Sony's PlayStation 5 has already outsold Nintendo's Wii U, despite only being available for just over a year.

Announced in the company's most recent earnings releases, Sony revealed that over 17.3 million PS5s were sold as of December 31. 2021. The Wii U reached just 13.56 million sales in its lifetime.

The PS5 had a stellar year financially, outselling the PS4 in its first fiscal year, breaking the Nintendo Switch's 33-month streak at the top of US hardware sales, and being the fastest-selling console in U.S. history in both unit and dollar sales.

Its sales have also been restricted by the ongoing chip shortage that will remain very tight until at least September. Both Sony and Microsoft have suffered from a lack of chips that are found in graphics cards, gaming consoles, and more.

The PS5 still has a ways to go before it enters the best-selling consoles of all time list, of course. The PS4 has sold 116.9 million units (which will continue to rise), the Game Boy and Game Boy Color sold 118.69 million, the Nintendo DS reached 154.02 million units and the PlayStation 2 remains in first place with 159 million units sold.

While the Wii U has been left behind, the current Nintendo Switch console will certainly put up more of a fight when it comes to sales records. The Switch has sold over 92 million units since it was launched in 2017, contributing to Nintendo's most profitable year on record in 2021 with operating profit up 81% year-on-year.

Of course, many people will be interested in how Xbox Series X and S stack up in sales figures against PS5. Sadly, Microsoft doesn't release official sales numbers for its consoles, making it a little difficult to judge where they're at. However, we think the console race might be closer than you'd think.

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

Nintendo has suddenly removed thousands of videos from a YouTube channel that uploads soundtracks from franchises like Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, and Kirby.

YouTuber GilvaSunner, who has over 469,000 subscribers, tweeted that they will be deleting the channel on February 4 after Nintendo removed 3,500 videos from the channel, as reported by Nintendo Life.

It is not permitted to upload copyrighted music to YouTube even if a credit is supplied but GilvaSunner has been posting Nintendo tracks for over a decade and does not monetize the videos. There is currently no way to legally listen to much Nintendo music outside of occasionally released original game soundtracks.

In the Twitter post, GilvaSunner said: "After thinking about this a lot over the past few days, I've decided that at this point it's not really worth it to keep the channel up any longer, and will therefore delete the GlivaSunner YouTube channel (or what's left of it) this coming Friday.

"There are many different opinions over what is happening and that's fine! I can understand pretty much all the sides. I know this is disappointing to read for a lot of you, but I hope you can respect my decision to want to move on."

1,300 videos were removed last week and a further 2,200 were taken down on February 1, and GilvaSunner said they expected more to follow. It's unclear what's spurred Nintendo into action on this recently – we've contacted the company for comment.

Game over pic.twitter.com/lsLKKg8ZF8

— GilvaSunner (@GilvaSunner) August 13, 2019

The YouTube channel received strikes back in 2019 and again in 2020. "I'm not angry or surprised that Nintendo is doing this, but I do think it's a bit disappointing there is hardly an alternative," GilvaSunner tweeted. "If Nintendo thinks this is what needs to be done (to set an example), I will let them take down the channel. It is their content after all."

This isn't the first time Nintendo has reared its head regarding copyright. In June last year the company won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against ROM hosting website RomUniverse, and in March 2020 Sony reportedly removed Mario from Dreams after Nintendo complained.

IGN has reached out to Nintendo for comment but has not yet received a response.

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

Nintendo has suddenly removed thousands of videos from a YouTube channel that uploads soundtracks from franchises like Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, and Kirby.

YouTuber GilvaSunner, who has over 469,000 subscribers, tweeted that they will be deleting the channel on February 4 after Nintendo removed 3,500 videos from the channel, as reported by Nintendo Life.

It is not permitted to upload copyrighted music to YouTube even if a credit is supplied but GilvaSunner has been posting Nintendo tracks for over a decade and does not monetize the videos. There is currently no way to legally listen to much Nintendo music outside of occasionally released original game soundtracks.

In the Twitter post, GilvaSunner said: "After thinking about this a lot over the past few days, I've decided that at this point it's not really worth it to keep the channel up any longer, and will therefore delete the GlivaSunner YouTube channel (or what's left of it) this coming Friday.

