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Spoilers What are your feelings on Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon?

What is your opinion on Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon's reveal? [Max. 2 Choices]

  • It's an attempt at a quick cash grab

    Votes: 34 23.0%
  • Reserving judgement till more information

    Votes: 73 49.3%
  • I like this reveal

    Votes: 53 35.8%
  • A third version/third version pair on the Switch would be better

    Votes: 11 7.4%
  • I'd have preferred ANY other reveal, for any console, but not Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

    Votes: 19 12.8%

  • Total voters
    148
I've gotta say, I'm still not entirely impressed with these games yet. Sorry for being negative, it's just how I feel. They haven't shown anything that caters to me specifically yet. Dusk Lucanroc? Great, an eventmon I won't care about. Necrozma fusing with Solgaleo and Lunala? Whatever, I don't even care about legendaries. New UBs? While that does generate some interest in that now it opens up possibilities of other new things being added, I absolutely detest the UBs. Not because of their designs or anything, but just cuz they're essentially more frickin legendaries. That can also be used online like other lesser legendaries. Hooraaaaaay.

Honestly, the coolest thing revealed so far for me is that feature to take selfies with your Pokémon. And hats pretty lame as it is. Give me something like a battle frontier or a drastically different story, please.

Sorry, I sound so negative. I'm gonna buy this game regardless, and I know I'll enjoy it. Just wish there was a bit more, ya know?
 
I've gotta say, I'm still not entirely impressed with these games yet. Sorry for being negative, it's just how I feel. They haven't shown anything that caters to me specifically yet. Dusk Lucanroc? Great, an eventmon I won't care about. Necrozma fusing with Solgaleo and Lunala? Whatever, I don't even care about legendaries. New UBs? While that does generate some interest in that now it opens up possibilities of other new things being added, I absolutely detest the UBs. Not because of their designs or anything, but just cuz they're essentially more frickin legendaries. That can also be used online like other lesser legendaries. Hooraaaaaay.

Honestly, the coolest thing revealed so far for me is that feature to take selfies with your Pokémon. And hats pretty lame as it is. Give me something like a battle frontier or a drastically different story, please.

Sorry, I sound so negative. I'm gonna buy this game regardless, and I know I'll enjoy it. Just wish there was a bit more, ya know?
Be excited for the Mantine pokeride :p We might be goin diving this time! And well, they mentioned "The valley of pikachu and other/more facilities" in the trailer, and then they mentioned the photo club separately, so there seem to be other facilities to expect? Maybe
 
Still on the fence. The new trailer served it's purpose though; It has my passing attention. If actual information comes along, then good. If another drought then, eh.
 
Currently I'm somewhat annoyed/disheartened. I thought with how they went for sequels for B2W2, and then skipped an XY rehash altogether in favor of a bigger and more worthwhile project, that they'd wizened up. But so far, USUM look like a badly-stitched chimera of things that were acceptable for Platinum because that was a decade ago and all the wrong lessons from B2W2.

Sure, they added inter-generational Pokémon for the first time, but that was always the logical next step up from forms/Mega Evolutions, and I highly doubt that it is ever going to mean more than a couple of extra Legendary Pokémon or those of similar stature. I don't think they'll ever attempt a "Gen X.5 wave" of new commons. So in that regard, while the two new UBs are a pleasant surprise, it's more just because I really love Ultra Beasts and wasn't expecting more to show up. But then, it's not as if I wasn't perfectly content with the original seven, whereas I feel that the first wave of Alola Forms was too small and that it would be really nice to see some that aren't based on Gen 1 Pokémon and yet, we've not heard even a whisper about any new Alola Forms, which seems absolutely insane to me. How can you possibly make a second Alola game and not capitalize on what seems to have been by far its most well-received region-specific conceit?

Everything else feels like a letdown, though I try to challenge myself by finding ways to give them the benefit of the doubt. Trying to think of reasons why they're making certain choices without defaulting to "well they were probably just lazy." Necrozma, for instance... yeah, I hate that it's a low-rent Kyurem whose fusions don't look even a fraction as good. On the other hand though, I can't say it's not a logical conclusion, hence why so many people predicted it from the outset. And as I've always said, the major thing with third version mascots isn't their storyline lore so much as it is the mechanic that's used to make their new forms work. But realistically, if they'd not gone with fusion, what would it have been? Doubtfully something as original as Zygarde; most likely just a key item or a special area of activation. In other words, I must admit that despite my criticism, I can't think of something better to do with Necrozma either, although that gets as a larger point in that I personally think they should just stop with the third versions mascots entirely unless they get a fresh idea for how to use them. They could still make it somewhat worthwhile if Necrozma plays more of an antagonistic role in the story, as that actually would be a new trick for the series, but we'll just have to wait and see about that.

