As we then reported, last weekend, the weekly Japanese television show Pokemon Sunday announced that they would have an important reveal in their next episode. Given a couple a not exactly subtle hints – namely two foil-covered balls floating above the hosts' heads – it was speculated at this time that this announcement might have something to do with remakes of Pokemon Gold and Silver, just as Nintendo did with Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen some time ago. Well, the latest episode has come and gone, and, as promised, the mystery title unveiled.

As expected, the games were indeed new, Nintendo DS-optimized versions of the classic entries, now tentatively titled HeartGold and SoulSilver. So soon after the big reveal – and, of course, lacking any proper translation of the segment – it is disappointing, but not altogether unexpected that we must admit we currently know very little about the game. In fact, what we do know is mostly gleaned from the brief, 15-seconds of footage shown, in which the character did nothing more than walk around in a circle (well, as close to a circle as the games let you, at any rate).

However, from what we've seen, we think it is safe to say at least a few features have been confirmed, and these new iterations appear to cull popular elements from all across the franchise's long run. For example, it now appears that at least your starter will be able to follow you around, a feature introduced in Pokemon Yellow. From Ruby and Sapphire, weather appears to play a role, though there may be some new aspect particular to the direction of the wind. And, not at all unexpected, these updated titles will make use of the 2.5D graphics that we saw used to great effect in Diamond and Pearl.

Now announced, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver are set for release on the Nintendo DS later this year in Japan. If we can expect the same stateside (which, honestly, doesn't seem all that likely), we'll no doubt here more about the games at E3, which begins next month. As always, we'll continue this story and if we learn anything more, you'll see it right here. So be sure to check back at VGGEN often!