German indie developer Nils Drescher is remaking the 1999 2D top-down Pokemon Gold and Silver games with 3D graphics and from a first-person perspective, the video posted above offering a quick look at how a Pokemon game holds up to the treatment.

Drescher's Pokemon 3D receives content updates weekly, as the overall game is still a work in progress. As always, players step into the shoes of the game's hero, the ultimate goal of being a Pokemon Master driving them forward. Players can tromp through grass and battle trainers solo or team up with a friend for some cooperative play via LAN.

It's playable too, and can be downloaded for free off IndieDB.

Update: At the original uploader's request, we have removed the video at the top of this post, and replaced it with another Pokemon 3D demonstration.

Update: Read our interview with Drescher about the project here.