My larger disappointment comes from the evidence that suggests that the story has changed very little from how it was in SM. I have a hard time fathoming this. They've said that now that the graphics have advanced to a point where the characters can actually emote, they feel compelled to tell more dedicated stories. Now, that's good, and I do indeed think that SM's story was pretty nice by Pokémon's standards, largely because it put actual effort into some focused character development. But you can't make people care about watching the exact same events and character arcs a second time. The immersion and the investment have already been spent. The prospect of watching Lusamine torture Cosmog to open up Ultra Wormholes and then having Cosmog go into a coma and having the protagonists sail to Poni Island in search of the Legendary Pokémon's assistance bears no tension because we've seen it play out already. I mean, is Lillie going to sail off to Kanto at the end again? If she did, would anyone still care? That scene's power as a conclusion to her arc has already been used up. I get that Game Freak aren't storytellers by nature and that Pokémon isn't a storytelling game, but their decision to amplify the story elements in response to the graphics seemed like an astute one that understood what the point was.

And yet on the other hand, I realize that the nature of these games is such that it is convenient for them to reuse preexisting assets, which includes cutscenes. And I'm no animator, so maybe good 3D cutscenes are pretty hard to create from scratch. Maybe their scene animators are busy with the Switch project. I don't know. But as disappointed as I am with the apparent lack of differentiation that these games' story have from SM's, I am not ruling out that there may be a fair reason for that. Although I think what would really help my perception would be if they gave us any sort of concrete details about what exactly these games even are. They've said they're an "alternate story," but that's awfully vague.
 
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Currently I'm somewhat annoyed/disheartened. I thought with how they went for sequels for B2W2, and then skipped an XY rehash altogether in favor of a bigger and more worthwhile project, that they'd wizened up. But so far, USUM look like a badly-stitched chimera of things that were acceptable for Platinum because that was a decade ago and all the wrong lessons from B2W2.

Sure, they added inter-generational Pokémon for the first time, but that was always the logical next step up from forms/Mega Evolutions, and I highly doubt that it is ever going to mean more than a couple of extra Legendary Pokémon or those of similar stature. I don't think they'll ever attempt a "Gen X.5 wave" of new commons. So in that regard, while the two new UBs are a pleasant surprise, it's more just because I really love Ultra Beasts and wasn't expecting more to show up. But then, it's not as if I wasn't perfectly content with the original seven, whereas I feel that the first wave of Alola Forms was too small and that it would be really nice to see some that aren't based on Gen 1 Pokémon and yet, we've not heard even a whisper about any new Alola Forms, which seems absolutely insane to me. How can you possibly make a second Alola game and not capitalize on what seems to have been by far its most well-received region-specific conceit?

Everything else feels like a letdown, though I try to challenge myself by finding ways to give them the benefit of the doubt. Trying to think of reasons why they're making certain choices without defaulting to "well they were probably just lazy." Necrozma, for instance... yeah, I hate that it's a low-rent Kyurem whose fusions don't look even a fraction as good. On the other hand though, I can't say it's not a logical conclusion, hence why so many people predicted it from the outset. And as I've always said, the major thing with third versions mascots isn't their storyline lore so much as it is the mechanic that's used to make their new forms work. But realistically, if they'd not gone with fusion, what would it have been? Doubtfully something as original as Zygarde; most likely just a key item or a special area of activation. In other words, I must admit that despite my criticism, I can't think of something better to do with Necrozma either, although that gets as a larger point in that I personally think they should just stop with the third versions mascots entirely unless they get a fresh idea for how to use them. They could still make it somewhat worthwhile if Necrozma plays more of an antagonistic role in the story, as that actually would be a new trick for the series, but we'll just have to wait and see about that.

