Pokemon Legends: Arceus takes place in the Sinnoh region of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl before it was known as Sinnoh and hundreds of years before the events of the fourth generation of Pokemon. Naturally, some of the locations have corollaries, such as Jubilife Village to Jubilife City, but what's even more fascinating are the number of NPCs that appear to be the ancestors of characters in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.

Some of the resemblances are more uncanny than others, and there are probably many more that require a trained eye to spot. But we've tracked down a number of the most interesting ancestors of Diamond and Pearl characters hidden in Arceus for you here.

Minor spoilers for Pokemon Legends: Arceus characters and story below.

The first and most obvious one you're likely to meet is Captain Cyllene, the leader of the Galaxy Team's Survey Corp. If you've played Diamond, Pearl, or the recent remakes at all, she will immediately be recognizable to you as the distant ancestor of the villain in those games and leader of Team Galactic: Cyrus. Fortunately, she's not a villain in Legends: Arceus, and in fact goes out of her way to assist the player despite her cold demeanor.

The second character you might immediately recognize is Kamado, the serious and mistrustful head of the Galaxy Team. Kamado bears a striking resemblance to Diamond and Pearl's Professor Rowan, and like Rowan is very interested in the player's completion of the Pokedex.

The first Warden you meet, Mai, is tasked with watching over Wyrdeer in the Obsidian Fieldlands and uses a Munchlax. She looks an awful lot like Marley, one of the trainers who joins the player in Diamond and Pearl to overcome a specific area — specifically, Victory Road and the Battle Tower.

Meanwhile, Kleavor's Warden, Lian, will look familiar instantly due to his hat, hair, and expression, but surprisingly none of his progeny is to be found in Diamond and Pearl. Instead, he looks a lot like Clay, the leader of the Driftveil City Gym in Black and White/Black and White 2 and a ground-type specialist.

The two don't have any other clear connections, as Lian uses a dragon-type Goomy, but the resemblance is clear.

In the Crimson Mirelands, you'll probably instantly recognize the stylish Arezu as the ancestor of Mars, one of the Commanders for Diamond and Pearl's Team Galaxy. You can also find the ancestor of Mars' Galaxy companion, Saturn, as a part of a bandit triad you meet in the same area. Check out Coin's hair — it's the same as Saturn's.

The bandit triad Miss Fortunes is entirely made up of Diamond and Pearl Ancestors. Charm looks a lot like Bertha, the ground-type Elite Four member in Sinnoh, and Clover is the ancestor of Snowpoint Gym Leader and ice-type specialist Candice.

In the Alabaster Icelands, Braviary Warden Sabi should look a bit familiar as the distant parent of Cheryl, another companion character who journeys with you through Eterna Forest in Diamond and Pearl.

There are a few NPCs hanging around Jubilife Village that also have Diamond and Pearl counterparts. Colza, who runs the berry farm, is a lookalike of Eterna City Gym Leader Gardenia, for instance.

Pesselle, who gives you quests related to Pokemon medicine and healing, is clearly the ancestor of Sinnoh's Nurse Joy clan that runs the Pokemon Centers (and even alludes to that future in her dialogue).

And Ginter, one of the Ginko Guild merchants, is a grey-haired lookalike to Sunyshore Gym Leader and electric specialist Volkner.

It's worth mentioning Warden Ingo here, even though he's not exactly anyone's ancestor. In fact, his situation is far weirder. Though you may not recognize Ingo immediately if you didn't get into the Battle Subway in Black and White/Black and White 2, he references having traveled through time and space just as the protagonist did.

Turns out, this is the same Ingo that's one of the Battle Subway leaders, alongside his twin brother Emmet. Sadly, Ingo was separated from both his brother and Pokemon when he came back through time.

One of the strangest mystery lookalikes in Hisui is the fact that Diamond and Pearl Champion Cynthia has not one, but two ancestors who don't seem to be related in Legends: Arceus, but who both bear a shockingly close resemblance to her.

The first, who you'll meet early on, is Volo. Much later in the game, you'll battle Volo and might observe that much of his Pokemon team is similar to Cynthia's, minus her Milotic (which isn't available in Legends: Arceus). The two characters also share a fascination with Sinnoh/Hisui's ancient history.

