Will Pokemon Ever Return to the Style of Black & White & Earlier?

[BRSxIgnition]

Let me be clear, by style, I mean the way the games systems key us in to the game's key demographic.

Personally, the Black and White games were the last ones to interest me, and since then, the practice of making every system easier (exp share, no fully equipped enemy trainers, etc.) has really turned me off from the series.

I understand that Let's Go is supposed to be a second starting point as a remake of the original games with systems from the mobile Go but I'm wondering if the next generation will be more of the simplified systems from recent entries, or if it will be a deeper, more complex game like older entries. (At least relatively)

What do you all think?

 

[Carassius Auratus]

No. If Gamefreak can make more money with less effort, they will.

 

[btkadams]

I would have said to expect it to be more of the same simplifications seen in Sun/Moon, but now Let's Go exists. What if Let's Go becomes the kid-focused series and the mainline games boost the difficulty a bit?

 

[White Wolf]

As long as Masuda is there involved with the games, they will be brain dead easy, even for children.

 

[Kinsei]

Sadly no. In fact I expect the main games to get even more simplified.

 

[ffdgh]

I wish, but it'll never happen after the disdain towards gen 5.

 

[Deleted member 9714]

They will keep making the games simpler and simpler. They have already ceased being half as fun as their predecessors, GameFreak is trying to see how low they can go.

 

[Aters]

No. They will make sure that infants can play Pokemon the first thing they leave their mothers' womb.

I played Pokemon Green when I was in primary school. It never occurred to me that Pokemon would be too hard for kids. I don't know if it's I was a smart kid or kids got more stupid over the years. Oh and I played with fan translation with a lot of gibberish lines.

 

[Atheerios]

No, never and that's good.

 

[Glio]

They will not return because there is nothing to go back to, there is no significant difference between Gen VII and Gen V as systems

The survey is also biased, as if it were only a good option to go back

 

[Xyer]

God I hope not. Black and White are probably my least favorite Pokémon games in the last ten years.

 

[Sterok]

They did that with Sun and Moon. Depends on what Gamefreak feels like doing on brainstorming day really. That and a bit of how Let's Go sells compared to gen 8, however that turns out.

 

[Ultima_5]

you mean good? hopefully. ive never been more disappointed in than I was by GF's turn out over the course of the 3ds. bunch of bad games.

 

[Fisico]

No. If Gamefreak can make more money with less effort, they will.

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Less complex doesn't necessary mean easier to develop and cheaper per se, it's all about UX and polishing it as further as possible or not, complexity can come from the failing to convey how you gameplay mechanics work, simplicity might look like it because you properly thought about it and had a lot of trial&errors and playtesting before.

Anyway I don't think that's the point OP is trying to make anyway.

 

[CrocoDuck]

I doubt it. The games are just too easy now, the artstyle for this new game and previous Sun/Moon, X/Y games are horrendous. It looks so bland, lazy, half-assed and lacks any really sense of wonder and exploration.

 

[Zellia]

With Let's Go existing and it being Masuda's probable final game as director, I'd like to think the possibility exists. I'm not holding my breath though.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

I have a suspicion Go will continue to be an influence on the main games long term now. Even though I am enjoying let's go.

 

[Kinsei]

With Let's Go existing and it being Masuda's probable final game as director, I'd like to think the possibility exists. I'm not holding my breath though.

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Masuda wasn't the director of Sun/Moon. Ohmori was and he seems to have the same views on the series as Masuda.

 

[Beje]

I don't want Pokémon games to be hard. I want them NOT to insult everyone's intelligence and assume kids are totally incompetent and need a You Win button in order to enjoy the game. Toning down the cutscenes and the amount of times the games wrestle control out of you for forced tutorials would also be welcome.

For example, allowing more experimentation and explaining things on the fly as they happen with non intrusive pop-up messages would improve the experience by a tenfold compared to the NPC that will inevitably waste 5 minutes of your time to show you how to catch a Pokémon in bullet time, even if you already figured out how to do it yourself.

 

[Ailanthium]

I don't think any of ya'll have played Sun/Moon. Not sure if I would call it difficult, but I would probably say it's harder than Black and White, and I played Pokemon competitively in Gen 6. EXP share is a convenience (one you don't even have to use) but they balance the game around having a halfway decent team rather than power leveling one or two Pokemon and ignoring the rest, which is what earlier games encouraged.

 

[Deleted member 17207]

I think they've made it clear that next year's game will be that core Pokemon game for those longtime fans. This year it's for the people who they want to GET to buy next year's game. The casual audience, the young audience, etc.

I think next year's game will be a little more in that style, especially because it'll be just as much for a console audience as it will be a handheld audience.

But I also think that if Let's Go does better numbers than a possible more "core" game next year...

...bye bye "core" games, hellooooooooo "Let's Go" forever.

 

[Deleted member 42686]

From the look of it(games becaming a lot more easier and handholding), I doubt it. Which is a shame, since B/W is one of the best pokemon games I have so far.

 

[Nax]

I do long for the times before Mega Evos, Z-Moves, Mini games...All needless fluff in my opinion. Just make the core gameplay more challenging or strategic instead. For starters, only allow fair fights against trainers. If they have 1 Poke'mon, I should only get 1 Poke'mon.

