Game Freak trademarks Little Town Hero

Studio’s turn-based RPG was due this year

Little Town Hero could be the new name for Game Freak’s upcoming RPG Town (working title), according to a Japanese trademark listing.

Japanese Nintendo reports that the Pokémon developer made the trademark application this summer.

Announced for Nintendo Switch earlier this year, the turn-based RPG takes place in a town overrun by monsters.

Town is the latest result of Game Freak’s Gear Project initiative, which encourages creators to pitch original game ideas during quiet periods.

So far Gear Project has resulted in HarmoKnight, Pocket Card Jockey, Tembo the Badass Elephant and Giga Wrecker, all of which released after 2012.

Programmer and director Masayuki Onoue told VGC this year that by taking breaks from the flagship Pokémon series, Game Freak’s creators can return to the franchise “refreshed” and improve the series with experience gained.

“There are two different production teams here, simply named Production Team 1 and Production Team 2,” Onoue explained. “Team 1 is fully dedicated to Gear Project, while Team 2 is for the Pokémon operation.

“What that means is that Game Freak as a company is prioritising Gear Project, which is production team number one, more than Pokémon in general. We are always trying to create something that is equally exciting, or more exciting than Pokémon.”