Detective Pikachu (Nintendo 3DS)

Titles	Detective Pikachu 名探偵ピカチュウ (Meitantei Pikachū) Detective Pikachu – Birth of a New Duo (2016 episode) 名探偵ピカチュウ ～新コンビ誕生～ (Meitantei Pikachū: Shin Konbi Tanjō)
Platform	Nintendo 3DS family (game card and Nintendo eShop download; amiibo support via New Nintendo 3DS or the NFC Reader/Writer)
Developer	Creatures Inc.
Publisher	The Pokémon Company (Japan) · Nintendo (worldwide)
Director	Naoki Miyashita
Producers	Hiroyuki Jinnai · Hitoshi Yamagami
Executive producers	Tsunekazu Ishihara · Shinya Takahashi
Music	Takuto Kitsuta
Players	Single player
Genre	Cinematic adventure (detective mystery)
Chapters	9 (Birth of a New Duo held the first 3)
Pika Prompts	More than 150 voiced scenes
Released	3 February 2016 (Japan, Birth of a New Duo) · 23 March 2018 (Japan, North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Taiwan) · 24 March 2018 (Australia)
Rating	ESRB E · PEGI 3 · CERO A · ACB G
Predecessor	None – the first Detective Pikachu game
Successor	Detective Pikachu Returns (Nintendo Switch, 2023)
Sales	103,252 retail copies in Japan by January 2021 (Media Create); no worldwide figure published

Overview · Quick Answers · Story · Cases & the Film · Gameplay · Characters · Pokémon · Release History · Regional Variations · Videos · Trivia · Legacy · Sales & Reviews · Media

Overview

Detective Pikachu is a cinematic adventure game for the Nintendo 3DS family, made by Creatures Inc. and published by The Pokémon Company in Japan and by Nintendo everywhere else. Its story first reached Japanese players on 3 February 2016 as Detective Pikachu – Birth of a New Duo, a download-only Nintendo eShop episode holding the opening three chapters. The finished nine-chapter game followed worldwide on 23 March 2018, on game card and as a download, with a supersized Detective Pikachu amiibo launching alongside it.

You play as Tim Goodman, an 18-year-old who arrives in Ryme City looking for his father, Harry, a detective who vanished after a car crash two months earlier. Waiting for him is Harry’s Pikachu: gruff, coffee-mad and convinced he is a great detective, but with no memory of what happened and no electric moves to speak of – and Tim is the only person who can understand a word he says. Every chapter is a case of its own. You explore small areas, question people and Pokémon (Pikachu translates for the latter), let your case notes collect the testimony and evidence, then answer Pikachu’s questions by choosing the right clues.

There is nothing to catch and nothing to battle. In their place come more than 150 voiced Pika Prompts, the odd quick-time action scene and an optional Easy Mode for younger detectives, all wrapped around a gentle mystery with a full voice cast: Tōru Ōkawa plays Pikachu in Japanese and Kaiji Tang in English. It also turned out to be the last Pokémon game released on the 3DS.

Its influence reached well beyond the handheld. Legendary’s live-action film POKÉMON Detective Pikachu (2019) was built on its premise, and the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 9 was finally followed up five and a half years later, when Detective Pikachu Returns arrived on Nintendo Switch in October 2023.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask most about Detective Pikachu on Nintendo 3DS, answered first and explained further down the page.

Is Detective Pikachu on Nintendo Switch?

No. The original Detective Pikachu only ever came out on the Nintendo 3DS family, and it has never been ported or remastered. The Switch game is its sequel, Detective Pikachu Returns, released on 6 October 2023. Returns picks up two years later with the same Tim and Pikachu, but it is a separate game rather than a re-release. More →

Can you still buy and play Detective Pikachu in 2026?

Yes, but only on 3DS hardware. New digital copies have been unavailable since Nintendo ended Nintendo 3DS eShop purchases on 27 March 2023, and the free demo went with them. Physical cartridges are still easy to find second-hand and play normally on any 3DS or 2DS, because the game has no online features. More →

What is the difference between Birth of a New Duo and Detective Pikachu?

Birth of a New Duo was the 2016 Japanese download episode. It held only the first three chapters and cost ¥1,500. The 2018 Detective Pikachu contains those chapters plus six new ones, completing the story with new locations, characters and Pokémon. Birth of a New Duo owners got ¥1,500 off the download of the full game. More →

What does the giant Detective Pikachu amiibo do?

