• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Speculation Advances in Pokemon Switch: What's the appeal?

PartTimePokemonMaster

Part Time Pokémon Master
Joined
Sep 8, 2016
Messages
385
Reaction score
541
I'm not being facetious when I ask, why do so many people want an open world and an updated rpg system in a Switch Pokemon game? Let me preface this by saying that I have not owned a home console since the PS2/NGC/XBOX generation. I have, however, owned a PSP/GBA/3/DS and have played a handful of later generation games. That being said my primary experience with open worlds are like the GTA III era series and Super Mario 64. My primary experience with RPGs is from handheld games. I say this to acknowledge that I may not be as knowledgable about the advancements made in open world games since like the mid-2000s or home console level RPGs.

Now, I say all this to say I don't see the appeal of having a full open world new type of Pokemon game. I definitely can understand aspects such as a non-linear experience or being able to truly go anywhere, in contrast to previous games where there are invisible walls within maps or you have to pass through buildings between routes and cities. I don't understand when people say that Pokemon should all be found in the over world. How would this function in game? I suppose the games would use a limited number of the total Pokemon to be found in game, so they would have to place 800+ creatures in the over world. Can modern RPGs do this? If so, what kind of system would replace the RNG based tall grass/cave/sea? Can a Pokemon game make certain areas spawn points like GO? I suppose if they did spawn points they could still have specific spawn events for legendaries as usual. What about wandering legendaries? Do they just spawn and run away? Would you chase them around like the Yokai Watch Patrol mission? In terms of battling, I thought what Sun and Moon did was fine (the background specifically represented the area you were battling.) I have heard YouTubers and other forum members discuss straight battles without a cut away or even dropping the turn based system. I don't think this is necessary and even modern RPG games like Persona 5 cut away to battle and have a turned based system. No one seems bothered by this, so why Pokemon?

I apologize for the long post, but I had questions and wanted to start a discussion. I'm all for incorporating some more modern elements, but not completely reconstructing the Pokemon series. What do you all think about systemic changes in the Pokemon series? An open world experience? The end of the turned based battle system? The mass inclusion of over world encounters?
 
Leave Pokemon mostly like it currently is in all (important) aspects, except make the world upscaled to fit a TV screen better. Also maybe make the map a bit more open world if possible (only a little more than what we have).

Pokemon is very good as it is imo.
 
Last edited:
I find Pokémon actually very boring as it is now. It hasn't evolved in 21 years. Always the same. I would really like a change and an open world would provide that. Spin-offs just don't provide the change I am looking for. So I hope that this Switch version, and I am hoping that it's one game, will be a curveball for the franchise.
 
I find Pokémon actually very boring as it is now. It hasn't evolved in 21 years. Always the same. I would really like a change and an open world would provide that. Spin-offs just don't provide the change I am looking for. So I hope that this Switch version, and I am hoping that it's one game, will be a curveball for the franchise.
What changes would you like to see? How would you like them to implement an open world? I would like a region a little bit bigger than the likes of Sinnoh/Unova/Kalos, but without the invisible walls (maybe the sea rocks so I don't go adrift at sea ;)). Like a throwback to Gen I where I could tackle some of the town/gyms out of order, but this time completely out of order. Also, I'd like it to be open world in the sense that the whole region is available to traverse (SM was a good basis, but not having any areas truly off limits; think the golf course on Akala Island.)
 
i would say some of it is attributable to the rise of western and indie RPGs. the hallmarks of JRPGs is usually that they're story-driven, turn-based and menu-based combat, and linear. on the other end Western/Indie RPGs tend to be exploration-heavy, action combat-based, and meh (to put somewhat generously) stories.

of course the reality of the situation is that Pokemon is pretty much incompatible with an open-world type set-up. at best we can hope the Switch calls for a bigger region, but i think that might even be a bit optimistic.
 