My larger disappointment comes from the evidence that suggests that the story has changed very little from how it was in SM. I have a hard time fathoming this. They've said that now that the graphics have advanced to a point where the characters can actually emote, they feel compelled to tell more dedicated stories. Now, that's good, and I do indeed think that SM's story was pretty nice by Pokémon's standards, largely because it put actual effort into some focused character development. But you can't make people care about watching the exact same events and character arcs a second time. The immersion and the investment have already been spent. The prospect of watching Lusamine torture Cosmog to open up Ultra Wormholes and then having Cosmog go into a coma and having the protagonists sail to Poni Island in search of the Legendary Pokémon's assistance bears no tension because we've seen it play out already. I mean, is Lillie going to sail off to Kanto at the end again? If she did, would anyone still care? That scene's power as a conclusion to her arc has already been used up. I get that Game Freak aren't storytellers by nature and that Pokémon isn't a storytelling game, but their decision to amplify the story elements in response to the graphics seemed like an astute one that understand what the point was.

And yet on the other hand, I realize that the nature of these games is such that it is convenient for them to reuse preexisting assets, which includes cutscenes. And I'm no animator, so maybe good 3D cutscenes are pretty hard to create from scratch. Maybe their scene animators are busy with the Switch project. I don't know. But as disappointed as I am with the apparent lack of differentiation these games' story have from SM's, I am not ruling out that there may be a fair reason for that. Although I think what would really help my perception would be if they gave us any sort of concrete details about what exactly these games even are. They've said they're an "alternate story," but that's awfully vague.
Well what did you expect, we already know that "Alternate Story is a third game, it's not a different story because it's confirmed not sequel. It's still the same story of SM, but this time it's focusing on UBs, and Necrozma. They pulled the "Stars" codenamed to be third game to SM, but this time it's two paired games instead of one. It feels like a Emerald/Platinum moment on USUM. Yes we do have new areas to explore, new UBS, new exclusive Z-moves, etc. Iwao said there are more new features in USUM, but don't want to reveal them yet. It's not like USUM is the main project they have to focus on, because it's not like they'll put too much effort into the game that already been played a year ago. The main focus is on Switch, they might a lot of effort into this, making open-word experience, but not too open world compared to BotW. Even though, if USUM are a third game Platinum 2.0, I would still get the games regardless, plus I did enjoy playing Platinum than DP anyways.
 
Well what did you expect, we already know that "Alternate Story is a third game, it's not a different story because it's confirmed not sequel.

"Alternate story" doesn't have to mean "basically the same story with a few changes" or "sequel." Theoretically you could tell a totally different story with various characters in different positions than they were before, or with different motivations. Sort of like a "What if?" tale.

What if Lusamine never lost Mohn?

What if it was Lillie who took Type: Null and Gladion who took Cosmog?

What if some other villain group rose to prominence in Alola instead of Team Skull?

And that's just a few random ideas off the top of my head; there are many ways you could spin it.
 
"Alternate story" doesn't have to mean "basically the same story with a few changes" or "sequel." Theoretically you could tell a totally different story with various characters in different positions than they were before, or with different motivations. Sort of like a "What if?" tale.

What if Lusamine never lost Mohn?

What if it was Lillie who took Type: Null and Gladion who took Cosmog?

What if some other villain group rose to prominence in Alola instead of Team Skull?

And that's just a few random ideas off the top of my head; there are many ways you could spin it.
the thing is all these potential meanings are nothing but poor folks like us setting ourselves up for disappointment :p I said way back that USUM's description was closest to Emerald of all games and hence, the changes expected shouldn't be much more than a third version. Didn't stop me from hoping or assuming, but yeah, the fault was my own for not listening to my inner voice of reason which knows the typical meanings behind their phrasing (e.g. new pokemon/alternate story/ features/ AMAZING SCOOP etc)

My only issue remains that the games are something this insignificant and yet are split into a game duo. I demand to see justification for that low move.
 
the thing is all these potential meanings are nothing but poor folks like us setting ourselves up for disappointment :p

It does seem that way, yeah. Probably time to accept that B2W2 were most likely an abberation, and that skipping Z was a circumstantial issue rather than an actively bold decision. This franchise is what it is, I guess, never to aim higher.

My only issue remains that the games are something this insignificant and yet are split into a game duo. I demand to see justification for that low move.

Eh, to be honest I'm not too bugged about them being split games. It's the series's signature format, and SM actually do have a few more kinds of version differences than previous dual pairs (mainly the time of day thing and the game-exclusive evolutions, but also some other bits and bobs).