Tapping the supersized Detective Pikachu amiibo unlocks every Pika Prompt from the chapters you have already cleared, including any you missed. Those are short voiced scenes of Pikachu’s jokes, musings and hints. You don’t need it, because every Pika Prompt can also be found through normal play. Older 3DS models need the separate NFC Reader/Writer to use it. More →

How long is Detective Pikachu and how many chapters does it have?

The game has nine chapters. Each one is a self-contained case that also moves the larger mystery of Harry Goodman’s disappearance forward. Chapters run from about 40 minutes to a couple of hours, and reviewers generally finished the story in 10 to 12 hours. Finding every Pika Prompt adds a little more. More →

Is Detective Pikachu hard?

No. Wrong answers carry no real penalty, so you can retry until you get it right, and missed quick-time prompts only change how a scene plays out. If you get stuck, Easy Mode has Pikachu hint at where to go and what to do next. Most critics found the game easy, which makes it well suited to younger players. More →

Is the game the same story as the Detective Pikachu film?

Only in part. The 2019 film keeps the premise of Tim, a talking Pikachu, Ryme City, the substance R and Mewtwo, and it reuses some names such as Roger Clifford. It tells its own story with a different villain and a different heroine, and it reveals what happened to Harry. The game leaves that question open. More →

Is there a sequel to Detective Pikachu?

Yes. Detective Pikachu Returns, again developed by Creatures, launched on Nintendo Switch on 6 October 2023. It continues straight on from the 3DS game’s open ending, with Tim and Pikachu still searching for Harry. In the Japanese version, Kōichi Yamadera takes over as Pikachu’s voice from Tōru Ōkawa. More →

Story

Two months before the game begins, detective Harry Goodman’s car crashes in Ryme City. Inspector Frank Holiday finds Harry’s Pikachu at the scene, but no sign of Harry himself. The Pikachu has lost his memory and his moves, and he now speaks with a human voice that only Harry’s son, Tim, can understand. Tim arrives in the city, helps the self-styled great detective win back a necklace snatched by an Aipom, and calls at the Baker Detective Agency, where he learns that his father had been looking into a spate of Pokémon going berserk.

A map of Harry’s leads sends the pair first to Litwick Cave, where an enraged Glalie has trapped two GNN staff, and then undercover into the Pokémon Comprehensive Laboratory (PCL). There a rampaging Trevenant leads them to a hidden basement lab in which employee Carlos Hernando has been producing R, a substance that makes Pokémon stronger but drives them wild. On Cappucci Island, PCL founder Dr Waals explains that R grew out of research into Mewtwo’s cells, and that Harry had come to him asking about it. At Fine Park the partners discover that a man with a Skorupi attacked Harry, and a Buneary hands Tim his father’s locket, which turns out to hide a camera.

The locket’s photos lead to a warehouse at Ryme Wharf, where Simon Yen is being forced to grow Mewtwo’s cells, and from there aboard the cruise ship S.S. Prime Treasure, where GNN’s Keith Norman is arrested while trying to auction R. On the night of the Pokémon Carnival, Tim and Pikachu disarm an R dispersal device in the clock tower and unmask GNN producer Roger Clifford, who wanted a citywide frenzy that only his network would be ready to cover. Roger takes Emilia Christie hostage and escapes on his Noivern, until Pikachu finds his Thunderbolt again and brings him down. Then Mewtwo appears, telling Tim that Harry is still alive – and the partners resolve to keep looking.

The Cases of Ryme City – and the Road to the Film

Detective Pikachu was planned as an episodic mystery, and it still plays like one. Each of its nine chapters is a self-contained case with its own suspects, testimony and solution, while one thread runs through all of them: Harry Goodman’s disappearance, and a substance called R that drives Pokémon berserk. That same story went on to become a live-action film – announced before the complete game was even finished, shot in London in the spring of 2018 and released in May 2019.

The nine chapters

Episodic beginningsThe game was conceived as a run of episodes. Japan’s Birth of a New Duo (2016) covered the first three chapters – Tahnti Park, Litwick Cave and the PCL – and ended with the mystery wide open. The complete 2018 edition kept those chapters and added six more, so Western players only ever saw the finished story.

