Generation IV Remake Speculation

[EmpoleonProd]

There is not a single mechanic in any game that is “needed”. It’s all up to what they think would be popular, and clearly Variants have been. I’m not really sure why you believe that the entire reason for their existence is to avoid National Dex padding, but I’m certain you can’t say that concretely. It’s not a waste of time when it’s a mechanic that would draw in consumers. And, if they did things right, then all those other things you listed could be included as well.

Nobody knows why they exist except for GameFreak, and “what makes a good game” is entirely subjective. If they did their research and found that variants are a popular mechanic, then yes they absolutely should include them.

Come on dude, it's obvious. They're able to redesign existing Pokemon instead of taking the effort to design brand new ones in an era when people are already complaining about relatively poor designs in newer generations vs. older generations. If you think this isn't the reason Megas and regional forms exist I don't know what to tell you. It's clearly to avoid National Dex padding. We're quickly approaching 1000 Pokemon, when is it too many? We don't know for sure, but they can at least slow down the massive amount of Pokemon by reusing certain Pokemon and reworking them into regional forms. It's a very good strategy and I commend Game Freak for it, but Sinnoh already has a solid regional dex. It's one of the better regional dexes if you look at Platinum (which clearly sought to fix the problems from DP).

 

[SeanWheeler]

Well Sinnohan forms would keep their spot in the National Dex so like I said, that's a non-issue.

I'm talking about evolution of regional forms. Like if Sudowoodo got a new evolution exclusive to it's Sinnohan form, like how Galarian Mr. Mime evolves into Mr. Rime.

 

[EmpoleonProd]

Casual reminder that Masuda has stated in an interview that postgame content is unlikely to be deep due to shifting demographics.

You most likely will not get a Battle Frontier, at most you'll get a Battle Tower / Battle Resort port.

Entering in more subjective areas: I personally don't see why people make such a fuss about the Distortion World, it's empty - by design - it's just a puzzle area that looked impressive back in the day but it's relatively mundane today.

I hope it doesn't make a comeback in the remakes, or at the very least, don't have you do it again if you lose to Cyrus / Giratina.

It's not so much the Distortion World itself people want, although some do, it's a staple of Platinum and an easier way for people to say that they want the core Platinum story implemented into any form of Sinnoh remakes, which who wouldn't want that? By saying you don't want the Distortion World, am I right to assume you're effectively saying you don't want any spotlight on Giratina in the main story and would rather have Cyrus arbitrarily target Dialga or Palkia (and not both like what would be most obvious) and have Giratina intervene in the plot like in Platinum, and you'd rather have Giratina stuffed into a random cave in the post-game?

 

[DarkRosePrincess]

Sure they CAN do it but that doesn't mean they should. Anyone who thinks they should doesn't understand why regional forms exist or what makes a good game lol

That’s...more that a little narrow-minded.
Regional Variants may have initially been created as a way to avoid bloating the dex...but that doesn’t mean they have to remain that way. Trainer Customisation was created purely to further the theme of fashion and personal beauty they wanted for the Kalos Region...but after everyone got upset it wasn’t in ORAS, they brought it back.

I really like Regional Variants. I think they’re fun and cute. In some cases, such as Yamask and Corsola, they’ve given me a new way to look at and appreciate those Pokémon because, though I liked their original forms, I fell in love with their variants, and though I love Vulpix, Alolan Vulpix is one of my favourite Pokémon, period.
Please don’t say that people who want Sinnoh Regional Variants ‘don’t know what makes a good game’, because what a ‘good game’ is incredibly subjective. I’d really like Sinnohan Pokémon variants, and I think they’d make any possible remakes better games. I’m not wrong for thinking that, and neither is anyone else.

 

[EmpoleonProd]

I'm talking about evolution of regional forms. Like if Sudowoodo got a new evolution exclusive to it's Sinnohan form, like how Galarian Mr. Mime evolves into Mr. Rime.

Oh, I see.

Yeah, I suppose it would be simpler for them to avoid any Sinnohan evolutions, but that would be an even BIGGER retcon than just making Sinnohan forms of existing Pokemon. Correct me if I'm wrong but Alola didn't have any regional evolutions, right? That was a Galarian concept with Pokemon like Obstagoon, Cursola, Runerigus, etc.

So if they did do Sinnohan forms, I would hope it would simply be the Alolan way of reusing existing Pokemon and not creating Sinnohan evolutions, because you're right, that would make the National Dex look jank.

That’s...more that a little narrow-minded.
Regional Variants may have initially been created as a way to avoid bloating the dex...but that doesn’t mean they have to remain that way. Trainer Customisation was created purely to further the theme of fashion and personal beauty they wanted for the Kalos Region...but after everyone got upset it wasn’t in ORAS, they brought it back.

I really like Regional Variants. I think they’re fun and cute. In some cases, such as Yamask and Corsola, they’ve given me a new way to look at and appreciate those Pokémon because, though I liked their original forms, I fell in love with their variants, and though I love Vulpix, Alolan Vulpix is one of my favourite Pokémon, period.
Please don’t say that people who want Sinnoh Regional Variants ‘don’t know what makes a good game’, because what a ‘good game’ is, is incredibly subjective. I’d really like Sinnohan Pokémon variants, and I think they’d make any possible remakes better games. I’m not wrong for thinking that, and neither is anyone else.