"There are many different opinions over what is happening and that's fine! I can understand pretty much all the sides. I know this is disappointing to read for a lot of you, but I hope you can respect my decision to want to move on."

1,300 videos were removed last week and a further 2,200 were taken down on February 1, and GilvaSunner said they expected more to follow. It's unclear what's spurred Nintendo into action on this recently – we've contacted the company for comment.

Game over pic.twitter.com/lsLKKg8ZF8

— GilvaSunner (@GilvaSunner) August 13, 2019

The YouTube channel received strikes back in 2019 and again in 2020. "I'm not angry or surprised that Nintendo is doing this, but I do think it's a bit disappointing there is hardly an alternative," GilvaSunner tweeted. "If Nintendo thinks this is what needs to be done (to set an example), I will let them take down the channel. It is their content after all."

This isn't the first time Nintendo has reared its head regarding copyright. In June last year the company won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against ROM hosting website RomUniverse, and in March 2020 Sony reportedly removed Mario from Dreams after Nintendo complained.

IGN has reached out to Nintendo for comment but has not yet received a response.

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

A new Star Trek series is reportedly in the works for Paramount+ called Starfleet Academy, and it looks to be "set among the college of cadets mentored for leadership roles in the United Federation of Planets space force."

As reported by Deadline, this show is in development at CBS Studios and Alex Kurtzman's Secret Hideout and it actually shares the name of a PC game from 1997 called Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Absentia's co-creator Gaia Violo is said to be working on the project and Starfleet Academy will likely follow Section 31 - a Star Trek spinoff series that see Michelle Yeoh reprise her role as Philippa Georgiou, the former emperor from the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery.

Kurtzman, at the Star Trek: Strange New World panel at Paramount+'s TCA event, discussed that there was "another one" in development besides Section 31, but he wasn't willing to reveal anything more. Kurtzman also shared a bit of the team's philosophy in building out Star Trek's future.

"We have to think several years out,” Kurtzman said. “We’re thinking about knowing we’ll want new shows on the air two or three years from now so we have to start planning those now. There’s a bunch of things in development now that are starting to take shape and we’re super excited about it.”

Speaking of Strange New Worlds, this series will premiere on Paramount+ on May 5 and will follow the journey of the U.S.S. Enterprise years before Captain Kirk was in command. It will also star Celia Rose Gooding as a younger version of Cadet Nyota Uhura from the original series.

It was also confirmed that Christina Chong's La'an Noonien-Singh does in fact have a connection to Ricardo Montalban's Khan, but the show won't put a huge spotlight on it.

"We don't want to bring folks into the show to be splashy," showrunner Akiva Goldsman said. "We want to dig deeply into characters that are part of our ensemble."

For more Star Trek, check out all the other recently revealed Star Trek release dates and windows, including Star Trek: Picard's second season beginning on March 3, Lower Decks returning in Summer, and Star Trek: Prodigy's first season starting later in 2022.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new Star Trek series is reportedly in the works for Paramount+ called Starfleet Academy, and it looks to be "set among the college of cadets mentored for leadership roles in the United Federation of Planets space force."

As reported by Deadline, this show is in development at CBS Studios and Alex Kurtzman's Secret Hideout and it actually shares the name of a PC game from 1997 called Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Absentia's co-creator Gaia Violo is said to be working on the project and Starfleet Academy will likely follow Section 31 - a Star Trek spinoff series that see Michelle Yeoh reprise her role as Philippa Georgiou, the former emperor from the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery.

Kurtzman, at the Star Trek: Strange New World panel at Paramount+'s TCA event, discussed that there was "another one" in development besides Section 31, but he wasn't willing to reveal anything more. Kurtzman also shared a bit of the team's philosophy in building out Star Trek's future.

"We have to think several years out,” Kurtzman said. “We’re thinking about knowing we’ll want new shows on the air two or three years from now so we have to start planning those now. There’s a bunch of things in development now that are starting to take shape and we’re super excited about it.”