The R threadFrom the Glalie in Litwick Cave onwards, chapter after chapter turns up Pokémon that have suddenly become violent. The cause is R, a product of research into Mewtwo’s cells, and its trail runs from a hidden lab at the PCL, through a warehouse at Ryme Wharf where Mewtwo’s cells are being grown and a black-market auction at sea, to a plot to spray it over the whole city.

An open endingChapter 9 wraps up the R conspiracy and gives Pikachu his Thunderbolt back, but the biggest question is left hanging. Mewtwo tells Tim that Harry is alive, and nothing more. Players waited five and a half years for the next instalment, until Detective Pikachu Returns resumed the search on Nintendo Switch in October 2023.

From 3DS to cinema

Legendary Entertainment’s live-action adaptation, POKÉMON Detective Pikachu, took the game’s premise to cinemas in 2019. It shares the game’s heart but tells a different story:

A film in the makingLegendary revealed the film in July 2016, a few months after Birth of a New Duo went on sale in Japan. Rob Letterman directed it, and filming took place in London from January to May 2018, the same spring the complete game reached the shops. Its title and logo were unveiled at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pokémon World Championships on 24 August 2018.

The developers’ viewIn interviews around the 2018 launch, members of the development team spoke of having once hoped for an animated adaptation and of contributing story ideas early in the film project, while making it clear that the film would go its own way. It opened in Japan on 3 May 2019 and in the US and UK on 10 May 2019.

What the film keptThe core survived the trip intact. The film still follows Tim Goodman, a talking, coffee-loving Pikachu in a deerstalker whom only Tim can understand, and the search for detective Harry Goodman in Ryme City, a place built for people and Pokémon to live together. R, Mewtwo and a scheme tied to the Clifford family’s media empire all carry over, and so does the name Roger Clifford.

What the film changedOn screen, Roger Clifford (Chris Geere) is no longer the villain: that role passes to his father, Howard (Bill Nighy). Tim’s partner is the junior reporter Lucy Stevens rather than Emilia, and Ms. Norman turns out to be a Ditto in disguise. Ryan Reynolds voices Pikachu and also plays Harry, because the film settles the question of Harry’s fate that the game leaves open.

Tie-insThe film, rather than the game, inspired the Pokémon Trading Card Game’s Detective Pikachu special set: 18 cards in English from 29 March 2019, and a 25-card Movie Special Pack in Japan from 26 April 2019.

Game and film side by side

Gameplay

Detective Pikachu swaps the series’ battles for questioning, note-taking and deduction. Each case follows the same rhythm: explore, gather testimony and evidence, then help Pikachu piece it all together.

• 9chapters, each its own case
• 150+voiced Pika Prompts
• 10–12hours to finish the story
• 8languages for the on-screen text

Investigation and explorationEach chapter is divided into small, self-contained areas – a park, a cave, a laboratory, a television studio, a cruise ship – that Tim can walk around freely. Walk up to a person or Pokémon to talk to them, and examine the scenery to turn up physical evidence. It plays far more like a point-and-click adventure than an RPG: there are no battles, no shops and no Pokémon to catch, and a case moves on by talking to everyone, going back to witnesses once you have learnt something new and combing each scene thoroughly.

Talking to PokémonPikachu is the key to every investigation, because he understands what other Pokémon say and can pass their testimony on to Tim. In Ryme City the Pokémon are often the only witnesses, which gives the cases a flavour of their own: a Pokémon might remember a smell, a sound or a stranger that no human noticed. Some lend a hand at key moments too, such as the Drifblim that carries everyone out of Litwick Cave, or the Spinarak and Pansage that help Tim and Pikachu into the Ryme Wharf warehouse.

Case notesEverything you learn is filed automatically on the bottom screen, in a Case List and a set of Case Notes. Witness statements, observations and evidence are all kept there, so you can reread exactly what someone said without tracking them down again, and Pikachu keeps a list of the questions the case still needs answering. With the record always to hand, the game rewards careful reading more than a good memory, and when you are stuck the notes are the first place to look for the clue you missed.

DeductionsOnce enough has been gathered, Pikachu pulls the case together and asks the questions that matter, from who was at a scene to what a clue really means. You answer by picking the testimony or evidence that supports each conclusion, often several in a row, building a chain of reasoning towards the culprit. Critics compared it with Ace Attorney and Professor Layton, but it is far gentler than either: a wrong choice simply lets you try again, with no penalty and no game over.