Well all I really care about is nonlinearity, I could live without full on open world and a change up of the RPG mechanics. My main issue with the series and what I expect Game Freak to change is that the games just don't feel much like an adventure anymore, they're too on rails and don't really give you a sense of freedom that an RPG probably should. The game is all about you going out into a virtual world to catch and train a team of monsters that you form a bond with, it's a very personal experience that's different for each person, so having such a cookie cutter and restricted progression just goes against the spirit of the series.

But open world would definitely be nice, open world is pretty much nonlinearity taken to its natural conclusion, there's no barriers of any kind and you can go anywhere you want and do anything you want. It's not really hard to see the appeal in that. Having no cutaways and overworld Pokemon is more a matter of realism, having the worlds consist of empty grass patches and fading to black before you see any of the Pokemon just doesn't feel very natural. I can easily see cutaways being done away with since the battle backgrounds are already pretty similar to the overworld and there's no harm in doing so for gameplay or graphical reasons, so they could easily do that. As for Pokemon in the overworld, I think that would be great for phenomena like rustling grass that we've seen before, but they probably won't do away with tall grass. The only thing I don't think they should ever change is the turn based battling. The series will lose some of its identity doing that. There are plenty of spinoffs to choose from if you really like that (and I wouldn't mind seeing a few return, Pokepark 3 or some kind of spiritual successor would make a great addition to the Switch's lineup), but the main series would be better off staying turned based.

In general though, I think people just want to be wowed by Pokemon on the Switch because it's the first console game and a huge jump in specs, so they expect the series to take a major leap. How exactly they should do that is debatable, but I think most people agree that the Switch should mark a major evolution.
 
Well all I really care about is nonlinearity, I could live without full on open world and a change up of the RPG mechanics. My main issue with the series and what I expect Game Freak to change is that the games just don't feel much like an adventure anymore, they're too on rails and don't really give you a sense of freedom that an RPG probably should. The game is all about you going out into a virtual world to catch and train a team of monsters that you form a bond with, it's a very personal experience that's different for each person, so having such a cookie cutter and restricted progression just goes against the spirit of the series.

I agree with the whole railroading thing, especially in recent generations. I understand the concept of having the story drive the gameplay and wanting a certain progression, but the reasons for not letting me go somewhere are becoming downright pathetic. Recalling earlier generations, the reasons and mechanics used to hinder progression were much more, for lack of a better term, organic. Granted, it's still the player being forced into a progression path, but at least they make sense. Having to go search out a Poke Flute in order to wake a sleeping Snorlax that otherwise can't or won't move from your path or being unable to travel to the next city because the bad guys have literally taken the city hostage makes far more sense than some asshat blocking an entire 2-lane road with his Stoutland because he wants to search the entire road for valuables (which, by the way, would get you arrested in most jurisdictions) or because this kid who you just met insists that you should go meet his grandpa instead (that has seriously got to be the lamest excuse for railroading ever). That and every time you tried to go around one of these so-called "roadblocks" the game would cut away and put you back, because that doesn't make me angry or break the immersion at all. Seriously, I just walked past you with no problem and now I'm magically unable to go a step further? At least you could have done something like the Mimic Circle in gen 3 to actually block my path.

Wall of text rant over for now, I guess.
 
i mean, the older games were much more reliant on HMs for direction. (also they did the Stoutland gag before anyways with stuff like the dancing men in BW2, the nerd in Oldale, the Wailmer pod in Lilycove anyways.)
Yeah, but at least those were only of questionable legality, not blatantly illegal :p
 
What changes would you like to see? How would you like them to implement an open world? I would like a region a little bit bigger than the likes of Sinnoh/Unova/Kalos, but without the invisible walls (maybe the sea rocks so I don't go adrift at sea ;)). Like a throwback to Gen I where I could tackle some of the town/gyms out of order, but this time completely out of order. Also, I'd like it to be open world in the sense that the whole region is available to traverse (SM was a good basis, but not having any areas truly off limits; think the golf course on Akala Island.)
The first change I would like to see is the disappearance of the loading times between areas. It is very slow and just tedious.
 