Speaking of Strange New Worlds, this series will premiere on Paramount+ on May 5 and will follow the journey of the U.S.S. Enterprise years before Captain Kirk was in command. It will also star Celia Rose Gooding as a younger version of Cadet Nyota Uhura from the original series.

It was also confirmed that Christina Chong's La'an Noonien-Singh does in fact have a connection to Ricardo Montalban's Khan, but the show won't put a huge spotlight on it.

"We don't want to bring folks into the show to be splashy," showrunner Akiva Goldsman said. "We want to dig deeply into characters that are part of our ensemble."

For more Star Trek, check out all the other recently revealed Star Trek release dates and windows, including Star Trek: Picard's second season beginning on March 3, Lower Decks returning in Summer, and Star Trek: Prodigy's first season starting later in 2022.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The newest Magic set, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is coming out soon, and it's certainly an exciting concept. It takes 2004's Kamigawa setting, which was inspired by feudal Japan, and hurtles it 1200 years into the future, into a world of neon cities and advanced technology, but one that also remains in touch with spirits and traditions.

In this set of 302 cards, a number of classic Kamigawa gameplay designs - such as Ninjutsu, Channel and double-faced cards - return, alongside the new mechanic Reconfigure, which allows creatures to equip themselves to other creatures. Similarly, the new cyber ninja Planeswalker Kaito Shizuki is joined by returning Planeswalkers Tamiyo and The Wanderer.

Today, IGN has four new cards to reveal from Neon Dynasty. The first is a Legendary Creature and Rat Ninja - Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion:

We asked the team at Wizards of the Coast a little more about both this card specifically and the Nezumi (Kamigawa's anthropomorphic rats), as well as the theme as a whole.

"We met Nashi when he first appeared in a short story before the events of Kaladesh main set," says Daniel Holt, Senior UX Designer. "This is canonically a few years prior to the current day.

"In this older story, we learn that Nashi was born in a nezumi swamp village in rural Kamigawa, but his home was burned down and his parents slain by a malicious planeswalker named Tezzeret who believed the nezumi had a valuable artifact. Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, eventually adopts the young rat and treats him like her own child. Nashi’s fur has since grown back but has turned white where his burns used to be, giving him a unique pattern among the nezumi. Although his new family is loving and supportive, he still deals with feelings of being small and an outsider. However, he has learned how to cope with the grief and even make new friends through his interest in technology. He also finds great comfort in the stories his mother has collected around the Multiverse and would like nothing more than to see it for himself one day."

Nashi's adoptive mother Tamiyo, meanwhile, "is a pivotal main character in the Neon Dynasty story at assisting in battling the baddies with her scroll magic. Tamiyo also aids in transporting the coveted artifact around the plane to keep it safe from those that wish to use it for nefarious purposes.

"Unfortunately, the story doesn’t go well for Tamiyo, as she is eventually captured by Jin-Gitaxias and turned into a Phyrexian Planeswalker who involuntarily pledges loyalty to the other side of the fight."

In terms of the Nezumi, who once lived in Takenuma swamp, a lot has changed. "Almost every area of the plane had to be rebuilt following the Kami War and the proceeding 1200 years of habitancy," Holt explains. "Takenuma Swamp has become mostly abandoned aside from a few secluded outliers and those that venture there for one purpose or another. Jukai Forest has become a sanctuary for mostly spirit inhabitants that disagree with the expanding civilization. Other areas like Eiganjo, Otawara, and the new and largest city of Towashi, have thrived in the reconstruction.

"Nezumi in general have integrated into society more so than in the past days, but mostly exist in the reckoner gangs and other undercity areas of Towashi."

A core part of Nashi's identity is his ninjutsu ability, and this mechanic returns from the original Kamigawa block. We asked Game Design Architect Dave Humpherys how well he thinks ninjutsu will fit into modern Magic. "Ninjutsu is still very well poised to add an element of surprise into games of Magic," he says. "The mechanic can fit well into a variety of aggressive decks. It’s centered in colors where there’s an abundance of evasion and good removal or bounce to facilitate the mechanic. The odds of a deck based entirely around the mechanic is less likely to have a huge impact than certain ninjutsu cards filling into key slots into some decks. Its mere presence in a format carries strength as a threat. It makes it easy to set up scary attacks especially against a tapped-out opponent."