Action scenesSeveral chapters break up the detective work with short quick-time sequences. A button prompt appears mid-cutscene and you press A at the right moment to carry the scene on, or tap it repeatedly to wrestle with an object. They tend to arrive at a case’s most dramatic moments, and missing a prompt costs little more than a slightly different version of the scene, so they add tension rather than difficulty.

Pika PromptsPress X, or the Pikachu button on the touch screen, and Pikachu pipes up. These short voiced scenes are called Pika Prompts. A handful are needed for the story, but most are optional: running gags, musings about coffee, detective tips and nudges about what to do next. Some only trigger in particular places or at certain points in a chapter, and a chime and a hop from Pikachu on the top screen tell you when a new one is waiting. There are more than 150 in all, and every one you have seen is saved to the View Pika Prompts gallery on the title screen.

Easy ModeAn optional Easy Mode, called Tedasuke Mode (helping-hand mode) in Japan, is there for newcomers to detective games and younger players. With it switched on, Pikachu is quicker to drop hints about where to go and what to examine, which helps most during deductions. The game is forgiving even without it, so Easy Mode mainly saves you from wandering about when one missed conversation is holding up the case.

Chapters and lengthAlongside each chapter’s main case sit smaller side mysteries: a stolen necklace, a swapped violin, a luggage mix-up on a cruise ship, a Pokémon behaving oddly. Chapters last anywhere from about 40 minutes to a couple of hours, a full playthrough takes roughly 10 to 12 hours, and finished chapters can be replayed to hunt down any Pika Prompts you missed.

Presentation and voiceThe story is told through a huge number of fully animated, fully voiced cutscenes. Ryme City’s people and Pokémon are drawn in a soft, anime-like 3D style, and Pikachu’s facial expressions do much of the comic heavy lifting. The game was recorded with both English and Japanese voice casts, and its text is available in eight languages: Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese.

The giant amiibo

Detective Pikachu amiiboThe game launched alongside its own Detective Pikachu amiibo, a supersized figure about twice the height of a standard one, standing on a base printed with part of the Ryme City map. Scan it once and it unlocks every Pika Prompt from every chapter you have finished, so there is no need to replay chapters to find the ones you missed. It only reads data and is entirely optional. On New Nintendo 3DS, New 3DS XL and New 2DS XL it is tapped on the touch screen; older systems need the Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer.

Characters

Ryme City’s cast is a mix of reporters, detectives, scientists and café owners, nearly all of them with a Pokémon partner at their side. The main players:

Tim Goodman

An 18-year-old who has just passed the entrance exam for Ryme University, Tim travels to Ryme City from his distant home town to find his father, missing for two months. For reasons nobody can explain, he is the only person who can hear Pikachu talk. Back home he lives with his mother, Irene, and his younger sister, Sophia. Voiced by Khoi Dao in English and Yūma Uchida in Japanese.

Detective Pikachu

Harry’s partner woke up after the crash with no memory, no electric moves and the manner of a gruff, middle-aged man. He is proud of his detective skills – not just a detective, he insists, but a great one – adores coffee and sweets, goes weak at the knees for attractive women and teases Tim without mercy. Inspiration arrives with the cry of ‘A bolt of brilliance!’ Voiced by Tōru Ōkawa in Japanese and Kaiji Tang in English.

Harry Goodman

A detective who was looking into a run of Pokémon rampages in Ryme City when his car crashed two months before the game begins. Nobody has seen him since. The trail he left – a map of investigation sites and a locket that is secretly a camera – guides Tim and Pikachu through the whole story, and in the final chapter Mewtwo reveals that he is still alive.

Emilia Christie

An energetic newcomer at the GNN television network who works hand in hand with Meiko Okamoto, from planning stories to filming them. She crosses Tim’s path in almost every chapter, from the Aipom chase to the cruise ship auction, and Pikachu never stops teasing him about her. In the finale she is taken hostage by her own boss. Voiced by Kira Buckland in English and Risa Shimizu in Japanese.

Mike Baker

The head of the Baker Detective Agency, who works with his partner Accelgor. He was close to Harry and brings Tim up to speed on the Pokémon incidents his father had been investigating. Voiced by David Lodge in English.