 

[Deleted member 33533]

I don't think they ever will. Gen V was the last Pokemon games I really enjoyed. I felt that I forced myself through the last 2 gens because it was Pokemon and I'm a fan but after setting them down and looking back, I really didn't like them that much.

Gen V had this great style and energy to it. It felt like Game Freak had mastered making Pokemon games on the DS and so they had nothing to learn or try out other than to give it their all on making a game that was just plain good. So I guess it's possible that Game Freak figures out making 3D Pokemon games and can make another gen like Gen V but I feel like they have decided to go for a more toothless and squeaky clean Pokemon experience so I doubt it will happen.

 

[Fj0823]

Let's Go buried any chance of that.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

The games will never go back to Gen 5. They dead.

 

[Xita]

Sadly no. And people have proven that GF can put in the least effort possible for the most returns.

 

[Sou Da]

No. If Gamefreak can make more money with less effort, they will.

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.

 

[spartan112g]

Pokémon games have never been complex to me, just time consuming. I love the added features such as instant-xp share and not having HMs because they make the game more fun for me. I feel like the next step is to add toggles so people can play like they want to play.

 

[Arkanim94]

I surely hope so.

 

[RROCKMAN]

I want the black and white artstyle to return, hand drawn trainer sprites were gorgeous

 

[Deleted member 4093]

As long as Masuda is there involved with the games, they will be brain dead easy, even for children.

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LGPE is the last game he is director of.

 

[BRSxIgnition]

Exp share was bad, having trainers with only two Pokemon until the endgame was worse, but telling you what type to use against gym leaders just makes me want to gag.

Even if the games are designed for kids, do they think kids have absolutely zero problem solving capabilities?

 

[Sou Da]

I want the black and white artstyle to return, hand drawn trainer sprites were gorgeous

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Honestly if you look at BW it feels like they were on the way to doing Visual Novel/SMT style dialogue scenes but then 3d happened for them.

 

[Faiyaz]

How does XY, SM, ORAS and USUM have less "complex systems" than BW/BW2? Just curious.

 

[Sou Da]

I want the black and white artstyle to return, hand drawn trainer sprites were gorgeous

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Honestly if you look at BW it feels like they were on the way to doing Visual Novel/SMT style dialogue scenes but then 3d happened for them.

 

[Deleted member 2793]

Damn. I was making a similar thread right as this was posted! Can't believe it. lol

I really want them to go back to making actual great games, but I have legit 0 expectations. I think Pokémon may be over forever for me and I feel sad about this.

 

[Glio]

Exp share was bad, having trainers with only two Pokemon until the endgame was worse, but telling you what type to use against gym leaders just makes me want to gag.

Even if the games are designed for kids, do they think kids have absolutely zero problem solving capabilities?

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Exp share was a gift from God. I remember having to do the thing of putting the weak Pokémon the first one and going to change it with another all the combats and it was just annoying.

 

[Serebii]

Sun & Moon is very much in the style of Black & White

 

[Beje]

LGPE is the last game he is director of.

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Let's hope Ohmori doesn't screw up things that much. There were some glimpses of challenge in Sun/Moon, especially on totem battles that would wreck your shit if you came unprepared or just expecting to steamroll them as usual but they screwed it up with the constant handholding, the "theme park ride" design constantly railroading you to your next destination and the long-ass cutscenes.

Even if the games are designed for kids, do they think kids have absolutely zero problem solving capabilities?

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That's the problem: they actually do. They have zero faith in their own product and have convinced themselves that if they don't give kids a "you win" button and constant positive feedback they will go back to whatever mobile shovelware has picked up their attention. They seem to forget (or ignore) that kids love stuff like Minecraft, can learn how to control a complex shooter like Fortnite and even some of them like the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise which are a survival horror "lite" with a lot of jump scares based on careful planning and resource management under stress.

 

[Deleted member 2793]

Sun & Moon is very much in the style of Black & White

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I had no idea SM had 150 new Pokémon all available in the wild. :p

BW was fresh, Joe. I like SM's campaign, but I don't feel any excitement about Pokémon anymore since the gen1fication started.

 

[Future Gazer]

Nah. Game Freak has made it clear that their current priority is making the games as accessible as possible. Gen 8 will be a continuation of what the 3DS games started, with some Let's Go influence added on top.

 

[Kinsei]

Sun & Moon is very much in the style of Black & White

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Outside of a greater focus on story like B/W, how exactly is Sun/Moon similar?

 

[AzureFlame]

No. If Gamefreak can make more money with less effort, they will.

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The sad reality.

 

[Astandahl]

I hope so. I hate forced tutorials and cutscene especially if the story is crap.

Black is the last Pokemon game i truly enjoyed. The best one with Soul Silver in my opinion.

 

[Glio]

I have said in another thread but the hate that receives S/M reminds me of The Last Jedi

 

[TheBeardedOne]

I played and beat White and White 2 and, honestly, they were pretty boring.

Sun was also a real slog, though. It wouldn't have been so annoying if the characters ever shut up. The NPCs kept going on and on and on.

 

[RochHoch]

Not when nostalgia whoring is low-effort and extremely profitable, sadly.

 

[Deleted member 35204]

man i wish pokémon would return to a B/W and earlier style

 

[Future Gazer]

I have said in another thread but the hate that receives S/M reminds me of The Last Jedi

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Completely justified?