To say that human impact did not conquer the world would be lying, in the same way as asserting that it did not maintain A good part of the ideas and Zelda Breath of the Wild. The Chinese studio gives the cover with Honkai Nexus Anima and this time, it is in the Pokémon universe that the developers will cheerfully draw their inspirations.
The first trailer for gameplay leaves no doubt about the studio’s intentions. We discover an open colorful world where the player embodies a trainer that captures and collects creatures called ” Anima ». The parallel with the Nintendo franchise, in particular with Scarlet and purple versions is particularly blatant from the first seconds of the gameplay video.
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The similarities do not stop there. As in Game Freak games, each anima has a specific type that influences its capacities in combat. Hoyoverse, however, tried to bring his personal touch by replacing the classic elementary types with concepts like “War” (war), “Hate” (hatred) or “Love” (love). An original approach that does not mask obvious inspiration.
A particularly unwelcome timing
The announcement of Honkai Nexus Anima fell to the worst time possible for Hoyoverse. Since September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have been pursuing PocketPair, the creators of Palworld, for patent violation. The Japanese giant accuses the independent studio of having copied several game mechanics, including the creature capture system and mount mechanics.
During the release of Genshin Impact in 2020, similarities with The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild had caused a lot of ink. The players and the specialized press did not hesitate to qualify the game as “clone” of exclusivity Nintendo Switch. However, Nintendo had never followed up on the legal level, just letting it go.
The situation seems to have changed. Nintendo is watching the fangs today against Palworld and may well be very interested in the new Hoyoverse project. Especially since the first images of Honkai clearly show mount mechanics with flying creatures, exactly what Nintendo criticizes Palworld.
What can happen here?
Hoyoversus probably bets on its considerable size and financial resources to dissuade Nintendo from attacking him. With annual income exceeding $ 4 billion, Hoyoverse is not PocketPair and has the means to lead an prolonged legal battle.
The first phase of closed beta, scheduled by September 12, will be particularly scrutinized. It will make it possible to see concretely how Hoyoverse has pushed Pokémon inspiration and if the studio has taken precautions to avoid legal pitfalls.
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