Switch 2 Needs a Pokémon Conquest Sequel

Pokémon Conquest isn’t the type of game you name-drop to your friends and begin a deep, long conversation about memorable moments like you would a mainline Pokémon game. Even the Pokémon Snap franchise gets more nostalgia-laced discourse going online than the 2012 tactical RPG. While the Pokémon franchise continues to tread the line between consistent or down-right uninventive, it might be time ahead of a new console launch to utilize a successful blueprint for gameplay variety to get things cooking again. Let’s explore why the Switch 2 might be a great time to release a Pokémon Conquest sequel.

Pokémon Conquest was released in 2012 and tasked the player and a companion, Eevee, with conquering the Ransei Region. Warriors placed around the region would fall to your player, and you could add their Pokémon to your roster. The entire game was a turn-based strategy game, essentially playing like a tactical RPG, where each Pokémon had one move. Other changes, such as conditional evolution rather than a level requirement, took a familiar franchise and changed just enough to make it feel new, fresh, and exciting. Critics also liked it then, earning an 80/100 on Metacritic. Despite its success, it’s not a game that has stayed in the zeitgeist very much since its release.

Flash-forward to 2025, and this inventiveness and ability to look at things in a new way are sorely missing from the Pokémon franchise. The Switch also released several tactical or turn-based RPGs that found greater success on the latest Nintendo console than ever before. Even at launch, the Switch 2 will hit shelves with a major RPG in its lineup, a remastered version of the first Bravely Default game. There are also more Pokémon fans today. Titles like Pokémon Go and several Netflix series have put the franchise in front of more eyes than ever before, even apart from the record-setting sales of its Switch titles.

When Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were released, they deviated from the modern Pokémon art style. I wondered if we’d see more moves away from the traditional gym-oriented format. While we have a MOBA and even an app that corresponds to your sleep, returning the franchise to a tactical game would make a lot of sense. I wonder if the path forward to fill the gap between multiple years of development for the mainline series might mean more side series releases, especially as the Switch 2 looks to continue the momentum built from the first Switch.

I think it makes sense to pull the trigger on a Pokémon Conquest sequel for many reasons. Whether it’s in the works without us knowing or not, I think it’s a safe bet to excite dedicated fans and pull in some new ones eager for more Pokémon, but avoid significant risks in terms of disappointing the majority of players because of perceived expectations. There are copies of Pokémon Conquest for the DS on eBay, and you can watch any number of playthroughs on YouTube, if you’re not quite sure why this might work. All in all, Pokémon is arguably the most recognizable franchise in gaming and entertainment, so more of it is never going to be something you’ll see folks reject outright.