And for Nashi's ability specifically, "Nashi is a versatile card," Humpherys explains. "He works both as a solo threat that you try to clear a path with removal for. He also fits into more aggressive builds trying to take advantage of ninjutsu."

And for this set in general, black sounds like it will have a lot of options. "There are many [black] cards pointing at some of the set themes," says Humpherys, "which means for this set you’ll see more focus on artifacts, enchantments, sacrifice effects, and effects setting up ninjutsu for success."

And speaking of all those things, that leads neatly into the three other cards we have to reveal:

You can see all the cards that have currently been revealed here, but it won't be long until you can play with them yourself. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty releases on Magic: The Gathering Arena on February 11 and for tabletop on February 18. You can find out more about it here, and be sure to also read IGN's in-depth feature on how Magic is evolving and its fans are responding.

Cam Shea has worked at IGN since the before times, and has played more Breath of the Wild than just about any other game. He doesn't post on Twitter, but does like sharing whatever music he's currently obsessed with.

The newest Magic set, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is coming out soon, and it's certainly an exciting concept. It takes 2004's Kamigawa setting, which was inspired by feudal Japan, and hurtles it 1200 years into the future, into a world of neon cities and advanced technology, but one that also remains in touch with spirits and traditions.

In this set of 302 cards, a number of classic Kamigawa gameplay designs - such as Ninjutsu, Channel and double-faced cards - return, alongside the new mechanic Reconfigure, which allows creatures to equip themselves to other creatures. Similarly, the new cyber ninja Planeswalker Kaito Shizuki is joined by returning Planeswalkers Tamiyo and The Wanderer.

Today, IGN has four new cards to reveal from Neon Dynasty. The first is a Legendary Creature and Rat Ninja - Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion:

We asked the team at Wizards of the Coast a little more about both this card specifically and the Nezumi (Kamigawa's anthropomorphic rats), as well as the theme as a whole.

"We met Nashi when he first appeared in a short story before the events of Kaladesh main set," says Daniel Holt, Senior UX Designer. "This is canonically a few years prior to the current day.

"In this older story, we learn that Nashi was born in a nezumi swamp village in rural Kamigawa, but his home was burned down and his parents slain by a malicious planeswalker named Tezzeret who believed the nezumi had a valuable artifact. Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, eventually adopts the young rat and treats him like her own child. Nashi’s fur has since grown back but has turned white where his burns used to be, giving him a unique pattern among the nezumi. Although his new family is loving and supportive, he still deals with feelings of being small and an outsider. However, he has learned how to cope with the grief and even make new friends through his interest in technology. He also finds great comfort in the stories his mother has collected around the Multiverse and would like nothing more than to see it for himself one day."

Nashi's adoptive mother Tamiyo, meanwhile, "is a pivotal main character in the Neon Dynasty story at assisting in battling the baddies with her scroll magic. Tamiyo also aids in transporting the coveted artifact around the plane to keep it safe from those that wish to use it for nefarious purposes.

"Unfortunately, the story doesn’t go well for Tamiyo, as she is eventually captured by Jin-Gitaxias and turned into a Phyrexian Planeswalker who involuntarily pledges loyalty to the other side of the fight."

In terms of the Nezumi, who once lived in Takenuma swamp, a lot has changed. "Almost every area of the plane had to be rebuilt following the Kami War and the proceeding 1200 years of habitancy," Holt explains. "Takenuma Swamp has become mostly abandoned aside from a few secluded outliers and those that venture there for one purpose or another. Jukai Forest has become a sanctuary for mostly spirit inhabitants that disagree with the expanding civilization. Other areas like Eiganjo, Otawara, and the new and largest city of Towashi, have thrived in the reconstruction.

"Nezumi in general have integrated into society more so than in the past days, but mostly exist in the reckoner gangs and other undercity areas of Towashi."

