How optimistic are you about the future of pokemon games?

[KenzeyEevee]

The last years my love for pokemon has going down.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I personally feel that the original Sun and Moon were almost as good as the original Black and White, story-wise. Those are the only two pairs of games that I feel really pushed the boundaries in terms of storytelling. The fact that Game Freak have impressed me with their storytelling twice, in two different generations, makes me hopeful that they could pull it off again.

I also appreciate characters and culture in Pokemon games. The other regions all feel very alive to me, despite their stories not being the strongest. Galar had some particularly memorable characters and some of them (like Hop, Sonia, Bede and Marnie) got some great development too.

This, I'm not worried about the story and characters, they've been doing that much pretty well more or less recently. BW and SM both had really good stories I felt, and the stories have been at least decent since DP. The only stories I've felt were legitimately bad since then were XY and LGPE (can we PLEASE get a Kanto game where Team Rocket does more than just random bad guy stuff? It's pretty sad that the only game they've ever been a threat has nothing to do with Kanto whatsoever).

It's the content and replay value that's my biggest worry, and they're showing very little hope of that ever improving. For the last 6 games the fanbase has complained about the lack of content in the games and they've done pretty much nothing about it. We don't get deep sidequests like Contests and Secret Bases anymore. The battle facilities are all generic Battle Tower-esque places and they pretty much laughed off the idea of the Battle Frontier returning. We're getting less Pokemon thanks to Dexit. The newer hardware has been capable of more and more and yet we're getting less and less. I mean, the Switch can give us a jaw dropping masterpiece like Breath of the Wild that you could literally play for weeks or months without running out of things to do and this is what Game Freak gives us for the same price? SwSh feels more like it's trying to compete with OoT than BotW, and the console market is well past that point by now.

 

[Poke Dragon]

It depends on which direction they are currently trying to go for. For example, keeping HMs out of the game is a direction I'm very optimistic about while Burst mechanics is something I fear they will keep using with new coats of expired paint.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

I don't know, really. I learn more towards pessimism, because Sw/Sh are the first games [that aren't third versions or LGPE] I've skipped in a while. I've seen all the cut corners, which frankly is kind of unacceptable for a huge franchise on Nintendo's strongest console. I honestly don't think Gamefreak is going to change in this regard. They aren't known for their track record of listening to the fanbase. Especially in these past few years, where they seem to want to court the Pokemon Go demographic and children. From a business perspective, it is the most logical decision, even if it is soulless and greedy.

That isn't even taking into account what others have mentioned about the anime, TCG, etc. Those have the games stuck in shackles to release constantly.

They won't stop with their current philosophy until sales stop, and who knows when that'll be. Either that or someone else will be hired to take the helm and actually bring a breath of fresh air to the series, which I hope will happen, but again, I'm not counting on it.

And unlike most people in this thread, what really put me off is the shifting art design philosophy. It started in Sun/Moon, with there being many designs just... reaching levels of cartooniness/ugliness that wasn't to my tastes. Now I feel it has reached its peak. Pokemon, at least to me, don't really feel like Pokemon in this gen. [Particularly Cinderace and Intelleon, whose designs are both gaudy and oddly proportioned]

Even when they do, I just don't feel much about them. I have more hopes about this improving, as they may change art directors. This is something that is easier for them to do, unlike the other myriad of problems. Still, I find it vitally important, at least for my own personal liking of the series. Designs are the main reason I engage with Pokemon. They inspire creativity in me.

At the moment though, whilst things aren't looking good, I find it too early to really tell. I have been a fan for nearly my entire life, so I am beholden to give Gamefreak a few more chances to appeal to me, at least. I adored Sun and Moon, due to its great story and character for a Pokemon game, and the feel of Alola as a region. Perhaps next generation, they'll break out of their slump in some ways. I'm still waiting, but I won't be waiting forever.

 

[Puddle]

This, I'm not worried about the story and characters, they've been doing that much pretty well more or less recently. BW and SM both had really good stories I felt, and the stories have been at least decent since DP. The only stories I've felt were legitimately bad since then were XY and LGPE (can we PLEASE get a Kanto game where Team Rocket does more than just random bad guy stuff? It's pretty sad that the only game they've ever been a threat has nothing to do with Kanto whatsoever).

