutely loved Pat Ackerman’s retro reimagining, such as one fan who exclaimed, “These are absolutely beautiful”. One user even went as far as to say they preferred the style to the Nintendo Switch graphics. “I really prefer this over the 3d models. I wish there was an option in the game for this,” they wrote.

Impressively, the talented fan explained that he doesn’t use a program to create the pixel style. Instead he uses the pencil tool in Photoshop. Considering how close this looks to the 90s Game Boy titles, it’s pretty spot-on!

• Read More: Pokemon Sword & Shield player’s “luckiest” egg hatch

If nothing else, it’s absolutely fascinating to see what a modern Pokemon game would like if it was still made on classic consoles. Speaking of retro, hopefully we will be able to revisit Gen IV if we finally get a Diamond & Pearl remake in 2021.