But another character who appears much later in the game, Cogita, also looks a lot like Cynthia and has some similar interest in the ancient past. We never see Cogita battle, so it's harder to get an idea of her Pokemon team, though she does appear to have some connections with legendary Pokemon.

Both Cogita and Volo have strange and mysterious origins that are never fully explained, and Cogita especially seems both timeless and well-dressed in a way that could connect her with Cynthia.

Finally, there's the protagonist themselves. Canonically dubbed either Akari (girl) or Rei (boy), they respectively resemble Dawn and Lucas, the protagonists of Diamond and Pearl. But it's not clear how they're related, especially given the time-travel plotline.

It could be that the player actually *is* Dawn or Lucas who is sent back to the past by Arceus at the start of the game, or they could be someone from an alternate timeline or universe brought back to be Dawn or Lucas' eventual ancestor.

There are a number of other characters that have slightly less obvious resemblances to characters that appear in other Pokemon games and could conceivably be their ancient ancestors. For instance, Galaxy Team's Sanqua looks a lot like Karen, an Elite Four member from Pokemon Gold and Silver, but that connection is a bit less obvious, and there are others. Legends: Arceus seems to have intended all these similarities to be mostly easter eggs rather than directly acknowledging any of them, so feel free to hit us with your fan theories in the comments.

And while you're at it, we have tons of guides to help you out on your journey through Hisui, as well as our review of the entire game.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

The developer of Shovel Knight has announced a brand new game called Mina the Hollower, a top-down action adventure in a Game Boy Colour style.

At its Yacht Club Games Presents event, the developer launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the new project, promising a "bone-chilling action adventure" with an 8-bit aesthetic redefined for the modern era.

The studio's release of Shovel Knight in 2014 hurtled it into mainstream success and spawned several spin-offs, but it hasn't revealed a new franchise until today (Yacht Club has published non-Shovel Knight games, but never developed one itself).

Mina the Hollower will, like Shovel Knight before it, combine classic and modern styles – and will feature 60 frames per second combat in a world of mystery and horror.

Yacht Club Games director and designer Alec Faulkner said the studio was returning to Kickstarter to recreate the feeling of Shovel Knight's development, which was also funded through the crowdfunding service.

"We want your feedback, collaboration, and support in making Mina the Hollower the best game it can possibly be," he said. "That’s why we’re returning to our roots and kicking off Mina the Hollower’s development as a Kickstarter campaign.

"Though we’re financing a majority of this project ourselves, we hope we can create a more expansive game this way. More importantly, we want to build a community around Kickstarter, much like we did with Shovel Knight."

Yacht Club Games didn't mention a release window for Mina the Hollower, but Shovel Knight launched 14 months after its Kickstarter campaign ended, after accruing over $300,000 in one month. PC (via Steam) was the only platform this game has been confirmed for, but Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms were all mentioned as possible destinations for Mina the Hollower.

Updates on Shovel Knight's spin-offs were also shared at Yacht Club Games Presents, such as a new character called Random Knight coming to its block-falling puzzle game Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. Random Knight will appear after players have already recruited a handful of different knights and will become one at random upon the start of a new adventure.

Three further DLC packs are also on their way for Pocket Dungeon that will include an online versus mode, new playable characters, relics, and secrets, and mod support on PC.

Yacht Club Games also revealed that its upcoming SNES-style Shovel Knight Dig is in its final stages of development and showed new gameplay from its bug-infested Grub Pit level.

IGN called Shovel Knight "amazing" when it was released in 2014, saying its real beauty "isn't that it's a clearly worded love letter to the storied NES era; it's that it drew inspiration from nothing but great NES games."

We said Pocket Dungeon was "a wonderful spin-off that combines block-falling puzzle and roguelite mechanics in remarkably clever ways."

The developer of Shovel Knight has announced a brand new game called Mina the Hollower, a top-down action adventure in a Game Boy Colour style.

At its Yacht Club Games Presents event, the developer launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the new project, promising a "bone-chilling action adventure" with an 8-bit aesthetic redefined for the modern era.

The studio's release of Shovel Knight in 2014 hurtled it into mainstream success and spawned several spin-offs, but it hasn't revealed a new franchise until today (Yacht Club has published non-Shovel Knight games, but never developed one itself).