Amanda Blackstone

Mike’s colleague at the Baker Detective Agency, partnered with a Fletchling. She welcomes Tim on his first visit, knew his father well, and remains a friendly point of contact at the agency as the case grows.

Frank Holiday

The Ryme City Police Department inspector who found Harry’s Pikachu at the scene of the crash, with no trace of Harry. He keeps a watchful eye on Tim’s amateur sleuthing, and in Chapter 8 he steps in aboard the S.S. Prime Treasure to arrest Keith Norman at the black-market auction.

Pablo Millan

The owner of the Hi-Hat Café, south of Tahnti Park, which he runs with his Ludicolo. Harry was a regular, Pablo’s coffee is Pikachu’s favourite, and from the end of Chapter 2 the café becomes the pair’s base between cases.

Also in Ryme City

• Meiko Okamoto – Emilia’s camerawoman and filming partner, first met when the two of them are trapped in Litwick Cave. At the PCL her footage proves that Tim did nothing to provoke the rampaging Trevenant, clearing his name so the investigation can continue.
• Dr Waals – The founder of the PCL, under suspicion on Cappucci Island, who reveals that R grew out of research into Mewtwo’s cells and that Harry had come to him with questions.
• Simon Yen – The man being forced to grow Mewtwo’s cells in the Ryme Wharf warehouse.
• Carina Mitchell – The violinist whose instrument is swapped for a fake in one of the GNN side cases.

Voice cast

Culprits & troublemakers

Most chapters end with someone – or something – being unmasked. The man behind it all gets his own card; the rest are listed in the order you meet them:

Mastermind: Roger Clifford

GNN producer · Central Square clock tower · Chapter 9

A smooth GNN producer who invites Tim to the network’s studios, Roger is secretly behind the plan to spray R over the Pokémon Carnival, so that GNN could broadcast the chaos exclusively and dominate Ryme City’s news.

Partner: Noivern (Flying/Dragon)

He gives himself away by knowing that Pikachu has no powers, then flees on Noivern with Emilia as his hostage until Pikachu’s Thunderbolt stops him. Voiced by Xander Mobus in English and Hiroki Tōchi in Japanese; Chris Geere plays a reworked version of him in the 2019 film.

Pokémon

More than 100 species turn up in Ryme City, from Kanto favourites to Alola newcomers such as Mimikyu, which joined for the complete 2018 release because Generation VII did not yet exist when Birth of a New Duo came out. None of them is caught or battled. They are residents who live, work and help out alongside their human partners – Mike Baker’s Accelgor, Pablo Millan’s Ludicolo, the Yanma that film for GNN – and many are witnesses for Pikachu to interview. A few are culprits, several are victims of R, and only one of them, Pikachu, can talk to Tim.

Pokémon at the heart of the story

• Pikachu#025
• Mewtwo#150
• Aipom#190
• Glalie#362
• Drifblim#426
• Trevenant#709
• Masquerain#284
• Crawdaunt#342
• Skorupi#451
• Buneary#427
• Noivern#715
• Mimikyu#778

• Pikachu – The talking, coffee-loving great detective, without his electric moves until the very end.
• Mewtwo – R is made from research into its cells, and it appears in the finale to tell Tim that Harry is alive.
• Aipom – The necklace thief whose chase opens Chapter 1 in Tahnti Park.
• Glalie – Goes berserk in Litwick Cave and brings down the entrance.
• Drifblim – Carries Tim, Emilia and Meiko to safety out of Litwick Cave.
• Trevenant – Its rampage at the PCL exposes the secret R laboratory.
• Masquerain – Creates the fog over Lake Cappucci to defend its home from invaders.
• Crawdaunt – The invasive Pokémon at the heart of the Cappucci Island case.
• Skorupi – Linked to the attack on Harry on the night of his crash.
• Buneary – Hands Tim his father’s locket, which turns out to be a hidden camera.
• Noivern – Roger Clifford’s partner, used for getaways in Chapters 6 and 9.
• Mimikyu – One of the Generation VII Pokémon added for the complete 2018 release.

