Nintendo Pokemon if GameFreak didn’t suck

[Smacktard]

I can’t embed webms here, but I saw today what a 3D Pokemon game could look like if it weren’t soulless, and it just made me sad that GameFreak has a complete stranglehold on mainline Pokemon games.


I stopped supporting Pokemon since Sw/Sh. It used to be one of my favorite series, but GF’s development practices are like three generations behind.

Anyway here are the webms:

https://is2.4chan.org/v/1699419481494358.webm

https://is2.4chan.org/v/1699419546072766.webm

 

[Raine]

Aesthetically, at least, I didn't mind what I saw from either Let's Go or Legends Arceus. The problem, I suspect, is mostly with how sterile it is - the lack of full and varied animations, for starters. Which ideally should've been something they worked on over time or, given that Pokemon is basically the most profitable thing ever, maybe the three companies should've agreed to fund it better.

The games being so clunky and lethargic doesn't do them any favors either. I adore turn-based combat, but even back in the days of Gen1 I wanted to (and did) turn off animations and speed text scroll up as much as possible. And then basically refused to play on anything but Stadium/2 once that came out and offered speed-up options.

Pokemon originally lost me with the continuity break going from Gen2 to Gen3. I didn't pick up anything until Diamond, and really didn't do much with it. Played White and SoulSilver some years later, went ahead and picked up most of what I was missing by the time Sun & Moon came out, and had intended to eventually take a nice, long break from everything and sort of casually build up a living Pokedex to sort of relive doing the OG 249/251. But Pokemon Bank killed that off, and honestly the move from 3DS to Switch had it hanging on by a thread anyway. So yeah.

 

[Kat]

Can we talk about the audio in those games? I haven't played the most recent one or two, but I have played at least one on the Switch, and it sounded like they hadn't updated any of the audio since the original game. Meowth sounded like microphone feedback?! I played the whole game with the Switch muted, it was so awful.

They're so grindy and repetitive, and every game feels mostly the same.

 

[Smacktard]

I kind of like how they use the original Pokemon cries from the Gameboy sound chip tbh.

The main problems for me are how the games overexplain EVERYTHING. We know how to use a Pokeball; don't force us through a 5 minute explanation/demonstration. Yes, first-timers might not know, but make these obnoxious tutorials optional.

My problem with the design/graphics of the game is what Raine said: they're so sterile. But not just because of the lack of animation. I think it's because the design style is so safe, so generic. You can tell they take absolutely no risks design-wise, just make everything as sanitized as possible.

 

[The Flame]

I know I'm late and I assume that's why I can't see what the webms were, but yeah it's been really frustrating being a long time Pokemon fan. The only thing keeping me buying the games are the Pokemon designs and my love of just the concept of going on my own little adventure and finding out what my team will look like. My problem is less with the handholding and more the fact that they keep doing Nintendo's favorite strategy of scrapping things that are good/not broken while introducing random bullshit for the sake of innovation.

I hate that Exp Share now covers the entire party and can't be turned off. Pokemon level at different rates, and I like having my team all relatively around the same level so I can use them equally. So in order to do this, I now have to constantly swap half my team at the PC just to catch up new additions or those that are lagging behind. By the end of the game I have like a 12 Pokemon party.

One of the coolest things we got were Mega Evolutions, but those are never coming back because every gen needs a new gimmick to replace the old one. Dynamax and Tera stuff were sort of interesting at first, but I found it boring very quickly. I really couldn't care less if raid dungeons ever come back.

Everyone's always liked follower Pokemon, but every game is a gamble of whether we'll get them or not, and until recently character customization was the same story. But nah, those are stupid. What the people really want out of a Pokemon game is SANDWICHES!