A core part of Nashi's identity is his ninjutsu ability, and this mechanic returns from the original Kamigawa block. We asked Game Design Architect Dave Humpherys how well he thinks ninjutsu will fit into modern Magic. "Ninjutsu is still very well poised to add an element of surprise into games of Magic," he says. "The mechanic can fit well into a variety of aggressive decks. It’s centered in colors where there’s an abundance of evasion and good removal or bounce to facilitate the mechanic. The odds of a deck based entirely around the mechanic is less likely to have a huge impact than certain ninjutsu cards filling into key slots into some decks. Its mere presence in a format carries strength as a threat. It makes it easy to set up scary attacks especially against a tapped-out opponent."

And for Nashi's ability specifically, "Nashi is a versatile card," Humpherys explains. "He works both as a solo threat that you try to clear a path with removal for. He also fits into more aggressive builds trying to take advantage of ninjutsu."

And for this set in general, black sounds like it will have a lot of options. "There are many [black] cards pointing at some of the set themes," says Humpherys, "which means for this set you’ll see more focus on artifacts, enchantments, sacrifice effects, and effects setting up ninjutsu for success."

And speaking of all those things, that leads neatly into the three other cards we have to reveal:

You can see all the cards that have currently been revealed here, but it won't be long until you can play with them yourself. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty releases on Magic: The Gathering Arena on February 11 and for tabletop on February 18. You can find out more about it here, and be sure to also read IGN's in-depth feature on how Magic is evolving and its fans are responding.

Cam Shea has worked at IGN since the before times, and has played more Breath of the Wild than just about any other game. He doesn't post on Twitter, but does like sharing whatever music he's currently obsessed with.

Steam Deck games could eventually look a lot better thanks to its support for FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) — AMD's DLSS competitor that has the ability to enhance framerates and resolution.

Steam Deck's FSR support is detailed in the platform's partner FAQ, which contains info on inputs, graphics, and other questions relevant to developers. In a section titled "AMD," Valve talks about Steam Deck's support for FSR at launch, and what it could mean going forward.

"FSR is already available for some applications that support it. Games that already include FSR will work as is, but also FSR support will be included as part of an OS future release," Valve's FAQ says. "Once that happens, games could potentially make use of FSR even if the games themselves don't natively support it."

In short, a future patch could mean better framerates and resolution — even for games that don't already support AMD's technology.

First released last year, FSR is similar to DLSS in its ability to upscale games, but it includes a few key differences. Among them, FSR is open source, meaning that it can work on a variety of graphics cards, including older Nvidia cards and Intel's upcoming GPUs. Unlike DLSS, FSR doesn't use machine learning. Finally, it includes four different image upscaling modes: Ultra Quality, Quality, Balanced, and Performance.

FSR should help to alleviate some concerns about long-term game performance on the Steam Deck. Elsewhere, a fan-curated list confirmed that more than 100 games are playable on the device.

The first wave of Steam Decks are set to release on February 25. While you wait, check out our extensive Steam Deck preview.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Steam Deck games could eventually look a lot better thanks to its support for FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) — AMD's DLSS competitor that has the ability to enhance framerates and resolution.

Steam Deck's FSR support is detailed in the platform's partner FAQ, which contains info on inputs, graphics, and other questions relevant to developers. In a section titled "AMD," Valve talks about Steam Deck's support for FSR at launch, and what it could mean going forward.

"FSR is already available for some applications that support it. Games that already include FSR will work as is, but also FSR support will be included as part of an OS future release," Valve's FAQ says. "Once that happens, games could potentially make use of FSR even if the games themselves don't natively support it."

In short, a future patch could mean better framerates and resolution — even for games that don't already support AMD's technology.

First released last year, FSR is similar to DLSS in its ability to upscale games, but it includes a few key differences. Among them, FSR is open source, meaning that it can work on a variety of graphics cards, including older Nvidia cards and Intel's upcoming GPUs. Unlike DLSS, FSR doesn't use machine learning. Finally, it includes four different image upscaling modes: Ultra Quality, Quality, Balanced, and Performance.

FSR should help to alleviate some concerns about long-term game performance on the Steam Deck. Elsewhere, a fan-curated list confirmed that more than 100 games are playable on the device.

The first wave of Steam Decks are set to release on February 25. While you wait, check out our extensive Steam Deck preview.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

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.