I don't think Game Freak actually expect a whole lot of people to buy both games, so I'm guessing that in their minds, there really isn't much of a problem. Most people will just want one of the games and will trade with people who have the other one, so to those people, it is not very functionally different from just buying Emerald, or Platinum.
 
It does seem that way, yeah. Probably time to accept that B2W2 were most likely an abberation, and that skipping Z was a circumstantial issue rather than an actively bold decision. This franchise is what it is, I guess, never to aim higher.



Eh, to be honest I'm not too bugged about them being split games. It's the series's signature format, and SM actually do have a few more kinds of version differences than previous dual pairs (mainly the time of day thing and the game-exclusive evolutions, but also some other bits and bobs).

I don't think Game Freak actually expect a whole lot of people to buy both games, so I'm guessing that in their minds, there really isn't much of a problem. Most people will just want one of the games and will trade with people who have the other one, so to those people, it is not very functionally different from just buying Emerald, or Platinum.
I remember the BW2 interview and they stated that the games were only sequels because they wanted to surprise the fans and give them something else while they were expected "Grey". It could be that they do not want to establish a pattern for that very reason. And hence, we didn't get a Z, and now we are back to third versions, but split in 2...Not that it's a good decision, but eh, wouldn't put it past them.

I only want 2 things from these games tbh. Just show me alolan forms exist and show me that the cloud actually hides something of value, that's all I ask at this point.
 
I remember the BW2 interview and they stated that the games were only sequels because they wanted to surprise the fans and give them something else while they were expected "Grey". It could be that they do not want to establish a pattern for that very reason. And hence, we didn't get a Z, and now we are back to third versions, but split in 2...Not that it's a good decision, but eh, wouldn't put it past them.

I only want 2 things from these games tbh. Just show me alolan forms exist and show me that the cloud actually hides something of value, that's all I ask at this point.
A third game split in two version is good decision to boost the sales, so that's the reason we haven't had a third game since platinum. The only thing I'm interest, if it has a better post-game content compare to Emerald/Platinum, have a Alola expanded Pokedex, Ultra Beast's own Ultra Space, new areas, etc. I'm probably thinking of trading both SM for USUM.
 
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Currently I'm somewhat annoyed/disheartened. I thought with how they went for sequels for B2W2, and then skipped an XY rehash altogether in favor of a bigger and more worthwhile project, that they'd wizened up. But so far, USUM look like a badly-stitched chimera of things that were acceptable for Platinum because that was a decade ago and all the wrong lessons from B2W2.

Sure, they added inter-generational Pokémon for the first time, but that was always the logical next step up from forms/Mega Evolutions, and I highly doubt that it is ever going to mean more than a couple of extra Legendary Pokémon or those of similar stature. I don't think they'll ever attempt a "Gen X.5 wave" of new commons. So in that regard, while the two new UBs are a pleasant surprise, it's more just because I really love Ultra Beasts and wasn't expecting more to show up. But then, it's not as if I wasn't perfectly content with the original seven, whereas I feel that the first wave of Alola Forms was too small and that it would be really nice to see some that aren't based on Gen 1 Pokémon and yet, we've not heard even a whisper about any new Alola Forms, which seems absolutely insane to me. How can you possibly make a second Alola game and not capitalize on what seems to have been by far its most well-received region-specific conceit?

Everything else feels like a letdown, though I try to challenge myself by finding ways to give them the benefit of the doubt. Trying to think of reasons why they're making certain choices without defaulting to "well they were probably just lazy." Necrozma, for instance... yeah, I hate that it's a low-rent Kyurem whose fusions don't look even a fraction as good. On the other hand though, I can't say it's not a logical conclusion, hence why so many people predicted it from the outset. And as I've always said, the major thing with third version mascots isn't their storyline lore so much as it is the mechanic that's used to make their new forms work. But realistically, if they'd not gone with fusion, what would it have been? Doubtfully something as original as Zygarde; most likely just a key item or a special area of activation. In other words, I must admit that despite my criticism, I can't think of something better to do with Necrozma either, although that gets as a larger point in that I personally think they should just stop with the third versions mascots entirely unless they get a fresh idea for how to use them. They could still make it somewhat worthwhile if Necrozma plays more of an antagonistic role in the story, as that actually would be a new trick for the series, but we'll just have to wait and see about that.

My larger disappointment comes from the evidence that suggests that the story has changed very little from how it was in SM. I have a hard time fathoming this. They've said that now that the graphics have advanced to a point where the characters can actually emote, they feel compelled to tell more dedicated stories. Now, that's good, and I do indeed think that SM's story was pretty nice by Pokémon's standards, largely because it put actual effort into some focused character development. But you can't make people care about watching the exact same events and character arcs a second time. The immersion and the investment have already been spent. The prospect of watching Lusamine torture Cosmog to open up Ultra Wormholes and then having Cosmog go into a coma and having the protagonists sail to Poni Island in search of the Legendary Pokémon's assistance bears no tension because we've seen it play out already. I mean, is Lillie going to sail off to Kanto at the end again? If she did, would anyone still care? That scene's power as a conclusion to her arc has already been used up. I get that Game Freak aren't storytellers by nature and that Pokémon isn't a storytelling game, but their decision to amplify the story elements in response to the graphics seemed like an astute one that understood what the point was.

And yet on the other hand, I realize that the nature of these games is such that it is convenient for them to reuse preexisting assets, which includes cutscenes. And I'm no animator, so maybe good 3D cutscenes are pretty hard to create from scratch. Maybe their scene animators are busy with the Switch project. I don't know. But as disappointed as I am with the apparent lack of differentiation that these games' story have from SM's, I am not ruling out that there may be a fair reason for that. Although I think what would really help my perception would be if they gave us any sort of concrete details about what exactly these games even are. They've said they're an "alternate story," but that's awfully vague.
I am mostly in the same camp, just slightly more optimistic. Not trying to change your mind or anything here, just piggybacking off your post with my slightly more positive outlook.
-I think in general Gamefreak are trying to actively hide as much as they can from the games. Its not working AS well as it could, mostly because their info feeds have been stale over the last two months, with Lycanroc and the fusions being the only focus. I definitely think more Alola Formes have been added, but my only worry is that they will limit it to gen 2 and not the entire catalogue.
-As for Necrozma, yes fusions is a repeat. At the least, a fusion with Cosmoen where it steals its light and then creates a projection would have been more interesting, conceptually. However, no its actually much more interesting compared to Kyurem for me. Where as with Kyurem you had something which was sold to us as a natutal outcome due to the nature of the trio, an empty husk which can absorb the energy of either two Pokemon to regain some of its lost power, with Necrozma we have something which is obviously, sinister and unnatural. The cutscenes they have shown us and the wording given on the site basically confirms that whatever changes they made to the plot, Necrozma's involvement in the whole thing is entirely its doing. How that would work with SMs plot is likely gonna result in a contrived outcome, but that's IF its still SMs plot likr the recent trailer sugest, but I will get back to that soon. Necrozma, like I was saying, has more going for it. The forme name suggests that it eats up the light of each Pokemon, and secondly the fact that it forces the other Pokemon into the fusion means that its a parasitic sort of fusion instead of symbiotic.
-And back to the story. I agree that an alternate take should be more then the UBs having more involvement, or adding Necrozma. And yet, I have a nagging feeling that at some point, all those retread cutscenes are the only ones. The new UBs are in a late game cutscene, but now instead of being something viewed from afar, both you and Hau are there on MeleMele for it. If the plot is really the same, why go back? Necrozma forces the emmisaries into the fusion. If Lillie and Nebby have the same plot and character arc, then why would they add more drama and heartbreak to an already painful tale? Lusamine witnesses a wormhole in Aether Paradise. Who is to say that its not a new UB instead of Nihilego, and her motives are way more different without the toxic influence? I know, its a lot of what ifs, but I really think after akala things will change.

So yeah. I still have my doubts about the games, but some portions of known info do offer enough questions to pause my doubts about how much is truly different.
 
-I think in general Gamefreak are trying to actively hide as much as they can from the games. Its not working AS well as it could, mostly because their info feeds have been stale over the last two months, with Lycanroc and the fusions being the only focus. I definitely think more Alola Formes have been added, but my only worry is that they will limit it to gen 2 and not the entire catalogue.

