Pokemon GO Went All 8-Bit to Celebrate April Fool’s

To get in on the fun and shenanigans that are now a routine and expected part of April Fool’s every year, Niantic, the folks behind the extremely successful hit mobile game Pokemon GO, decided to pay homage to the popular franchise’s roots. Some of the classic Pokemon in the game began to appear in an 8-bit aesthetic reminiscent of their Gameboy ro

“Experience Pokémon GO like never before with cutting-edge 8-BIT GRAPHICS! Registering approximately twice the definition of 4K, the chunky squares of each pixel provide realistic detail and unbelievable definition,” Niantic said in a statement about the new graphical gag. “Your Pokédex will feel lifelike in ways previously unimagined on any handheld device ever created.”

I honestly feel like this was a pretty cool idea, and that Niantic should maybe look into offering it as an option on a more permanent basis—since for now, these 8-bit sprites were a limited time event only, and the game has reverted to how it looks normally as of today.

I’m pretty sure every Pokemon fan will appreciate seeing a chunky, pixelated Pikachu against the backdrop of an Augmented-Reality powered real world setting, that’s for sure.