Pokémon & Other Video Game Franchises With Their Own Theme Parks

The Pokémon Company announced Pokémon Wonder, a theme park settled in a forest, but there are many other theme parks for video games as well.

You Are Reading :Pokémon & Other Video Game Franchises With Their Own Theme Parks

With many fans worldwide who could probably recognize Pikachu instantly, the Pokémon franchise is a natural contender for an amusement park. And, recently, The Pokémon Company announced Pokémon Wonder – an amusement theme park settled in nature. Pokémon is now one of an elite few video game franchises with its own theme parks currently operating in 2021.

For now, Pokémon Wonder and most other video game theme parks are outside the United States, although many may appear Stateside in the future. Unfortunately, a lot of impressive indoor amusement parks were shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Many of these seized VR as a central strategy, including Mazaria, a VR complex in Ikebukuro owned by Bandi Namco, which had attractions based on game franchises like Mario Kart, Dragon Quest, Taiko no Tatsujin, and Pac-Man. Another was Dubai’s Hub Zero, which included rides based on Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil.

While theme parks set around video games aren’t entirely new, it is a growing trend that may increase exponentially in the next few years, given that companies like Nintendo already have plans to bring their theme parks into multiple countries. For those able to seek larger attractions once international travel becomes possible, here are the amusement parks around the world dedicated to video game franchises. This list does not include one-off rides based on video games, such as the Plants Vs. Zombies attraction at Carowinds and Mass Effect: New Earth at California’s Great America.

Video Game Theme Park – Pokémon Wonder

Pokémon Wonder is the closest to VR in New Pokémon Snap fans could hope for – a massive mix between amusement park and national park. Pokémon Wonder allows guests to follow trails in a beautiful forest in search of equally beautiful hand-crafted Pokémon statues. These statues will blend in with the forest’s surroundings and not necessarily be easy to find. Luckily, the park supplies visitors with a guide. This isn’t Pokémon’s first limited-time amusement park. As reported by Inside The Magic, PokéPark popped up in Nagoya in 2005 and only from March to September. PokéPark was much a more conventional amusement park than Pokémon Wonder, replete with a log flume shaped like Mudkip and a roller coaster with cars shaped like Rayquaza.

Video Game Theme Park – Super Nintendo World

After pandemic-related delays, the first Super Nintendo World opened in Osaka in March 2021. The park includes two rides so far: Yoshi’s Adventure and Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge. The environment itself is hyper-interactive, allowing players to “punch” mystery blocks, collect coins, and more. There are even cafés run by Toads. Super Nintendo World exists as a distinct area inside Universal Studios theme parks, and as such, there will eventually be an additional Super Nintendo Worlds at Universal Studios Hollywood and at a brand new park, Universal’s Epic Universe, in Orlando.

Video Game Theme Park – Dragon Quest Island

Dragon Quest Island is a brand-new experience within Nijigen no Mori, also known as Awaji Island Anime Park. Its opening coincided with Dragon Quest’s 35th Anniversary celebration in 2021. As its name suggests, Awaji Island Anime Park is a destination for anime fans, with attractions related to Naruto and Godzilla. So, it makes sense that a long-running and popular series like Dragon Quest would become an addition to this park.

Dragon Quest Island mixes physical locations with action sequences displayed on screens. Visitors will go on quests where they can head inside a shrine to combat a dragon. After each quest, players can go back to “town” and power up their equipment, making the attraction feel truly like an immersive, real-life Dragon Quest game.

Video Game Theme Park – World Joyland

World Joyland is a theme park in Changzhou, China, which opened in 2011. The park is split into two main sections: The Terrain of Magic, which is inspired by Warcraft, and the Universe of Starships, which is inspired by Starcraft. However, there’s a huge catch: it’s completely unlicensed and not endorsed by Activision Blizzard. The park reconstructs skylines, castles, and giant character statues from both series with only the slightest amount of alteration. The park is, of course, sprinkled with rides, the most famous of which is a flying roller coasted called the Sky Scrapper. Atlus Obscura calls World Joyland “the largest bootleg in history,” while also singing the park’s praises as an immersive, loving tribute to its subjects that should delight fans of World of Warcraft and Starcraft alike.

Video Game Theme Park – Joypolis

SEGA opened its first Joyopolis in Yokohama, Japan, in 1994. Joyopolis was meant to be a chain of indoor amusement parks, but of the eleven locations which have opened in the franchise’s history, only three remain: Tokyo, Shanghai, and Qingdao. However, SEGA is presently looking to open theme parks in the UK, Europe, and the US. The parks heavily feature SEGA’s flagship icon, Sonic the Hedgehog, through attractions like a carnival and bumper cars. The Tokyo location also features an attraction based on Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney, as well as pop culture mainstays like Attack on Titan and Transformers.

Video Game Theme Park – Angry Birds Land & Angry Birds World

Angry Birds celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019. For years, it seemed unstoppable – so two theme parks in Europe opened up sub-areas dedicated to Angry Birds, both of which are called Angry Birds Land, and both of which opened in 2012. One Angry Birds Land is in England’s Thorpe Park and boasts a 4D experience and bumper cars. The other Angry Birds Land has a large adventure course and is at Särkänniemi, an amusement park in the developer’s native Finland. These arguably pale in comparison to Angry Birds World, a massive indoor-outdoor park which opened in Qatar in 2018. Angry Birds World draws on the games as well as the films, with attractions such as the Angry Coaster, Dahlia’s Science Lab, Raft Battle, and, of course, a very large slingshot.

Given how many of these theme parks have opened in the last year, it’s exciting to think what lies ahead in the world of large-scale video game experiences as other franchises are expected to bring their theme parks to wider, international audiences. Pokémon Wonder will be open in the Tokyo area from July 17, 2021 until April 3, 2022.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/pokemon-wonder-video-game-theme-park-nintendo-where/