I am nothing if not an absolute sucker for good 1990s nostalgia, and the two new Pokémon games have that in droves. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! just released for the Nintendo Switch, just in time for the holidays. And fortunately, the nostalgia factor isn’t the only good thing these two titles have going for them.

These are the first major Pokémon titles on the Nintendo Switch, and they’re taking the series back to its roots. It’s been 22 years since the first games in this franchise arrived in Japan for the Game Boy, and they allowed players to catch 150 Pokémon creatures that were native to the game’s region of Kanto. Let’s Go returns to Kanto – this time in glorious high-definition – and provides a fresh look at Kanto and its native fauna. Pokémon from later generations of games do not appear (though Alolan forms of Kanto Pokémon are available via in-game trades), making this a real throwback to the originals.

Worldwide, Let’s Go has been promoted as a remake of Pokémon Yellow, and it’s definitely the closest to that title in a lot of ways. Your partner is either Pikachu or Eevee, depending on what version of the game you pick up, and the new games lean into information from the anime much like how Yellow did back in the day. Jessie and James, along with Meowth, will show up several times for battle, and Brock tells you he wants to become a Pokémon breeder, among other anime-related tidbits and cameos. However, rather than having just Pikachu follow you around, you can pick any Pokémon you capture and have them follow behind you, which is very cute. Meanwhile, Pikachu or Eevee will ride on your actual person, on their shoulder or head, which is also honestly adorable. And because this is a game where all of the Pokémon seen on-screen are actually to scale, you can actually ride on top of many of the larger Pokémon available – you can cruise on the back of a Lapras, gallop across fields on the back of a Rapidash, or even fly on the back of a Charizard. It’s very charming, and it makes this version of Kanto feel more real than it’s ever been before.

In terms of gameplay, it overall feels like a sort of watered-down version of any other mainline Pokémon series title. The goal, much like in Red, Blue or Yellow, is to travel across the land of Kanto, defeat all eight Gym Leaders, make your way to the Indigo Plateau, take down the Elite Four and be claimed the new Pokémon Champion. You’ll also have run-ins with the mafia-esque Team Rocket throughout the story, and will have to defeat them as well. Battles function in largely the same way they always have.

It’s the catching aspect that’s been totally changed from classic Pokémon games. Rather than experiencing wild Pokémon battles randomly in areas of tall grass or in caves, you’ll actually see the creatures in the overworld and can choose to pursue them as you’d like. The biggest change here, though, is that you no longer battle wild Pokémon to weaken them before you catch them. Catching instead functions more like it does in the Pokémon Go mobile title, where you can make a creature more susceptible to being captured by giving it a berry or by using a better Pokeball – but there’s no battle to weaken them first.

I enjoy Pokémon Go a lot, but I’m not sure how much I like this function here. I do understand that the Let’s Go games are specifically designed to appeal to players of the mobile game who maybe haven’t played a classic mainline Pokémon title before (or maybe haven’t done so since the original games released two decades ago), so I can sort of forgive it. It’s not terrible by any means but it’s not my favorite aspect about these games.

Pokémon: Let’s Go sort of feels like coming home. I know that the games I played as an eight-year-old experiencing this series when it was brand new didn’t look very good, especially by today’s standards, but I think the way that Kanto looks on my Switch is pretty close to how I envisioned it looking in my head as a child. It’s just really charming. Having my favorite Pokémon run alongside me in this world, with Pikachu on my shoulder – it makes this world feel more alive and real than it ever has before.

There hasn’t been much in terms of surprises for me, as a long-term fan, but I’m looking forward to continuing this adventure and seeing it through to the end. It gives me hope that the next true “core” entry that’s apparently in the works for 2019 will look just as good as this, if not better.

If you’re looking for a core Pokémon RPG that you can use to build up a serious competitive team, this probably isn’t for you. But for just about everyone else who has either enjoyed the mobile game over the last couple of years, or maybe just enjoys the franchise at large and is looking for a fun trip down memory lane – I can’t recommend Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokémon: Let’s Go Eevee enough. I was just eight when I first got into these games, and I still haven’t stopped trying to catch ‘em all. Neither should you.

-Carrie Wood