Pokémon Prism

Pokémon Prism
Developer(s)	Koolboyman
Publisher(s)	Koolboyman
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color
Release	Cancelled
Genre(s)	Monster-taming game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Pokémon Prism is a fangame based on the Pokémon series of video games. A Pokémon Crystal ROM hack, its developer, Adam, also known as Koolboyman, had previously developed other hacks, Pokémon Brown and Rijon Adventures. A team of developers also assisted in its completion, and was planned to be released on December 25, 2016. It was cancelled several days prior to release, on December 21, following a cease and desist by Nintendo in which all the developer's ROM hacks were pulled offline, but later leaked onto the Internet.

Setting and plot

Pokémon Prism takes place in the new region of Naljo, containing 200 Pokemon and 20 badges. The player takes the role of the son or daughter of Lance, the Pokémon Champion.

Development

The game was in development for eight years, starting in 2008. While the game was publicly developed, it did not receive a cease-and-desist notice until immediately prior to release. Adam stated that he believed the possibility Nintendo would shut down the project was "low". The game's trailer had received a great deal of attention from fans, with approximately 1.4 million views.

Following its cancellation, the files for the completed game were leaked onto 4chan by an anonymous group, claiming that they had obtained them because "some dev was careless".

Reception

During the game's development, Patricia Hernandez of Kotaku described Prism as "a very cool game that nobody else can play yet" and "right up [the] alley" of players who have "lots of nostalgia" for the original Pokémon titles with added quality-of-life features, highlighting a Twitch stream allowing online players to coordinate a playthrough of the unfinished game in the vein of Twitch Plays Pokémon. Shawn Reynolds of Hardcore Gamer called the game flawed but worth playing. Citing the game's originality, he praised segments of the game that allow the player to control Pokémon themselves, such as the player's starter Pokémon, as well as the ability to change the player character's gender, skin tone and hairstyle. He called the game's level design where it excelled, saying that the game's gyms were extremely creative and more difficult than a typical Pokémon game, but criticized the addition of two new Pokémon types, Sound and Gas, as unnecessary, and stated that the game had some glitches where evolutions did not work as they should. He also called item usage disappointing, noting that critical items were given to the player too late into the game, and that the game lacked hints on how to progress.

The game's forced shutdown by Nintendo caused controversy within the gaming media. Patrick Klepek of Vice compared the cease and desist to Nintendo's shutdown of AM2R the same year, stating that he hoped the game was leaked. Kyle Hillard of Game Informer however stated that it was within Nintendo's rights to take down the game, suggesting that Koolboyman use his talent to create an original game.