Summary
Detective Pikachu Returnshas plenty of side content for fans to enjoy during its many cases. While solving cases such as where a missing jewel has gone and who framed Pikachu for destroying public property, there are a few citizens of Ryme City who need help. Helping out people andPokemon of all different typesis incredibly easy inDetective Pikachu Returnsas it has “local jobs” that are handled in two or three steps. The number of help requests Tim and Pikachu can take on only grows with the size of each case, as well.
Unfortunately forDetective Pikachu Returnsfans, that’s really all these local jobs are. They serve as extra things to do in specific areas to help other NPCs than just the people involved with the mystery of the day. They’re all a matter of simply finding specific items around the map with hardly any variation of twists to them. Worst of all, there are no proper rewards for completing them, not even if fans answer all the local jobs associated with a case. IfDetective Pikachu Returnsreally does find that the third time is the charm, then it’s definitely something it needs to do better next time.
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What’s Wrong With Detective Pikachu Returns' Local Jobs
The local jobs inDetective Pikachu Returnsare simple from start to finish. While searching around the town for clues or items needed to progress, players will likely encounter a citizen or Pokemon with a blue bubble over their heads. Talking to them will lead Tim and Detective Pikachu to ask about what’s bothering the person in question, starting the local job. These quests can be completed just as easily as they’re obtained, either by backtracking or just looking around the area players are already meant to be investigating, similar to othergames like theAce Attorneyseries.
While some of them vary between having one step or several, they won’t take much time to complete and typically end in a sweet or humorous manner. However, the story is all players will get, even if they complete all the local jobs associated with a chapter of the game. There are really no rewards for completing one of them, much less all of them. This might be to avoid stressing players out when they accidentally avoid one or two of the side missions, but asDetective Pikachu Returnsis a video game and not a movie, some rewards should be expected due to its medium.
Detective Pikachu Returns Should Offer More Bang for Players' Buck
In terms ofDetective Pikachu Returns' story, the reward for finishing up the main cases is to continue being able to see what’s next. For the local jobs, the best players get is that the people they help end up being mentioned in a newspaper the next day. While it’s great for givingmore lore about the Pokemon world’s everyday, it only emphasizes just how optional these jobs are and almost seems like a waste of fans' time in the long run. There are plenty of rewards thatDetective Pikachu Returns' local jobs could have offered to make the gameplay more interesting.
For example, as the game clearly aims to target a generally younger audience than the mainlinePokemongames are known for bringing in, just offering a bit of customization could go a long way. Citizens could offer special items so fans could customize their detective journals, or Pokemon couldhelp give Detective Pikachusome fitting accessories such as a cape or new hats. No matter what options Creatures Inc potentially chooses for a thirdDetective Pikachugame, if there is one, there should certainly be more to the game than what’s shown inDetective Pikachu Returns.