I have considered this, but it's so different from their last several spoiler-happy promotional campaigns that it feels like wishful thinking. Yeah it's like, maybe they actually learned from the last few times and took the criticism under advisement but... it's Game Freak lol, do they actually do that? Especially when there's an incentive to marketing the dickens out of any game, in that it inevitably drums up interest in all the new things? If you sell the game as merely "SM Plus," are people going to be interested enough to actually buy them in order to see if they've introduced some worthwhile features and upgrades?

The opposite suggestion that they're trying to self-torpedo USUM so as not to get in the way of Pokkén and Gen 8 doesn't make a lot of sense either, for all the obvious reasons why it wouldn't, but it does seem notable that the initial reveal trailer for USUM did bury them under Pokkén and do all but actually say "lol these are throwaway games for your 8-year-old cousin's 2DS." And if that is how they're thinking of these games, then is that really the kind of thing that we can expect them to be pouring a considerable amount of effort into? I hate sounding condescending when it comes to children, but an 8-year-old who sees that a new Pokémon game is out in time for Christmas may not care that the story is a copy/paste of SM if they can take photos with their cool black-armored Solgaleo, and may not even know or have the long-term awareness to care that they announced a nameless, featureless, year-or-more-off Switch game in a Nintendo Direct several months ago.

-As for Necrozma, yes fusions is a repeat. At the least, a fusion with Cosmoen where it steals its light and then creates a projection would have been more interesting, conceptually. However, no its actually much more interesting compared to Kyurem for me. Where as with Kyurem you had something which was sold to us as a natutal outcome due to the nature of the trio, an empty husk which can absorb the energy of either two Pokemon to regain some of its lost power, with Necrozma we have something which is obviously, sinister and unnatural. The cutscenes they have shown us and the wording given on the site basically confirms that whatever changes they made to the plot, Necrozma's involvement in the whole thing is entirely its doing. How that would work with SMs plot is likely gonna result in a contrived outcome, but that's IF its still SMs plot likr the recent trailer sugest, but I will get back to that soon. Necrozma, like I was saying, has more going for it. The forme name suggests that it eats up the light of each Pokemon, and secondly the fact that it forces the other Pokemon into the fusion means that its a parasitic sort of fusion instead of symbiotic.

Yeah as I said, I've just got to wait and see about Necrozma. I admitted that I don't really know what I'd have done with it either. They could pitch it in an interesting way, and I guess there's the argument that it's better to experiment with fusion a little more (considering that it was shiny and new for Kyurem but hasn't been touched since then - there certainly were some people hoping that they would expand on the idea with other Pokémon, although I wasn't one of them; I was perfectly happy with it being a Kyurem-only thing) than it is to just have it change form with some item yet again.

I won't even pretend that I'm not interested in whatever lore dump they give it, but I'll readily admit that it's just because I specifically am a huge lore junkie. Most people probably don't care (for instance, I constantly see people mistakenly saying that Colress created the DNA Splicers to fuse Kyurem with N's dragon despite the theft of the Splicers and their status as an ancient artifact being the whole point of Team Plasma's assault on Opelucid, and that was all in games that were actually pretty successful and popular), and objectively speaking, Pokémon just isn't a storytelling-based game so the specific details of the story don't make much of a difference in the long run.

-And back to the story. I agree that an alternate take should be more then the UBs having more involvement, or adding Necrozma. And yet, I have a nagging feeling that at some point, all those retread cutscenes are the only ones. The new UBs are in a late game cutscene, but now instead of being something viewed from afar, both you and Hau are there on MeleMele for it. If the plot is really the same, why go back? Necrozma forces the emmisaries into the fusion. If Lillie and Nebby have the same plot and character arc, then why would they add more drama and heartbreak to an already painful tale? Lusamine witnesses a wormhole in Aether Paradise. Who is to say that its not a new UB instead of Nihilego, and her motives are way more different without the toxic influence? I know, its a lot of what ifs, but I really think after akala things will change.

I mean, everything you're saying here is logical. It doesn't make sense to retread Lillie's exact arc if they're not going to show it with a different outcome. That's what I myself am still holding onto hope for; that the Lillie plot is kept the same so that the changes around it can create a contrast. If they're not going to make sequels, and if they're not going to go all-out with an AU, then the lowest I'm willing to accept is a weird meta-commentary on third versions. I am happy with the prospect of going through Alola again; as I've said before, I think it's far more worthwhile than a Kalos revisit ever would have been, because this way, we (theoretically) get to do more with Trials, UBs, Alola Forms, and other such hallmarks of Alola - things that are actually new, and largely hard-coded to the Alola region - before they're inevitably sidelined for Gen 8. So in that regard, I'm fine with any extra Alola game. But the immediately obvious way of doing all that and providing a thoroughly new experience is clearly not an option for whatever reason (be it time, budget, laziness, or some combination of the three), and I worry that "what's logical" won't necessarily look like the most convenient option for GF, given that they probably could get away with a complete hack-job on this one. Even if USUM cheap out on everything, any wounded customers will probably become interested again once Gen 8 begins to take shape.