Partners, witnesses and helpers

• AccelgorMike Baker’s partner
• LudicoloPablo Millan’s partner
• FletchlingAmanda Blackstone’s partner
• YanmaGNN’s camera crew
• SpinarakChapter 7 helper
• PansageChapter 7 helper
• PuruglyChapter 6 troublemaker
• CharizardFine Park rampage

Release History

Detective Pikachu reached players in stages, starting with a single Japanese download episode two years before the full game:

Date	What happened
3 February 2016	Detective Pikachu – Birth of a New Duo, holding Chapters 1–3, arrives on the Japanese Nintendo eShop for ¥1,500 (¥1,200 during its launch month).
12 January 2018	The complete game and the giant amiibo are announced worldwide, and Birth of a New Duo is withdrawn from the Japanese eShop.
9 March 2018	A free Special Demo Version, covering the first half of Chapter 1, comes out in Japan; progress carries over to the full game.
23 March 2018	The complete nine-chapter Detective Pikachu and the Detective Pikachu amiibo launch in Japan, North America, Europe, Hong Kong and Taiwan; Australia follows on 24 March.
5 April 2018	The Special Demo Version reaches North America, Europe and Australia.
22 April 2018	The ¥1,500 discount on the full download for Birth of a New Duo owners ends in Japan.
27 March 2023	Nintendo 3DS eShop purchases end, taking the digital version and the demo off sale.

The complete game cost ¥4,980 plus tax in Japan and US$39.99 in North America, with the amiibo sold separately for US$29.99. Birth of a New Duo owners in Japan could take ¥1,500 off the full download, and the demo’s save data carried straight over into the finished game.

Regional Variations

Japan’s two-year head start was the biggest difference between regions, but not the only one:

• Japan got the first three chapters early, as the download-only Birth of a New Duo (2016). Every other region only ever received the complete nine-chapter game.
• The full game launched on 23 March 2018 in Japan, North America, Europe, Hong Kong and Taiwan, but a day later, on 24 March, in Australia.
• Japan’s free demo arrived on 9 March 2018, two weeks ahead of the game, whereas the West had to wait until 5 April 2018, when the full game was already in the shops.
• One of Pikachu’s gags quotes the Pokémon anime’s theme song: the English script uses the lyrics of the English theme, while the Japanese version refers to the Japanese one.
• The optional Easy Mode is called Tedasuke Mode (helping-hand mode) in Japanese.
• The prequel story Detective Pikachu: Episode 0 – Eevee’s Case was a physical pre-order bonus in Japan, but a free, time-limited eBook on Apple Books and Amazon Kindle in the West.

Videos & media

Trailers for Detective Pikachu from the official Pokémon and Nintendo channels, in English and Japanese.

The Japanese trailer for the complete game, released with the January 2018 announcement and showing off the giant amiibo.

The English announcement trailer from 12 January 2018, the first chance to hear Pikachu’s English voice.

Nintendo of America’s story trailer from February 2018.

A longer Japanese introduction from March 2018, mixing story scenes with investigation gameplay.

Trivia & facts

• Detective Pikachu was glimpsed more than two years before it was announced, in a 2013 NHK documentary about Tsunekazu Ishihara, and a Japanese trademark for the name was filed that same October.

• 

  The Japanese title, Meitantei Pikachū, means ‘Great Detective Pikachu’ – exactly how Pikachu likes to describe himself.

• It was the last Pokémon game released for the Nintendo 3DS family.
• The Baker Detective Agency is named in a nod to 221B Baker Street, the home of Sherlock Holmes.
• The giant Detective Pikachu amiibo stands about 13.5 cm (5.3 in) tall, roughly twice the height of a standard amiibo, and its base shows part of the Ryme City map – complete with a coffee cup marking the café.
• Pikachu’s trademark deerstalker was a gift from his partner, Harry.
• Although it is a 3DS exclusive, the game doesn’t use the system’s stereoscopic 3D effect at all.
• When the complete version was announced in Japan, it was promoted as having more cinematic scenes than any Pokémon game before it.
• After the 2016 reveal, fans petitioned for Danny DeVito to voice Pikachu in English. The part went to Kaiji Tang, Ryan Reynolds took it on for the film, and in Japan Tōru Ōkawa handed the role to Kōichi Yamadera for Detective Pikachu Returns.

• 

  Beyond the game itself, Detective Pikachu got his own Nintendo 3DS HOME Menu theme, and he later turned up as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

• Detective Pikachu Returns tips its hat to the film: Tim’s mother mentions that a movie has been made about the R case.

Legacy

What came after

• Live-action film announced – July 2016. Legendary Entertainment revealed its adaptation a few months after Birth of a New Duo
• Film title revealed – 24 August 2018. The title and logo of POKÉMON Detective Pikachu were unveiled at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pokémon World Championships
• Pokémon TCG: Detective Pikachu – 29 March 2019. An 18-card special set inspired by the film; Japan’s 25-card Movie Special Pack followed on 26 April 2019
• POKÉMON Detective Pikachu in cinemas – 10 May 2019. The US and UK release, a week after Japan (3 May 2019)
• Detective Pikachu Returns – 6 October 2023. Creatures’ Nintendo Switch sequel picks up the search for Harry two years on

Where to play it today

As of October 2026, Detective Pikachu can only be played on Nintendo 3DS or 2DS hardware. Nintendo 3DS eShop purchases ended on 27 March 2023, taking the download and the free demo with them, and Birth of a New Duo had already been withdrawn in January 2018. Game cards are still easy to find second-hand, and because the game has no online features they play in full on any system in the family. There is no Switch version; the nearest thing on current hardware is the sequel, Detective Pikachu Returns.

How it was made

Detective Pikachu was made by Creatures Inc., The Pokémon Company affiliate behind the PokéPark games. The team wanted to try an adventure game, a genre the series had never attempted, and found its hook in the image of a talking, world-weary Pikachu.

The project was glimpsed in public years before release. An episode of NHK’s documentary series Professional: Shigoto no Ryūgi profiling Tsunekazu Ishihara, president of The Pokémon Company, showed it in development when it aired on 28 October 2013, and a Japanese trademark for the name had been filed on 11 October that year. The official announcement came on 26 January 2016, just a week before Birth of a New Duo went on sale.

Naoki Miyashita directed the game, Hiroyuki Jinnai produced it and led the scenario direction, and Takuto Kitsuta wrote the music. Ishihara and Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi were executive producers, and Junichi Masuda was among the game-design advisers. When the complete game was announced for a worldwide release on 12 January 2018, its English voice recording was produced by Toshifumi Yoshida and Eric P. Sherman.

Detective Pikachu beyond the 3DS

Sales & reviews

Sales figures

Detective Pikachu sold 42,013 retail copies in its first week in Japan (Media Create, week to 25 March 2018), entering the chart at No. 4. Media Create’s retail count reached 98,622 by the end of 2018 and 103,252 by January 2021, while Famitsu’s figures, which also take in download sales, put the Japanese total at 121,423. In North America it was the best-selling 3DS game of March 2018 on the NPD charts, and it returned to the 3DS top ten in June and July. In the UK it entered the all-format chart at No. 23, then climbed to No. 15 the following week as sales rose by 76%. Neither Nintendo nor The Pokémon Company has published a worldwide total, and Birth of a New Duo’s download sales were never released separately.

• 42,013Japan, launch week (Media Create)
• 103,252Japan, retail by January 2021
• No. 13DS game in the US, March 2018 (NPD)
• 71on Metacritic (61 critics)

Review scores

Reviewers didn’t always agree about the mysteries, but almost all of them fell for the detective. GameSpot’s Kallie Plagge (7/10) wrote that “Detective Pikachu–the character and the game–is full of personality”, Nintendo Life’s Ryan Craddock (8/10) called it “a very solid package that will have kids and adults alike hooked”, and Nintendo World Report’s Bryan Rose (7.5/10) summed it up as “A good game to have a cup of coffee with.” The scores, highest first:

Critics were won over by the star more than by the sleuthing. Nearly every review singled out Pikachu himself – his gruff voice, his coffee habit, his wonderfully expressive animation – as the reason to play, and many enjoyed how cleverly the Pokémon world had been reimagined as a city where people and Pokémon live and work together. Nintendo Life and IGN were the warmest, praising the art direction, the storytelling and the cast. The complaints were about challenge and variety: every case follows the same pattern of questioning witnesses and picking evidence, wrong answers carry no penalty and few twists surprise. Several outlets found it too easy for older players, and some felt the ending arrived abruptly. Comparisons with Ace Attorney and Professor Layton were frequent, usually to say that Detective Pikachu was a lighter, gentler take on the genre, and the result was a ‘mixed or average’ Metacritic score of 71.

Awards and honours:

Media & artwork

• Box art from Detective Pikachu, including the Japanese cover

Further reading

More from Ryme City, Creatures and the Nintendo 3DS on the site: