Nintendo releasing Pokemon-themed New 3DS for series' 20th anniversary

2016 is going to be a good year. Today Nintendo announced it would release a New Nintendo 3DS system to coincide with the re-release of the original Pokemon games on the Nintendo eShop on February 27.

The system comes with two faceplates that will sport the franchise's most iconic characters, Charizard and Blastoise, and comes with Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow pre-installed, as well as a special menu theme.

We've known that re-makes of the games were coming for a few months - ever since the last Nintendo Direct near the end of last year - but this is the first we're hearing of the special edition bundles that completely trounce the Animal Crossing New Nintendo 3DS that the US was given last year.

The games themselves, remember, aren't exactly one-for-one remakes. Nintendo and developer Game Freak have included some modern conveniences like dropping a link cable for local Wi-Fi trading and battling.

The systems and the re-release of the games themselves are in celebration of the series' 20th anniversary of when it launched in Japan, and are part of a larger year-long celebration similar to Nintendo's "Year of Luigi" campaign that it ran in 2014. (Side note: It's not exactly 20 years for all of us. The original games wouldn't come to the US for another two years, and the UK and Europe for another three.)

• Planning on getting one? Check out our list of Best Nintendo 3DS games for other must-own titles!