But yeah, I think Akala would be a good point to start having things diverge more drastically, if that's the way they're going about this. For what it's worth, I am optimistic that what comes out of the first Aether wormhole won't be Nihilego and that Lusamine will have a different reaction to it, as it does seem blatant to put that scene in the trailer but to cut it off before the emergence. But we'll just have to see. Chances that next month brings us some significant news?
 
we're getting at least two new ultra beasts, both of which are cool, and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up getting new alolan forms after all with how late those UBs were revealed. I'm happy with usum regardless, even if it ends up as little more than a third version, I'm excited to play through an enhanced version of my favorite pokemon game (bw is close). Obviously, I'd rather a lot of things change, but I look forward to playing ultra moon either way.

I think the thing I'd like the most, besides alolan forms, is some sort of battle frontier like facility. Though that's unlikely. More difficulty wouldn't be bad either, because while sm had more difficult parts than xy, it was still overall a bit too easy. Rematches with trial captains outside of the battle tree would be nice too. I could go on.
 
I remember the BW2 interview and they stated that the games were only sequels because they wanted to surprise the fans and give them something else while they were expected "Grey". It could be that they do not want to establish a pattern for that very reason. And hence, we didn't get a Z, and now we are back to third versions, but split in 2...Not that it's a good decision, but eh, wouldn't put it past them.

This philosophy is becoming a huge problem, especially now that they're starting to apply it on a game wide scale. Wanting to "surprise people" is great when something is becoming stagnant and tiring, then it can help make games exciting again. But not when something is a noticeable improvement over what they did in the past, then the games look like they're refusing to evolve and modernize and that can also becoming tiring. They really need to be smarter about what to keep and what to throw away.
 
I'm probably more excited for these games than any other 3rd version before them and I don't know why;

I just feel all this lack of promotion is making me want it even more than KNOWING almost every detail and having reveals all the time like the SM release build up.

I feel really positive about these games, especially recently given the poster just revealed. I know a lot of people are complaining about screenshots showing similar scenes to SM's stoey but what do you expect, it is a variation of those games, hence 'Ultra'. I couldn't be happier with the direction they seem to be taking the story in.
 
I think the thing I'd like the most, besides alolan forms, is some sort of battle frontier like facility. Though that's unlikely. More difficulty wouldn't be bad either, because while sm had more difficult parts than xy, it was still overall a bit too easy. Rematches with trial captains outside of the battle tree would be nice too. I could go on.
Yeah, the thing about third versions is that they usually have new facilities and/or more engaging content, not just aesthetic things like the Alolan Photo Club. With Game Freak's current philosophy and what they've shown us thus far, they don't seem willing to create new facilities mid-gen and leave the existing ones the same. GF seems to be under the impression that kids would rather play mobile games than invest in exciting post-game features just because of a little difficulty. If you take out stuff like that which previous third versions (and B2W2) had, then is it really worth creating a whole new game for stuff that could easily have been DLC?
 
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Still very iffy about this game. Sun and moon was ok games to me. Buying 49.99 enhance versions with similar cutscenes isn't appealing to me at all
 
Still very iffy about this game. Sun and moon was ok games to me. Buying 49.99 enhance versions with similar cutscenes isn't appealing to me at all
It's like every enhanced version before them...except these are split in 2 for money (no legit reason for the split) That's the biggest issue here and not so much the fact that they reverted back to enhanced versions (altho that's an issue of its own)
 
It's like every enhanced version before them...except these are split in 2 for money (no legit reason for the split) That's the biggest issue here and not so much the fact that they reverted back to enhanced versions (altho that's an issue of its own)
So they're going back to the enhanced version, but this time they split it into two, they could did something for XY instead of nothing, Black/White need a sequel instead of Grey, I could only imagine if Gen VIII will get a enhanced version too.
 
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