Mina the Hollower will, like Shovel Knight before it, combine classic and modern styles – and will feature 60 frames per second combat in a world of mystery and horror.

Yacht Club Games director and designer Alec Faulkner said the studio was returning to Kickstarter to recreate the feeling of Shovel Knight's development, which was also funded through the crowdfunding service.

"We want your feedback, collaboration, and support in making Mina the Hollower the best game it can possibly be," he said. "That’s why we’re returning to our roots and kicking off Mina the Hollower’s development as a Kickstarter campaign.

"Though we’re financing a majority of this project ourselves, we hope we can create a more expansive game this way. More importantly, we want to build a community around Kickstarter, much like we did with Shovel Knight."

Yacht Club Games didn't mention a release window for Mina the Hollower, but Shovel Knight launched 14 months after its Kickstarter campaign ended, after accruing over $300,000 in one month.

Updates on Shovel Knight's spin-offs were also shared at Yacht Club Games Presents, such as a new character called Random Knight coming to its block-falling puzzle game Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. Random Knight will appear after players have already recruited a handful of different knights and will become one at random upon the start of a new adventure.

Three further DLC packs are also on their way for Pocket Dungeon that will include an online versus mode, new playable characters, relics, and secrets, and mod support on PC.

Yacht Club Games also revealed that its upcoming SNES-style Shovel Knight Dig is in its final stages of development and showed new gameplay from its bug-infested Grub Pit level.

IGN called Shovel Knight "amazing" when it was released in 2014, saying its real beauty "isn't that it's a clearly worded love letter to the storied NES era; it's that it drew inspiration from nothing but great NES games."

We said Pocket Dungeon was "a wonderful spin-off that combines block-falling puzzle and roguelite mechanics in remarkably clever ways."

After previously expressing positivity about NFTs as a part of gaming's future, EA appears to be treading with a bit more caution in its most recent discussion with investors.

During the company's Q3 earnings call today, CEO Andrew Wilson was asked once again how he felt about EA potentially doing NFT and blockchain gaming sometime down the line. Wilson began his reply by reflecting on the fact that the investment trends gaming is seeing with NFTs are familiar, with similar investment including in the past around tech such as 3D, AR, and VR.

He continued by emphasizing the importance of "collectibility" as central to EA games, both in real and virtual worlds, saying he believes that will be an important part of EA's future one way or another. However, he wouldn't say one way or another whether that means NFTs.

"Whether that's a part of NFTs and the blockchain, well, that remains to be seen," he said. "The way we think about it is: we want to deliver the best possible player experience we can. We'll evaluate that over time, but right now it's not something that we're driving hard against."

Previously, Wilson had said that while the NFT conversation is "really, really early," he felt the tech was "an important part of the future of our industry."

Though not explicitly stated, it's possible Wilson's more cautious reply this time is reflective of recent backlash from gaming communities against NFTs, with games such as Stalker 2 and Worms announcing and then backpedaling on their implementation after overwhelming audience criticism.

Meanwhile, a number of other gaming companies seem positive on NFTs despite those concerns, including Square Enix, EA, Sega, Epic Games, and Konami.

Elsewhere on the call, EA acknowledged that Battlefield 2042 "did not meet expectations" in part due to work-from-home restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

After previously expressing positivity about NFTs as a part of gaming's future, EA appears to be treading with a bit more caution in its most recent discussion with investors.

During the company's Q3 earnings call today, CEO Andrew Wilson was asked once again how he felt about EA potentially doing NFT and blockchain gaming sometime down the line. Wilson began his reply by reflecting on the fact that the investment trends gaming is seeing with NFTs are familiar, with similar investment including in the past around tech such as 3D, AR, and VR.

He continued by emphasizing the importance of "collectibility" as central to EA games, both in real and virtual worlds, saying he believes that will be an important part of EA's future one way or another. However, he wouldn't say one way or another whether that means NFTs.

"Whether that's a part of NFTs and the blockchain, well, that remains to be seen," he said. "The way we think about it is: we want to deliver the best possible player experience we can. We'll evaluate that over time, but right now it's not something that we're driving hard against."

Previously, Wilson had said that while the NFT conversation is "really, really early," he felt the tech was "an important part of the future of our industry."

