10 Video Game Character Redesigns The Fans Actually Liked

10. Pikachu

It was tempting to pick one of Sun & Moon’s Alola forms here, with Alolan Marowak, Raichu and Exeggutor in particular getting praise from the community.

However, they’re different forms as opposed to redesigns; letting them in then opens the door for whether or not Mega Charizard could qualify, and it just seems more hassle than it’s worth.

So, drawing a line under it, new Pokémon forms don’t count. While we’re at it, neither do bad sprites like Mew’s initial horrifically ugly design, as these were bad graphics, not design. Pikachu though, as his anime popularity soared, received a fully fledged makeover.

More accurately, Pikachu got personal trainer. Its sprite in Red and Blue is, to put it mildly, chunky. Not only that, it’s tail was wire thin and there was just something... off about it.

At one point, Clefable was the chief pick to be franchise mascot; with a Pikachu like this, you can see why.

Ash’s Pikachu though had a slimmer frame that curved with the shape of its limbs, rather than just being a big electric ball. This Pikachu was the one used in Pokémon Yellow and every game since, and Pokémon hasn’t really ever looked back.