For a long time now, I've been daydreaming about a brand new story set in Kanto - the final part in a "Team Rocket Trilogy" that began with RBY and GSC. It would centre around a fully resurrected Team Rocket, and the plot would be akin to the later generations, with Team Rocket trying to recapture Mewtwo and harness its power (imagine Mewtwo finally getting to be a game mascot!). We'd see some changes to the region that reflect the time that's passed since our last visit, including some shake-ups to the Gyms and Indigo Plateau, with some of the Kanto and Johto Gym Leaders promoted to the Elite Four. (I'd love to see an Elite Four line-up consisting of Brock, Misty, Jasmine and Clair, but I'm not sure who the Champion would be.)

Perhaps there could also be a postgame story where you get to visit Johto and see how things have changed there - kind of like GSC in reverse. Or the game could even have you travel through Kanto and Johto during the main story.

The funny thing is, LGPE almost feel like they could have been sequels, because of them having new player characters and being set in a weird alternate universe where Red, Green and Blue set off on their journeys earlier than usual. I can understand why Game Freak didn't make them sequels, though, because they were meant to be a jumping-on point for new players. I actually love LGPE and I think they're very underrated, but I would love to see a Kanto sequel in the form of a more conventional Pokemon RPG in the future.

 

[cpm]

I'm very optimistic.

 

[Rockapheller]

One of the things I experienced and learned in the past years is that never criticize Pokémon in a Pokémon fandom platform, because it backfires at you, and people often ignore the points you are trying to make and just jump in the conclusion. So I will not be going through all the trouble and explain word by word my thoughts, both in positive and negative ways because there is no point for me. But I am glad to see people speaking their thoughts without being harassed once in a while like now in this thread.

 

[KenzeyEevee]

Tbh I am thinking to stop buying Pokémon games. In my opinion they lost their mojo and I dont feel it. Gimmicks dont help and I am not a fan of those. 3 gens in a row, that is just lazy. The stories become blander and shorter.

 

[Fan of Jarrus]

The handling of Gen. 8 releases was less than stellar, full of half-truths and outright lies.

What were the lies?

 

[WyndonCalling]

What were the lies?

We were explicitly told in an interview that we wouldn't see the return of any of the Pokemon not in the base game, at least not in Gen 8 - there was a bitter dispute over the reasoning why this wouldn't be the case, but we now know that the statement wasn't true in the first instance.

 

[Esserise]

We were explicitly told in an interview that we wouldn't see the return of any of the Pokemon not in the base game, at least not in Gen 8 - there was a bitter dispute over the reasoning why this wouldn't be the case, but we now know that the statement wasn't true in the first instance.

When did they say we outright wouldn't? This source disagrees.

> Famitsu: Are there plans to add Pokémon not appearing in the Galar Pokedex (after release) through updates?

> Masuda: There have been no decisions made about updates. We are thinking of allowing players to bring these Pokémon through Pokémon Home so they can take part in future titles. We will by no means ignore them.

That's essentially a "no comment," not an explicit ruling out. (Which in hindsight still seems like a bad call, to be fair.)

 

[Silktree]

Not very optimistic and I find it depressing to explain why, but suffice to say that I skipped ORAS, USUM and SwSh, and mostly just got XY for the 3D models (that was almost 7 years ago, yeesh). SM were okay games but I found them pretty disappointing in the context of the 20th anniversary, while LGPE were a fun way (albeit expensive) to revisit Kanto but obviously didn't target veteran players. I will not touch DP remakes (traditional or otherwise) if that's what they have planned for the 25th anniversary, making it even harder to care about the next generation.

For a long time now, I've been daydreaming about a brand new story set in Kanto - the final part in a "Team Rocket Trilogy" that began with RBY and GSC. It would centre around a fully resurrected Team Rocket, and the plot would be akin to the later generations, with Team Rocket trying to recapture Mewtwo and harness its power (imagine Mewtwo finally getting to be a game mascot!). We'd see some changes to the region that reflect the time that's passed since our last visit, including some shake-ups to the Gyms and Indigo Plateau, with some of the Kanto and Johto Gym Leaders promoted to the Elite Four. (I'd love to see an Elite Four line-up consisting of Brock, Misty, Jasmine and Clair, but I'm not sure who the Champion would be.)