You're free to like whatever Pokemon you want, but objectively there are far better things for Game Freak to assign resources to than Sinnohan forms, when the Platinum regional dex is already very solid (and I'm sure they won't limit us to JUST Pokemon within that regional dex, but will rather let us import all existing Pokemon that can already be in SwSh).

I'd much rather they assign that dev time to new Megas, I was hoping Megas would stick around past Gen 6 and was sorely disappointed that we never got anymore new ones. Am I wrong for wanting Megas of Sinnoh starters and Primal forms for Dialga and Palkia, and something similar to Ultra Necrozma for Arceus? I think those would be FAR better implementations than random Sinnohan forms of Pokemon that aren't core to the Sinnoh story. The starters and legendaries, by all rights, deserve to be the focus and should be the first in line to receive new or alternate forms.

Heck, at this point I'd take more Gigantamax forms (if they decide to go the route of including Dynamax in Sinnoh remakes) over Sinnohan forms.

 

[SeanWheeler]

It's not so much the Distortion World itself people want, although some do, it's a staple of Platinum and an easier way for people to say that they want the core Platinum story implemented into any form of Sinnoh remakes, which who wouldn't want that? By saying you don't want the Distortion World, am I right to assume you're effectively saying you don't want any spotlight on Giratina in the main story and would rather have Cyrus arbitrarily target Dialga or Palkia (and not both like what would be most obvious) and have Giratina intervene in the plot like in Platinum, and you'd rather have Giratina stuffed into a random cave in the post-game?

Well, Dialga and Palkia would be the mascots, not Giratina, so maybe they'll keep the Spear Pillar events focused on the box legendary?

 

[EmpoleonProd]

Well, Dialga and Palkia would be the mascots, not Giratina, so maybe they'll keep the Spear Pillar events focused on the box legendary?

ORAS both had Rayquaza involvement, and SwSh's plot primarily revolved around stopping Eternatus, Zacian and Zamazenta only served as plot devices to help you defeat Eternatus, so I don't see your point to be honest. They can easily include Platinum's story, but you befriend/partner with a different mascot legendary depending on which game you chose, exactly the same as with the Eternatus story in SwSh.

 

[Circus]

It's not so much the Distortion World itself people want, although some do, it's a staple of Platinum and an easier way for people to say that they want the core Platinum story implemented into any form of Sinnoh remakes, which who wouldn't want that? By saying you don't want the Distortion World, am I right to assume you're effectively saying you don't want any spotlight on Giratina in the main story and would rather have Cyrus arbitrarily target Dialga or Palkia (and not both like what would be most obvious) and have Giratina intervene in the plot like in Platinum, and you'd rather have Giratina stuffed into a random cave in the post-game?

No. When I say I don't want the Distortion World, I mean I don't want the Distortion World. I could care less about whether Cyrus goes for Dialga, Palkia, Giratina or both, the Distortion World as depicted in the original games is just ... bad.

It's not impressive anymore (Mario Galaxy alone has done a lot more with the concept of gravity shifting and empty-ish space) and the puzzles are either too telegraphed (the sprites part) or not telegraphed enough (the descent is more or less trial and error until you find the right path).

Could it be done right? Sure, a soaring segment in which you race against Cyrus towards Giratina in the back of a Pokémon (say, Cynthia's Togekiss) could make for an interesting, trippy experience. Do I think we'll get that if we get the Distortion World? Nope.

 

[BackSet]

I think the prospect of Sinnoh news is causing us to collectively go into breakdown mode. I can only imagine what will happen if it actually is announced.

 

[Johtoo]

Sinnoh forms could help with the lack of available fire types in the game. And given Gamefreaks insistance in bringing new features into remakes, we know we will get either Sinnoh forms or Dynamax. Or maybe both.

 

[swiftgallade46]

Come on dude, it's obvious. They're able to redesign existing Pokemon instead of taking the effort to design brand new ones in an era when people are already complaining about relatively poor designs in newer generations vs. older generations. If you think this isn't the reason Megas and regional forms exist I don't know what to tell you. It's clearly to avoid National Dex padding. We're quickly approaching 1000 Pokemon, when is it too many? We don't know for sure, but they can at least slow down the massive amount of Pokemon by reusing certain Pokemon and reworking them into regional forms. It's a very good strategy and I commend Game Freak for it, but Sinnoh already has a solid regional dex. It's one of the better regional dexes if you look at Platinum (which clearly sought to fix the problems from DP).

I’m not sure why you’re acting as if you know for a fact that that’s the sole reason for their existence. They aren’t just color-swaps of old Pokémon either; they each require their own models, animations, movesets, etc. just as any new Pokémon would (and regional evolutions are completely new Pokémon as well).

Besides even if one reason is to avoid Nat Dex padding (which, sure, I could believe it is a partially contributing factor), I don’t see why that would preclude them from being present in Sinnoh.