Though not explicitly stated, it's possible Wilson's more cautious reply this time is reflective of recent backlash from gaming communities against NFTs, with games such as Stalker 2 and Worms announcing and then backpedaling on their implementation after overwhelming audience criticism.

Meanwhile, a number of other gaming companies seem positive on NFTs despite those concerns, including Square Enix, EA, Sega, Epic Games, and Konami.

Elsewhere on the call, EA acknowledged that Battlefield 2042 "did not meet expectations" in part due to work-from-home restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

While players have certainly been aware of the struggles Battlefield 2042 has undergone since its launch last November, publisher EA owned up to the game's trouble in front of investors today, saying it "did not meet expectations."

In the company's Q3 earnings call, CEO Andrew Wilson said that Battlefield 2042 has always been an "ambitious game" for EA, noting that much of the game was made during COVID-19 lockdowns that ultimately impacted the final product.

"Developing this game with our teams working from home for nearly two years ultimately proved to be challenging," he said. "Through our process of testing and preparation we believed the experience was ready to be put in our players' hands. We launched with strong stability; however, as more players experienced the full game, it became clear there were unanticipated performance issues that we would need to address. Some of the design choices we made with the game also did not resonate with everyone in our community."

Wilson then reiterated EA's commitment to continuing to update Battlefield 2042 in the coming months, referencing the announcement early today to push back the first season of live service content to early summer while it works on improving the core experience.

Though it's unclear exactly how Battlefield impacted EA's bottom line, later on the call it was suggested that its missed sales expectations were offset by FIFA and Apex Legends — in particular, FIFA 22 having the strongest launch ever for a FIFA game. Notably, it was also the first holiday quarter to include revenue from recent acquisitions Codemasters, Glu Mobile, and Playdemic, which likely also had an impact.

Wilson promised to continue investing in and growing the franchise, including growing its presence in mobile, but described the current moment as "a pause."

In total, EA saw $1.79 billion in net revenue for the quarter, up 7% from last year.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

While players have certainly been aware of the struggles Battlefield 2042 has undergone since its launch last November, publisher EA owned up to the game's trouble in front of investors today, saying it "did not meet expectations."

In the company's Q3 earnings call, CEO Andrew Wilson said that Battlefield 2042 has always been an "ambitious game" for EA, noting that much of the game was made during COVID-19 lockdowns that ultimately impacted the final product.

"Developing this game with our teams working from home for nearly two years ultimately proved to be challenging," he said. "Through our process of testing and preparation we believed the experience was ready to be put in our players' hands. We launched with strong stability; however, as more players experienced the full game, it became clear there were unanticipated performance issues that we would need to address. Some of the design choices we made with the game also did not resonate with everyone in our community."

Wilson then reiterated EA's commitment to continuing to update Battlefield 2042 in the coming months, referencing the announcement early today to push back the first season of live service content to early summer while it works on improving the core experience.

Though it's unclear exactly how Battlefield impacted EA's bottom line, later on the call it was suggested that its missed sales expectations were offset by FIFA and Apex Legends — in particular, FIFA 22 having the strongest launch ever for a FIFA game. Notably, it was also the first holiday quarter to include revenue from recent acquisitions Codemasters, Glu Mobile, and Playdemic, which likely also had an impact.

Wilson promised to continue investing in and growing the franchise, including growing its presence in mobile, but described the current moment as "a pause."

In total, EA saw $1.79 billion in net revenue for the quarter, up 7% from last year.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Sofia Al-Azwar was one of John Wick's key allies in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, aiding him while he was on the run after being declared "excommunicado" by the High Table. Despite that, it seems that the manager of Casablanca's Continental Hotel won't be in John Wick 4.

"Sofia's not in the next John Wick movie," Berry confirmed in a new interview in IGN, which she recorded in advance of the release of Moonfall, in which she will play a starring role.

Berry's comments confirm speculation that Sofia won't be in the next John Wick film, which is currently scheduled to release in 2023. Sofia fans shouldn't despair, though, because Berry says a spinoff may be in the works.

"There could possibly be a Sofia...her own movie," Berry said. "So she might not be in John Wick, but she might be doing her own thingy-thingy."

Berry described the potential project as "putting some ointment on a little sore," referring to the canceled Die Another Day spinoff that was to feature Berry's character Jinx, who served as James Bond's love interest in the film. Berry has repeatedly expressed disappointment over the film's cancellation, which would have been a unique turn for one of the series' Bond Girls.

