-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Should Game Freak re-invent Pokémon on the Nintendo Switch?
- Thread starter ValorSpyder
- Start date
As people here are saying, they won't do it. The battle system is good as it is, and they have proved that they can introduce new mechanics that not only let the system remain as it is, but also suppose a great addition for strategies (like mega evolutions and Z moves). Pokemon fans like to create strategies and changing all that would mean that players would have to learn a whole new system for tournaments and stuff. I'm expecting something new like megas or Z moves.
But I'm sure they will make changes in terms of exploration and pokemon finding. With switch, they have the chance to create even bigger and deeper areas, and with that, new mechanics. For example, how about making baits from berries to attract specific or rarer Pokémon from some areas? That would be a big change to looking and fighting until the pokemon you want appears...
But I'm sure they will make changes in terms of exploration and pokemon finding. With switch, they have the chance to create even bigger and deeper areas, and with that, new mechanics. For example, how about making baits from berries to attract specific or rarer Pokémon from some areas? That would be a big change to looking and fighting until the pokemon you want appears...
I was going to say this. The trend I have noticed is that often the people who complain about the series not evolving are the people who haven't played recently.
I wouldn't want them to reinvent the game. Changing things up is cool, but Pokemon should play like Pokemon and I'm not a fan of ideas people love to throw around like making it more action based or ditching most if not all of the current Pokemon for a smaller number.
I don't see them completely reinventing Pokemon unless the series starts to struggle or something.
I don't see them completely reinventing Pokemon unless the series starts to struggle or something.
That completely destroys the team building aspect of the game. Those other games have a static team you have to choose from. In Pokemon you get to pick your team and their moves yourself. If you don't have what you need to beat a certain fight that's on you, not the game.
It does feel like that at times.
I mean, I wouldn't say no to a better story and graphics. Maybe some more overworld puzzle solving. But a total reinvention? Nah.
OP
OP
Part of me hopes that the way moves are learned and used change completely. Like maybe instead of having to forget moves to make room for new ones, why not just have moves evolve with the Pokémon? Like, starters typically start with tackle or scratch... maybe as the Pokémon grows, a simple scratch just naturally becomes Slash? I mean, the cute little Charmander is now a slightly more intimidating Charmelon now, right?
Is that too much? lol
User was warned for this post: Lazy dev argument.
No just spend some money and time on the game for fuck's sake. Let's pretend this developer is actually significantly invested in the series and fans rather than its wallet first so we can skip all of the "well why would they if it's still so popular" non-statements. They're being rather scummy with their development mindset.
Final fantasy hasn't been a turned based RPG in a long time. I'm not sure what his comparison is supposed to be. I like your suggestion of being able to switch moved at any point though. It's definitely time to do that and dump the arbitrary 'get a heart scale and visit this npc' method for relearning moves.
If they do it, that should probably be limited to the PC. Otherwise it'd break the Elite Four, routes, and destroy any sense of gravity those choices create.
Nah, Sinnoh brought back the Day and Night cycle and had that weird underground thing.
We just had another thread about this, but no.
The majority likes how the games are -- there's a reason for them having good reception and sales. What they should do is keep improving what they have. Make the stories even better, balance the battle system more, create interesting scenarios, make good content for postgame, improve the online play, etc. They don't need to reinvent the series, they need to stop discarding good ideas like the Battle Frontier and hordes and improve on making it the good single player turn based RPG (with the whole ad-hoc/online aspect for the trading/competitive) that people like.
The majority likes how the games are -- there's a reason for them having good reception and sales. What they should do is keep improving what they have. Make the stories even better, balance the battle system more, create interesting scenarios, make good content for postgame, improve the online play, etc. They don't need to reinvent the series, they need to stop discarding good ideas like the Battle Frontier and hordes and improve on making it the good single player turn based RPG (with the whole ad-hoc/online aspect for the trading/competitive) that people like.
Maybe. But you can already use TMs (since they became infinite use) to change moves on the fly, so it's already possible with a subset of moves and that didn't break the elite 4/routes.
