Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver are widely considered to be one of the greatest entries in the long-running franchise, but did you know that the games’ male protagonist was actually altered to look more like a ninja for the DS remakes?
That’s according to a magazine translation discovered as part of DidYouKnowGaming‘s comprehensive dive into HeartGold and SoulSilver, with Art Director Takao Unno stating that, yes, he actually is a ninja. Who knew..? When asked about the design of the male protagonist – commonly known as ‘Ethan’ – Unno stated “We wanted to make him more Japanese – or rather, make him look more like a ninja.”
When asked directly if Ethan really is a ninja, Unno said “He sure is, he has the tapered pants and the tight clothes”. Now, he could well be joking, but he also might not be. Hmm…
So there you have it. HeartGold and SoulSilver’s male protagonist is apparently a ninja. The video also goes on to say that the exclusion of the original female protagonist from Gold and Silver in the remakes was largely accidental since Unno had started designing a new character without consulting Ken Sugimori’s original artwork. Thus, the new character ‘Lyra’ was introduced in place of ‘Kris’.