In the meantime, John Wick has been the subject of a number of spinoff rumors, both real and confirmed. The Continental, a limited series featuring a young Winston Scott in 1970s New York, is set to debut on Starz later this year. A spinoff film titled Ballerina featuring Ana de Armas is also reported to be in development.

It seems that a number of potential John Wick projects are in the works, with Sofia's spinoff being just one of several ideas. As for John Wick: Chapter 4, it's been pushed all the way to 2023 despite completing filming back in November. It'll release on March 24, 2023.

Sofia Al-Azwar was one of John Wick's key allies in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, aiding him while he was on the run after being declared "excommunicado" by the High Table. Despite that, it seems that the manager of Casablanca's Continental Hotel won't be in John Wick 4.

"Sofia's not in the next John Wick movie," Berry confirmed in a new interview in IGN, which she recorded in advance of the release of Moonfall, in which she will play a starring role.

Berry's comments confirm speculation that Sofia won't be in the next John Wick film, which is currently scheduled to release in 2023. Sofia fans shouldn't despair, though, because Berry says a spinoff may be in the works.

"There could possibly be a Sofia...her own movie," Berry said. "So she might not be in John Wick, but she might be doing her own thingy-thingy."

Berry described the potential project as "putting some ointment on a little sore," referring to the canceled Die Another Day spinoff that was to feature Berry's character Jinx, who served as James Bond's love interest in the film. Berry has repeatedly expressed disappointment over the film's cancellation, which would have been a unique turn for one of the series' Bond Girls.

In the meantime, John Wick has been the subject of a number of spinoff rumors, both real and confirmed. The Continental, a limited series featuring a young Winston Scott in 1970s New York, is set to debut on Starz later this year. A spinoff film titled Ballerina featuring Ana de Armas is also reported to be in development.

It seems that a number of potential John Wick projects are in the works, with Sofia's spinoff being just one of several ideas. As for John Wick: Chapter 4, it's been pushed all the way to 2023 despite completing filming back in November. It'll release on March 24, 2023.

Xbox will celebrate Black History Month by spotlighting Black and African American developers and creators for the entire month of February.

The company announced their plans in a blog post, where content developer and social lead Albert Dankwa said Xbox would be "celebrating gaming as a source of joy, connection, and self-care for many in the community."

The company has been celebrating Black History Since 2020, highlighting Black industry professionals and their contributions to the gaming industry.

Dankwa said he relates to finding joy through games: "I have fond memories of summer afternoons spent at a friend's home playing Halo and later enjoying Gears of War on my own first Xbox. was fascinated by the narratives, drawn to the worlds, and inspired by the heroes and the hope they represented. As a lifelong gamer, it's important to me to help inspire and uplift others to join the industry or to simply share their love of gaming."

Microsoft Reward members in the U.S. can earn and donate points to organizations supporting Black communities with Xbox, such as Cxmmunity, Black Girls Rock!, and Gameheads. Meanwhile, Halo will be adding a special emblem and nameplate, and Forza Horizon 5 will be hosting an in-game livery contest. Xbox itself is adding a new Gamerpic, profile theme, and avatar items for the occasion.

In an effort to build diversity within the games industry, Xbox Game Studios' Game Camp is returning to New Orleans from March 9 to April 7 with the goal of providing people from underrepresented communities with access to experts, tools, and industry connections to aid them through the game creation process.

Xbox is also partnering with Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) Connect to present a panel featuring Xbox employees from HBCU Connect schools, sharing their journeys into the games industry.

A special feature called "The New Face of Gaming" will also be shown at the Games Developers Conference in March, highlighting a diverse group of Xbox developers. The panelists will share their experiences in gaming and explore how diverse voices are contributing to the industry's evolution.

Finally, Xbox will be spotlighting Xbox Ambassadors' stories and celebrating Black History Month on its Twitch channel with a number of stream takeovers.

Among game developers, Xbox has often been at the forefront of issues of accessibility and diversity. Back in 2020, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer called for more diverse leaders in games, reiterating Microsoft's commitment to the issue. As Black History Month gets underway, Xbox appears set on showing that these comments are more than just words.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.