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'Pokémon Ultra Sun' and 'Ultra Moon' will be series' last 3DS games

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New Z-Moves Revealed in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon!
The Nintendo 3DS helped to revolutionize the Pokémon role-playing experience, introducing 3D environments and more detailed battles with Pokémon X and
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Y, and subsequent games built on that formula to both critical and fan acclaim. But as the Nintendo Switch continues to pick up steam, it appears that developer Game Freak is leaving the 3DS behind.

In an interview with IGN, Game Freak director Shigeru Ohmori revealed that his team had pushed the 3DS “to its absolute limits” with the upcoming games Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and that they were treating the games as “the culmination of our work with the 3DS system.”

The two games, which release in November, are enhanced versions of last year’s Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. The games ditched the series’ traditional Pokémon gyms in favor of challenges scattered around the island paradise of Alola. Those games appeared to have been taxing the 3DS hardware already, as the 3D effect was disabled almost completely — a Pokémon Snap-like minigame did still include 3D.

Nintendo and Game Freak previously confirmed that a full-fledged Pokémon role-playing game was in development for the Switch, though we have been given almost no other information on it. It will be a “main” Pokémon adventure, and the first to hit a home console. Previously, you could battle Pokémon from you Game Boy cartridges in the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Stadium, though the game didn’t feature a full story mode itself.

For those who can’t wait to play a Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch, you can pick up Pokkén Tournament DX right now. The game, which is a remastered version of a Wii U release from 2015, is a real-time 3D fighting games featuring classic creatures like Lucario and Pikachu. We liked the Switch version more than the Wii U original, but found its split-screen multiplayer — one of its main draws — to be all but useless due to a poor framerate.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon comes to 3DS systems on November 17. The games come with new “Z-Moves” for both Solgaleo and Lunala, along with the sport “Mantine Surf,” new locations, and the “Alola Photo Club.”

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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Nintendo confirmed it will widely shut down online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games in April 2024, which will be just over a year after it discontinued the Nintendo eShop on those systems.
This deactivation of most of the online services for those platforms was revealed on X (formerly Twitter) and Nintendo's support site early Wednesday. "In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. This also includes online co-operative play, internet rankings, and data distribution," the message says. "We will announce a specific end date and time at a later date. Please note that if an event occurs that would make it difficult to continue online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software, we may have to discontinue services earlier than planned. We sincerely thank players for using the online services of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software over a long period of time and apologize for any inconvenience."
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