 

[EmpoleonProd]

No. When I say I don't want the Distortion World, I mean I don't want the Distortion World. I could care less about whether Cyrus goes for Dialga, Palkia, Giratina or both, the Distortion World as depicted in the original games is just ... bad.

It's not impressive anymore (Mario Galaxy alone has done a lot more with the concept of gravity shifting and empty-ish space) and the puzzles are either too telegraphed (the sprites part) or not telegraphed enough (the descent is more or less trial and error until you find the right path).

Could it be done right? Sure, a soaring segment in which you race against Cyrus towards Giratina in the back of a Pokémon (say, Cynthia's Togekiss) could make for an interesting, trippy experience. Do I think we'll get that if we get the Distortion World? Nope.

Yeah, it's not impressive because it was on the DS in 2009...

With the Switch there is SOO much they can do. Like you said with soaring on a Togekiss, they could easily go something along the lines of the wormhole route from USUM, or expand on that concept immensely, the possibilities are endless and I'd love to see what the Switch is capable of giving us for the Distortion World.

Sinnoh forms could help with the lack of available fire types in the game. And given Gamefreaks insistance in bringing new features into remakes, we know we will get either Sinnoh forms or Dynamax. Or maybe both.

What lack of Fire-types? There's plenty of Fire-type families in the Platinum Dex.

-Chimchar line
-Magby line
-Ponyta line
-Houndour line
-Flareon
-Heatran
-Rotom-Heat

The misconception that the Sinnoh Dex lacks Fire-types stems from Diamond and Pearl, which is a problem that was addressed 2 years later and fixed in Platinum.

For comparison, there's also 7 Electric families and 9 Grass families. Fire is by no means being shorted, relative to other popular elemental typings.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I still can't help but feel worried. While a lot point towards us getting Sinnoh remakes or at least something significant, the fact that its not specifically a Pokemon Direct does still get me worried. Plus, Nintendo STILL hasn't retweeted the announcement.

 

[Tuoko]

If you think this isn't the reason Megas and regional forms exist I don't know what to tell you. It's clearly to avoid National Dex padding. We're quickly approaching 1000 Pokemon, when is it too many? We don't know for sure, but they can at least slow down the massive amount of Pokemon by reusing certain Pokemon and reworking them into regional forms.

Sure, it can be interpreted that way, but I doubt that's the only reason they were made, and it shouldn't remain as the only reason. We're already at over 1000 different designs.

If anything, it's just a healthier decision for the series within the long run, they don't have to use up a ton of ideas new-species wise and can save some for future Gens.

If we can get the 5 USUM Pokemon, Meltan line in LGPE, and G-Slowpoke/Birds + the 7 new species in SwSh's DLC just fine, then what's wrong with Sinnohan forms in DP remakes? It can easily be excused away with multiverse + have them be found in areas that didn't exist in the original Sinnoh.

 

[SeanWheeler]

Sinnoh forms could help with the lack of available fire types in the game. And given Gamefreaks insistance in bringing new features into remakes, we know we will get either Sinnoh forms or Dynamax. Or maybe both.

Even if there's not enough Fire types, they can add Arcanine and Darmanitan. No need for Sinnohan forms for that.

 

[EmpoleonProd]

I still can't help but feel worried. While a lot point towards us getting Sinnoh remakes or at least something significant, the fact that its not specifically a Pokemon Direct does still get me worried. Plus, Nintendo STILL hasn't retweeted the announcement.

Most people are saying a Pokemon Presents is better than a Pokemon Direct, and it's supposedly 20 minutes long which means they could potentially dump a ton of content on us.

 

[Chip Clip]

The Distortion World may not be impressive these days but it is one of the most memorable aspects of Sinnoh/Gen 4 so I would be shocked and disappointed if they do not bring it back in some way.

I still can't help but feel worried. While a lot point towards us getting Sinnoh remakes or at least something significant, the fact that its not specifically a Pokemon Direct does still get me worried. Plus, Nintendo STILL hasn't retweeted the announcement.

Nintendo not retweeting is strange. I forgot how they revealed ORAS. Did they even have presents back then??

 

[Galactic_V]

Since I've been seeing this word appear more and more as the announcement approaches, a question: the "h" in "Sinnohan" is supposed to be silent or not? I don't know how to pronounce it xD

I wouldn't mind regional forms for Shin'ou btw, and can totally see it happening.

 

[SeanWheeler]

Since I've been seeing this word appear more and more as the announcement approaches, a question: the "h" in "Sinnohan" is supposed to be silent or not? I don't know how to pronounce it xD

I wouldn't mind regional forms for Shin'ou btw, and can totally see it happening.

I'd imagine it being silent. Sin-no-HAN doesn't really sound right.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

The Distortion World may not be impressive these days but it is one of the most memorable aspects of Sinnoh/Gen 4 so I would be shocked and disappointed if they do not bring it back in some way.


Nintendo not retweeting is strange. I forgot how they revealed ORAS. Did they even have presents back then??

ORAS was just revealed out of the blue one day in May 2014. I don't recall any Direct or Presents for it.