Battle system doesnt need changing. Just the game engine and presentation. After playing Yokai Watch it was frustrating playing Pokemon Sun as graphically it was so much worse, with highly pixelated character models that looked like they came from a PSOne game. I would love to see basically the animated series made in game form, with large open areas with full camera control, huge towns full of things to do and full voice acting. What I expect is just an upgraded version of the Sun/Moon engine.
It doesn't really need a reinvention, the core gameplay of Pokemon is solid and timeless, what they absolutely need to do is move away from rigidly linear progression - gently guide players to places so that newcomers and youngsters don't get lost but let them make the decision of how they progress. They also need to ditch this awful obsession with trying to differentiate regions by tying fun and interesting new gameplay mechanics to them and then removing them from all future games, the regions/generations should be memorable on their own, not because "that was the last time Pokemon could walk with you".
You shouldn't conflate conservative changes with laziness. Pokémon does great just as it is, and that isn't due to the developer ripping off customers, it might just be a good product that doesn't fit your tastes. That's fine, not every game needs to be made for you.
I've felt Pokemon is a 2019 game, but recent rumours suggest there is pressure to release a game in 2018. If that is true, the game likely will be based on existing mold and iterated with a new gimmick or two.
I also can see it being farmed out to an outside studio. I'm not sure if GameFreak can do a proper HD Pokemon unless it looks something like a GameCube game in HD. But perhaps I'm not giving them enough credit.
I also can see it being farmed out to an outside studio. I'm not sure if GameFreak can do a proper HD Pokemon unless it looks something like a GameCube game in HD. But perhaps I'm not giving them enough credit.
OP
OP
I guess that's true, but I'd like it to go further than "it's raining so water gun does more damage". I'm not quite sure how you could push it further in a real time setting, but I'd like to see something different.
Tackle evolving into Slash isn't really different from what we have now other than the wording.
I agree. It feels like some people want EVERY turn based RPG to turn into an action title. Maybe play all the other action games out there? Pokémon is doing fine.
I don't know why everyone here says it's a rumour, when Nintendo themselves had Pokémon as 2018 or later title instead of TBA. The target is 2018, they just aren't saying for sure because the game is still in development and can release later. Also, no way Gamefreak will ever be "fired" as they own part of the IP and do a great job for Nintendo and TPC: they are fast at making games and good at getting sales too. HD won't hurt them as they already make the games in HD and downport it to 3DS.
Might be in the minority here, but i like Pokemon the way it is. The core gameplay at least. What i want them to go nuts with is everything surrounding, bigger region, more stuff to do besides gyms/trials/whatever-next-game-will-have, much more QoL. (... and less focus on legendaries/Ultrabeasts)
Thinking about it, they could really try to make the world more open and integrate the use of Pokemon in that. For example, instead of having an HM or a certain "service"-Pokemon like in S/M, in order to clear some rocks/heavy obstacles you have to get yourself a bigger/stronger Pokemon to deal with it. Basically have players to be flexible in terms of a team in order to explore the world the way they want.
What i definitely want them to adress is the post-game. Re-visiting a region from a previous game that isn't slated for a remake/remaster, battle factories en masse, side stories to continue after the mainplot is finished, etc.
Thinking about it, they could really try to make the world more open and integrate the use of Pokemon in that. For example, instead of having an HM or a certain "service"-Pokemon like in S/M, in order to clear some rocks/heavy obstacles you have to get yourself a bigger/stronger Pokemon to deal with it. Basically have players to be flexible in terms of a team in order to explore the world the way they want.
What i definitely want them to adress is the post-game. Re-visiting a region from a previous game that isn't slated for a remake/remaster, battle factories en masse, side stories to continue after the mainplot is finished, etc.
OP
OP
That's only assuming those people are actually complaining ;)
I loved the changes in Sun and Moon (especially getting rid of HMs). The developers are surely trying new things with the Pokémon franchise and I simply hope they continue to push it further and not be too afraid to take creative risks.
Yeah. This would be the worst idea.
Just make a pokemon game but in a cool overworld and try to not have grid based movement. The exploration of the game itself needs to evolve sure but the fundamentals need to stay the same. People will straight up revolt if they were to ever try Final Fantasy like fuckery
I was thinking more along the lines of outside of battle. Like you could be walking along a route and suddenly it starts raining so Water type Pokémon are more likely to be found in the wild or it starts snowing and you are more likely to encounter ice type Pokémon. I know that since Ruby/Sapphire you had certain Routes that were always raining/snowing but I think it would be cool to have it like Breath of the Wild/Animal Crossing where the weather can change at anytime when you're playing.
There already a very similar thread going
https://www.resetera.com/threads/i-...ain-the-same-way-botw-odyssey-did.5686/unread
Also: Pokemon Switch is going to be Gen 8. It won't be another Alola port. And the DP remakes will come after that.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/i-...ain-the-same-way-botw-odyssey-did.5686/unread
Also: Pokemon Switch is going to be Gen 8. It won't be another Alola port. And the DP remakes will come after that.
At the same time, how annoying would that be? You need a fire type found on a specific route but it just won't stop raining? Dynamic weather in the overworld would be cool, but the first half of that suggestions sounds annoying as hell.
OP
OP
Fair enough. Upping the move count would be a huge plus at the very least. My anxiety tends to spike when I have to get rid of a good move. A lot of people underestimate how hard of a decision it can be sometimes.
Yeah I'd really like to see deeper world mechanics. Also, push the environments to a new level. The world really feeling vast and like you're on an adventure where you have at least some agency about the path you take could easily be the big change people want. I want the feeling of imagination and journey that I got when watching the Kanto anime series as a kid when it would take them a few episodes to get from one major city to the next. The world felt like it was full of wonder. I've wanted that in a Pokemon game since.
This. Especially with the rumour that Nintendo are pushing Game Freak to launch Gen 8 as soon as next year. There's no time for anything other than upscaled Sun/Moon.
That's the whole point! You're supposed to be making hard choices and considering what effect losing a move would have on the balance of your team. Sometimes you have to ditch a good move for a not great one because your team as a whole benefits from it. Part of Pokemon is team building, making those choices easy takes a lot of the challenge out of the game.
You guys realize that Pokémon for Switch is going to be just as linear as past Pokémon games, just in HD, right? I feel like people are expecting a sprawling, vast open world region, when it'll probably have slightly larger areas than current gen. First of all, Gamefreak has never done a game of that size before, and I'm not sure they're really capable of that at this moment. Second of all, they've never done an HD game, at least not an HD rpg. If we think back to all the troubles JRPG devs had transitioning to HD last gen, it's a little unlikely to expect GF to hit it out of the park on their first try. I think everyone should really reign in their expectations. Switch Pokemon will definitely be a step above the handheld games we've had so far, but it probably won't measure up to what people expect from console rpgs now.
Yeah I can see how that would be annoying. Maybe they could bring back the DexNAV thing from ORAS to help with that?
I feel like if dynamic weather is going to affect encounter rates it should be in a positive way. Like rain or extreme sun on a route makes it easier to find a specific Pokemon and not Pokemon in general.
OP
OP
Honestly, I don't want them to change the combat basically....at all. Improve the presentation by all means but I don't know if it would feel like Pokemon to me without that core combat.
Aside from that I don't care what they change. I'd like it t be more challenging because I've always ended up unintentionally overleveling in the recent games.
Aside from that I don't care what they change. I'd like it t be more challenging because I've always ended up unintentionally overleveling in the recent games.
There are a lot of us out here, we're just tired of having the same old thread every time about Pokémon.
In addition for the two games being made by totally different brands of developers... A lot of the changes in Breath of the Wild are based on the criticism they received with Skyward Sword.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/02...rd-sword-feedback-impacted-breath-of-the-wild
Zelda fans are used to be divided between different styles of gameplay. Some people replay older entries regularly. Some people only play some entries. Each game is a very distinct entry, hence the reinvention when something doesn't work.
So far, Pokémon main-game fans are exactly that: Pokémon main game fans. The current entry is the one where all the trading and online happens, and it is often compatible with the previous one. Since you can't please everyone with your game, you make a different game for different people.
Seeing how big the Pokémon franchise is, I don't see why they couldn't make a spin-off of the main game that is more action-oriented and open world, to please people that like the characters and the franchise but do not gel with the main game formula (you can't please everyone at once). If they do make change in the main formula, I wouldn't advise to change the structure of the main games though, especially the linear story path and the turn-based combat system.
Not to say they couldn't implement new things (they seems to be willing to change the traditional mechanics at least), but there are two design paradigms that I want to defend here: the turn-based combat, and the story having a linear path to follow.
Based on this survey, turn-based RPGs are more popular than action-based RPGs. It depends on the demographic of the developer that made the survey of course, but I believe Pokémon's players would react the same.
But why?
Based on the demography aimed by Pokémon to reach their sales numbers (everyone, children like adults, even without previous game experience) a game that doesn't require constant focus/timing inputs and is more based on strategic decisions and recognition of patterns seems more suited. Hence Turn-based.
Can pause at any time means it doesn't require to "block" an amount of time for it (gel well with portability).
Linear games might be less overwhelming than Open-world games for first-timers without a good sense of in-game direction. Pokémon games usually coupled that with optionnal side-paths for exploration. Though, there is a design problem in there with the leveling system (you do side stuff, you become overleveled), and I'd like to see them tackle that one (maybe incentivise using new underleveled Pokémon, but that goes against the emotional design of having long-time companions).
I know that those two design paradigms were used since the beginning. But from the perspective of a dev I think wanting to modify them is a "newness" bias toward more recent trends of action-oriented and open-world games (evolution of Final Fantasy games for example). All design paradigms have a reason to exist, there is no "inferior" design, especially there where in my opinion the turn-based design serves a purpose (make the game more approcheable).
If you don't like how the main Pokémon games play, a Spin-off with a sizeable budget is the very next best thing you can hope for.
I would like them to make the world like Xenoblade, vast works with visible Pokemon wondering around, having communities, some aggressive, some tame, some giant, some small, some hidden, some extremely well hidden, shiny Pokemon, etc.
I would also like them to adopt BotW's camera rune, so you have to take photos of the Pokemon in order for them to appear on the Pokedex, and that your photo appears there.
Also adopt the radar thing from BotW, so you can track already captured Pokemon easily.
I would also like them to adopt BotW's camera rune, so you have to take photos of the Pokemon in order for them to appear on the Pokedex, and that your photo appears there.
Also adopt the radar thing from BotW, so you can track already captured Pokemon easily.
I'm not saying they're lazy, which is why the word lazy doesn't appear in my post. I'm saying they're intentionally under-developing the games to save money to the detriment of the series. It's somewhat apparent at this point. The team is ridiculously small, and I don't see how rushing their first HD game out the door with that team size in 2018 (if it comes out then) is going to make the games change in a positive way, which is what I'm concerned about. Not TPC rolling in money. Their profit margins are absolutely a result of investing less money into the series than ought to be.
Would appreciate not being accused of calling devs lazy when I didn't use the word, or even insinuate that. Am I allowed to say "greedy?" Because they're being pretty blatantly greedy.
OP
OP
OP
OP
I completely agree. I've been a Pokemon fan since the very beginning, but since then, not much has changed. We've seen a improvements over the years, but at its core, it's basically the same.
I've imagined what it would be like for Pokemon to evolve and reach the next level, and it's glorious. Imagine Pokemon with the same structure as WoW or other similar titles. Players able to find their own path and way to play: breeders, farmers, clothing designers, archaeologists, etc. Flying Charizard across the map or riding Gyrados across the sea to discover hidden ruins. Ever-expanding. Open-world. Each expansion opening the door to a new area while keeping the old alive. Legendary raids. The possibilities are endless!
The future of Pokemon is bright and limitless, but it just depends on how soon Game Freak chooses to get there. I just hope that Pokemon Stars is more "Pokemon of the Wild" than "HD Sun and Moon." I want a new, incredible experience... not just a HD 3DS port. Here's hoping!
Weather already does affect encounter rates in SM. Some Pokémon only come out when it's raining or hailing, like Vanilluxe in Mt. Lanakila.