Perhaps there could also be a postgame story where you get to visit Johto and see how things have changed there - kind of like GSC in reverse. Or the game could even have you travel through Kanto and Johto during the main story.

The funny thing is, LGPE almost feel like they could have been sequels, because of them having new player characters and being set in a weird alternate universe where Red, Green and Blue set off on their journeys earlier than usual. I can understand why Game Freak didn't make them sequels, though, because they were meant to be a jumping-on point for new players. I actually love LGPE and I think they're very underrated, but I would love to see a Kanto sequel in the form of a more conventional Pokemon RPG in the future.

Agreed, except for the part about mimicking later generations in terms of plot. I don't find the idea of harnessing a legendary's power exciting (was it ever?) and if anything they should design a more personal story akin to SM's, which is also how the first movie incorporated Mewtwo (Giovanni's connection was very secondary). In other words, don't use Team Rainbow Rocket as the basis. Instead of ridiculously high stakes, just make the climax challenging and give the player a reason to care about the outcome (not a foregone one of saving the world).

 

[WyndonCalling]

When did they say we outright wouldn't? This source disagrees.

> Famitsu: Are there plans to add Pokémon not appearing in the Galar Pokedex (after release) through updates?

> Masuda: There have been no decisions made about updates. We are thinking of allowing players to bring these Pokémon through Pokémon Home so they can take part in future titles. We will by no means ignore them.

That's essentially a "no comment," not an explicit ruling out. (Which in hindsight still seems like a bad call, to be fair.)

Here's what I found. I'm willing to accept that something may have been lost in translation, but either way, GF were at the very least extremely coy about it and I would have much preferred the peace of mind of knowing that my favourites would eventually be joining the party:

“We have no plans to make the Pokémon that are missing in the Galar Pokédex in-game available,” Masuda told Dutch site Inside Gamer... "We encourage people to use Pokémon Home to collect their Pokémon from old games there. From there, they might be able to take it to other games in the future".

Game Freak reiterates it has ‘no plans’ to add missing Switch Pokémon | VGC

Sword and Shield is the first title not to include every…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[KenzeyEevee]

I am not positive at all. The stories became lame, the graphics are upgraded but that is it.

 

[Esserise]

Here's what I found. I'm willing to accept that something may have been lost in translation, but either way, GF were at the very least extremely coy about it and I would have much preferred the peace of mind of knowing that my favourites would eventually be joinign the party:

Hm. I suppose I have to cop to a bit of leaning interpretation on my part; I think when I read a company spokesperson say there's "no plans" for something, I assume an implied "we wouldn't tell you whether we actually had plans or not because we would rather announce things on our terms." But yeah, the way that interview is presented does feel more concrete, and like I said, looking back, they could have saved themselves and the fans a lot of stress and bile if they'd just been more forthright about the fact that they were working on it in some way or form. You don't have to blow the whole load and say "we're planning entire DLC expansion packs with a litany of new content" just to assure fans that you're also trying to restore the rest of the old Pokémon (and I can only assume that this would have helped to paint a more sympathetic picture of developers who actually were having to spend a huge amount of time on modeling/animation work), and I don't think knowing about the returning Pokémon ahead of time would severely impact the splash of the eventual announcement of that DLC.

 

[Enlightened Titan]

The Pokemon series might end up like the Sonic franchise at this rate if GameFreak doesn't put enough effort to their next games.

 

[WyndonCalling]

The Pokemon series might end up like the Sonic franchise at this rate if GameFreak doesn't put enough effort to their next games.

I think we're a while off from that - I see Pokémon's quality issues as being one of stasis, rather than regression into something outright bad, and it doesn't really have Sonic's issues with a bloated roster of cringe-inducing characters (and I say that as a fan of that series).

 

[Leaf_Ranger]

What were the lies?

By saying that they were making models from scratch.

 

[Fan of Jarrus]

By saying that they were making models from scratch.

So they were recycled.

 

[Poke Dragon]

The models actually were not made from scratch as they are the same exact models from the 3DS era, just with different textures.