The first change I would like to see is the disappearance of the loading times between areas. It is very slow and just tedious.
i don't mind loading screens, but if they did them i'd rather that they'd do larger loads less frequently rather than the "new norm" of having a faux loading screen every couple of steps.
 
With Pokemon on Switch, I hope they have some major change, because the last 21 years of Pokemon still haven't change, although, new graphics, new materials, etc, has changed. Pokemon on Switch would be a game changer, and going back to one screen handheld, when they're used to two screen handheld (like DS Lite and 3DS)
 
I'm not the biggest proponent of open world Pokemon, but just considering that this is going to be the big move into home consoles...I don't think that Pokemon as an RPG should function quite like it has.

Part of the reason for the more limited nature of the handheld games today is because they feel the need to compete in the mobile environment, and simplify the adventure for children. But you're dealing with a different market here. People didn't buy the Switch for that kind of design philosophy. They bought it for big, sprawling experiences like Zelda and Odyssey. General expectations are naturally gonna to be different. And fans have clamored for bigger Pokemon experiences since the early years besides.

The closest that I can think of to what I might want to see personally is Xenoblade 1. Game progression is linear, in the sense that you have a set order in which you need to do things, but the world is so vast and filled with sidequests that it still satisfies that itch for exploration and discovering things off the beaten path. It feels like an open world game, though it isn't entirely...(whereas Mira in X is pretty much open to you from the start). It's the kind of compromise that I could see Game Freak making.

Speaking of Xenoblade...I would also love to see wild encounters taking place in the overworld. DexNav as a means of scanning Pokemon before engaging them. Hordes chasing you down if you disturb their nest. etc.
 
Last edited:
i don't mind loading screens, but if they did them i'd rather that they'd do larger loads less frequently rather than the "new norm" of having a faux loading screen every couple of steps.
I agree, loading sequences ideally should be paired with an obvious scene-change transition. Indoor/outdoor, for example, is fine. Walking down a street or opening a gate to get to the other side is not.
 
While I'm not expecting Pokémon titles to receive open word gameplay to the likes of Breath of the Wild anytime soon, I do hope that Gamefreak can use the Switch to start building their regions with a lot less linearity and a lot more freedom. Seeing wild Pokémon roaming the world instead of random encounters could be great too at some point, although I'm not expecting that for a while yet.

The Switch is capable of great things, and I hope it doesn't take Gamefreak too long to utilise this tech to achieve the potential that the Pokemon franchise can bring.
 
While I'm not expecting Pokémon titles to receive open word gameplay to the likes of Breath of the Wild anytime soon, I do hope that Gamefreak can use the Switch to start building their regions with a lot less linearity and a lot more freedom. Seeing wild Pokémon roaming the world instead of random encounters could be great too at some point, although I'm not expecting that for a while yet.

The Switch is capable of great things, and I hope it doesn't take Gamefreak too long to utilise this tech to achieve the potential that the Pokemon franchise can bring.

I'm curious about having pokemon appear in the overworld/roaming. I envision that they could do it in a way that would function similar to the rng tall grass, but still have them appear in the overworld. In my mind this would function like some combination of how the Yokai Watch treats encounters and GO. That is to say that there would be certain creatures that appear in specific areas, and they have specific spawn rate. That way gamefreak could still make it more difficult to find rare Pokemon like YW does. I feel that this would be the next logically step if they were to do this, but I will admit that I might have too narrow vision for this. How do you imagine them implementing this? I haven't played a lot of modern RPGs is there a game that functions similar to how you picture the mechanic that I look up for comparison?
 
Although it has been a while since I last played this particular game, I recall that monsters in Dragon Quest IX spawned in the overworld, instead of triggering random encounters like what Pokémon currently does. I believe something similar to that would work well, especially when we start getting larger regions with wider spaces to accomodate having potentially quite a few Pokémon appearing at once in a route. In the meantime though, I am fine with the current random encounter method we are familiar with, however, something along the lines of what I described might be good to see in the future.
 
Please note: The thread is from 7 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom