• 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.

The Post Game - Thoughts and Feelings?

AnthonyS

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
47
Reaction score
29
Ok, so before we get down to business, let me explain my point of view, the reasons behind that, and a few other things that will clear some things up.

A few days ago I completed replaying Pokémon X and had an absolute blast. It was so fun to play through the Kalos region again and explore the 22 different routes and various cities. It was enjoyable and I was glad I did it. That being said, by the end of the first week I was eager to finish the main storyline and beat the pokémon leauge. I always love breeding, collecting Pokémon, and meshing out the little details and mishaps that your couldn’t realistically do until post game. I wanted to max my style and buy every clothes available, but the easiest way to earn money is through a restaurant in Lumiose City that isn’t available until your champion. I wanted access to the hundreds of TMs and items but a select few crucial ones were in areas only accessible in the post game. And so, it was with anticipation that I hurried through victory row and smashed Diantha to take her crown. Unfortunelty the battle wasn’t over. I still had one more thing I needed to complete.

The post game. A whole extra city to explore, the Looker missions, and Terminus cave. After a week of playing, I was eager to finish, and while it doesn’t sound like a lot, I jut didn’t want to do it. I wanted to enjoy myself and that’s exactly what I did. I ignored the “plot” and started collecting Pokémon.

Now, this leads to the point that you don’t have to complete the post game to access all of the features not available during the main storyline. And while that may be correct, you also cannot collect all the items, gain every TM, and catch every Pokémon without doing so. Not to mention that the game won’t ever really be completed until these side quests are finished.

I guess the question I’m trying to ask is: what is your personal feelings on the post games we’ve had and what should GameFreak do with it in the future? I don’t mind having a shorter post game or scrapping it completely. X/Y, in all honestly, isn’t that bad. Some are ridiculous, however, and I’m continuously seeing more and more people asking for longer and longer post games. I think that we have the main storyline and the after it’s completed, we should be left to our own devices. That might just be me however. Let me know what you guys think though, I’m curious to see if anyone shares this sentiment. (I’m not betting on it. :D)
 
Last edited:
I think at the very least, the postgame should have new areas, new pokemon to catch and sidequests to do. DP, BW and SM were all satisfying in this regard.

The best postgame to me though is in addition to the above, is also having different battle facilities. Platinum, HGSS and especially BW2 have the best postgames in the series imo.
 
My expectations for a satisfying amount of post-game stuff are thoroughly dead. Like, “burned up and kept in an urn on my mantle” levels of dead. These days, for me, “beating the game” means “time to reset.”

As I find is frequently the case, BW/B2W2 were the peak. But even the generation right before them had a very rich amount of post-game options. I want to keep exploring and actually do stuff with the team I played through the game with, not just lollygag around in places I’ve already been.
 
Last edited:
I could live without lengthy post games but only if the main game is long enough. Really if you think about it, there's no real need for a lengthy post game, and most games tend to have very minimal content that doesn't actually unlock until the main game is completed (the only other game I can think of that has a remotely long post game is Super Mario Odyssey). In that sense, post game is somewhat of a luxury that Pokemon fans have taken for granted.

The problem is though, that the main game isn't long enough. There's very little to see or do outside of the storyline, so it feels unsatisfying. Moving forward I think as they transition into the console market they'll probably make the main games longer and the post games near nonexistent. This fits more with what some of the open world games are doing, you don't see anyone complaining about those games not having a post game because you have so much to explore and so much optional content from the start. Similarly, if you could start a Pokemon game and immediately veer off into other areas, do things like Contests and battle facilities, and so on, I doubt no post game would really be an issue.
 
I could live without lengthy post games but only if the main game is long enough. Really if you think about it, there's no real need for a lengthy post game, and most games tend to have very minimal content that doesn't actually unlock until the main game is completed (the only other game I can think of that has a remotely long post game is Super Mario Odyssey). In that sense, post game is somewhat of a luxury that Pokemon fans have taken for granted.

The problem is though, that the main game isn't long enough. There's very little to see or do outside of the storyline, so it feels unsatisfying. Moving forward I think as they transition into the console market they'll probably make the main games longer and the post games near nonexistent. This fits more with what some of the open world games are doing, you don't see anyone complaining about those games not having a post game because you have so much to explore and so much optional content from the start. Similarly, if you could start a Pokemon game and immediately veer off into other areas, do things like Contests and battle facilities, and so on, I doubt no post game would really be an issue.
I guess I could see your point. A longer game would essentially just put the “post game” into the main storyline. It would also allow more freedom within the world and other things that would appease those fans always wanting a richer, deeper, and more realistic world. I think a more open world would be an excellent future for Pokémon as it transitions onto the Nintendo Switch especially, as I’m really hoping GameFreak has gone all out with their abilities to now include Switch features. Alas, we’ll just have to wait and see when it comes out.
My expectations for a satisfying amount of post-game stuff are thoroughly dead. Like, “burned up and kept in an urn on my mantle” levels of dead. These days, for me, “beating the game” means “time to reset.”

As I find is frequently the case, BW/B2W2 were the peak. But even the generation right before them had a very rich amount of post-game options. I want to keep exploring and actually do stuff with the team I played through the game with, not just lollygag around in places I’ve already been.
I’m sorry about that, good sir! I think it really depends on one’s plans after the main storyline of a pokémon game is completed. Did one just play the game to enjoy the story, or did they plan to complete the Pokédex and get into competitive battling when finished? I tend to lean towards the latter myself, but for those who just want to enjoy the plot and build up their ingame team, I can see where your are coming from.
I think at the very least, the postgame should have new areas, new pokemon to catch and sidequests to do. DP, BW and SM were all satisfying in this regard.

The best postgame to me though is in addition to the above, is also having different battle facilities. Platinum, HGSS and especially BW2 have the best postgames in the series imo.
I haven’t gotten around to playing HG/SS if I’m being completely honest, so I cannot vouch for those. I have played Platinum and BW2 however, and I didn’t enjoy either of those. I guess it really comes down to preference, and for me, I find the postgame a waste of time. To each his own, I guess. It’s good that you enjoyed them, though! :)
 
The only side activities I've ever cared about are the Battle Factory and (to a lesser extent) PWT. It's a shame that the former hasn't returned even in USUM.

Anyway, I tend to agree that there is no real reason to lock any location or feature behind the Hall of Fame. In my ideal Kanto/Johto sequels, it would be possible to move back and forth between the two regions using the Magnet Train. You would get to choose which 8 badges to collect for the league, and you could collect the rest afterwards. It would allow for a lot of replay value on top of a fairly long game, but those only interested in competitive battling or other features wouldn't have to wait too long.
 
Last edited:
The main problem is that Game Freak has been railroading you more and more in the main games and deliberately making it easier. It seem you are personally in the crowd that wants to get things over with in order to go straight into competitive, correct? That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I disagree with you about the post game being a waste of time since it actually gives you things to do once you have beaten the main game. You have made some excellent points though: why should certain items and TMs, the concept of move tutors, and other stuff that you wish to obtain be locked behind the Hall of Fame.

Of course, you could do away with the post-game, but the problem is that, as the main game gets more and more linear with less and less side activities/features, the games would eventually come to a point of "why even bother?" if you have nothing to do in those games. Before Game Freak scraps the concept of the post-game, I feel Game Freak needs to implement more content into the main game and give us more to do with our Pokémon besides clear story + competitive:
  • Add some more non-standard battle facilities in the main game (the Battle Royal Dome was a step in the right direction).
  • Include something similar to Contests, Pokéathlon, and PokéStar Studios (the Alolan Photo Club almost worked, but it seemed like a step backwards in comparison to the previously mentioned side features), and actually include online play for these activities as well (I'd love to see a Contest meta-game form).
  • Give us more side-quests like the ones in USUM, maybe a little bit more complex/expansive.
  • I remember someone mentioning adding a guild-like social feature where you can contact others, make requests, and help out each other with various tasks (I think it was @Unown Seer who suggested this, but I'm not sure).
The bottom line is this: Game Freak just needs to add more content in general to their games from the beginning and allow more player freedom during the main story. Once they can do that and not regress in terms of the amount of activities available (unless it's a remake, in which case some form of content-regression would be somewhat understandable), then I'd be more comfortable with a non-existent post-game since we'd have plenty of content from the game to start with before beating the Pokémon League and entering the Hall of Fame. As the games are now, I don't think Game Freak dropping the post-game is the best idea.
 
I think they shouldn't lock certain TM and move tutor moves and things like breeding until postgame, but certain areas (about the same size as Sevii Islands) should be only accessible after becoming the Champion. They also should bring back swarming Pokemon, Safari Zone and Poke Radar, unlocked by entering Hall of Fame. I also agree that the main game should be lengthy, but not completely non-linear - Hoenn and Sinnoh have a good balance of exploration and storyline.
 
I easily spend 40-50 hours of playtime in the main game, probably even a little more cause I tend to soft reset for pokemon with decent nature (I don't do anything competitive but I don't like my pokemon's strengths being hindered). So I can't say I'd prefer (a lot) more length in the main game. The little sidequests USUM offered are great I think, you can either do them as you go or save them for the post-game or both. And I especially love to explore new places. Revisiting Kanto, going to the Sevii Islands, the Battle Zone, one-third of Unova, or even something as simple as a new area opening in a previously explored place. My only complaint would be is that these places, just like the places visited in the main game don't really offer an incentive to revisit after initial exploration (depending on the game and area of course).

On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of being forced into a new storyline though. Not right away. I mean, I just became champion, give me a break already

So yeah, make sure to give me some more stuff to do, not just battle facilities. Contests, Pokeathlon, mini-games, small quests, these are all great ways for me to spend my time in the post-game. I really hope we'll get to see more of that again
 
Story-wise, I like the postgame stories. I find the idea of going into an special mission as a champion that culminates in a League rematch being very cool, as it makes the game longer. However, I prefer the ones that have new zones, as it makes everything more intriguing and gives you the option of catching new Pokemon.

Feature-wise, it's important to make them engaging and replayable, as they can be a key reason when wanting to replay the game. SM is the biggest failure in this regard, because being either routinary checks that don't take more than 5 minutes (PokePelago, Festival Plaza & Island Scan) or too challenging (Battle Tree & Royale).
 
Bad features of post-games:
  • Locking certain TMs or items till the post-game. SM offended me by locking the Thunderbolt TM to the post-game. WHY
  • Locking certain pokemon till the post-game. ESPECIALLY newly introduced pokemon in that generation, all the more so if they are not legendaries. Like, wow, Oricorio Sensu-style?? Why does it have to be locked till the post-game?? And no "but you can trade" excuses. There's no good reason to prevent trainers from accessing a pokemon of that particular generation when the game has been promoting it before - and especially if the game has been promoting it before.
  • Lack of things to do or poor accessibility to such features. Uncreative battle facilities of the sort. Also includes too much hax.
  • Putting a lengthy story arc in the post-game when it could have done well in the main campaign. It makes me question what on earth they were thinking when the post-game arc has better quality than the main campaign.
Good features of post-games:
  • Plenty of mini-games & side-quests that give out money/collectibles/rare pokemon/items, etc (part-time jobs, mining, Lost Item side-quest etc)
  • Facilities that we can develop and maintain both on our own and through communicating online (Join Avenue was the best, PSS & Secret Bases come in second)
  • Battle Facilities that gives us creative challenges outside the usual VGC format
  • Optional, but legendary hunts that include dungeon exploration.
Personal wish list regarding post-games:
  • BATTLE FRONTIER with minimum hax
  • If there's going to be a post-game story that might surpass the main campaign in terms of quality... I hope they just consider shoving it in the main campaign.
  • Assortment of mini-games and side-quests + puzzles
  • Extra dungeons
I mean - the main campaign is supposed to be the selling point, and the post-game should be extra goodies that one can enjoy but doesn't necessarily have to do. It's great if the post-game has loads of stuff to do... though I do believe most of them should be accessible from the main campaign. With that, let players decide if they want to leave those till the post-game.
 
Last edited:
I thought the post games for Platinum and HGSS were very good, even though HGSS was just a carry over from Platinum but it had the best of both worlds in that you can go through Kanto and get new badges. I also enjoyed USUM's post-game- challenging, many great throwbacks... if only it could have lasted longer than it did, and it was long. What I would give for a post game where it was like Gold/Silver/Crystal and HGSS.

The postgame for X and Y were such a drag. I was also disappointed in ORAS. I'll give Gen I a break since it was the first game and not much could be done. I loved how they updated it with the Sevii Islands in FRLG.

They need to make postgame content much more interesting. Yeah, the main storyline is done, but there's more to it. I am not asking for a 45 hour sidequest. Maybe something a bit better like what was done in GSC and HGSS.
 
The post-game is probably the most important part of Pokemon games, since it helps with the replayability factor if it's good. Post-games should have a new area filled with Pokemon that haven't been encountered before, and a slight difficulty curve, not too overwhelming like BW's. A Battle Frontier-esque building is also pretty much required, however beating the facility/facilities should have a feeling of completion, something that was absent since Gen 6.
A great post game imo should have the following elements:
- Another region/side of the region left unexplored
- A good battle facility (I want a mix of the PWT and Gen 3 Battle Frontier)
- Old characters returning
- A dark post-game storyline
- Past legendaries being part of the storyline and not in silly places (what ORAS and USUM did)
- A purpose to complete the Pokedex
 
The post game in the last 2 generations has been a joke. Shiny hunting/completing the dex doesn't count. There should be story line and places to go after you beat it. Not just a one hour spam fly and then Battle Tower 6.0 for the rest of eternity. The post game of 6/7 has been lacking, which sucks because of how much content BW2 had.
 
I feel like I'm kind of a stickler with post-games... I take them very seriously which was why I didn't enjoy BW's Battle Subway (which left me feeling rather sour of BW itself). Coming off Gen IV I felt it was a rather half-assed attempt by Game Freak at providing some sort of battling facility; you'd think the effort that they put into Plat's Battle Frontier as well as HGSS' would carry over to BW's and it really bummed me out that it wasn't the case. Thankfully this is more or less rectified in B2W2's Pokemon World Tournament, but I digress at this point.

I always felt that post-games in Pokemon should be a whole separate story in itself with things to do, new NPCs to meet and challenge, and places to explore! I completely understand that there are perhaps technical limitations that prevent this from being 100% feasible, which is why I'm not too picky on the post-game as long as it has substance. I think SM was kinda-sorta guilty of this by not having a substantial post-game whatsoever aside from the Battle Tree. While in USUM this was rectified with Rainbow Rocket, I feel like this concerns me to a degree because I wonder how seriously Game Freak really takes post-games in Pokemon games in recent days. In ORAS it was the Delta Episode but after you're done with that, then what? The only other thing for you to do was the Battle Maison, and that can get pretty old pretty quickly.

I feel like in my perfect Pokemon game, my ideal post-game would be something that would have me engaged for hours and hours upon end, something that would keep me playing my game weeks and months after I beat the main plotline. I suppose this is the biggest reason why I was a fan of the Battle Frontier. The different stipulations and limitations of each Battle Facility made battles fun and exciting regardless of which battle facility you went for. I only wish something similiar would make a return in the future, even if only in "spirit" in some form, rather than having battle tower clones every generation.
 
I think the postgames for XY/SM/USUM feel that much more worse due to the rather unchallenging main games. USUM did take the difficulty up a notch, but those games are nowhere near as hard for me as BW/B2W2 (and to a degree DPPt). So to go from a rather quick main game to a postgame where the only real content is a post-game episode (I am so sick of Looker it isn't even funny) and some sh*tty battle facility.

For BW/B2W2, you get whole areas unlocked, and in HGSS you get to go to Kanto. Is it hard to ask for some new areas to be unlocked and allowed to explore?
 
Personally, I don't mind having post-game relevant to only battling, Pokédex completion and such; I appreciate it. However, I am a bigger fan of having adventures after the main game is beat, and as such post-game storylines are what I adore in a Pokémon game. The BW2, XY and ORAS are interesting examples in that regard; the BW2 post-game was a gem! :love:(y)

Then again, I understand that it is the game developers' decision in the end, and as I said, a game's post-game content doesn't really affect my appreciation and opinion about it.
 
I really don't care at all about the postgame, because I'm the type of person who sees little point in continuing to play unless there is more story content. I can't really make up my own goals in a game for myself to pursue. I need the game to make a cohesive path for me, which I can follow. And the postgame to me in most games in general is just so disorganized and all over the place that I just don't know where to start and I lose interest. I honestly would not care in the slightest of the postgame didn't exist at all.

That being said, if they wanted to create a postgame personally engaging to me? Give me a clearcut list of all of the activities that exist in said postgame, instead of having to search the internet for it all. Also, I want more plot and expansion of characters. I'm aware that the plot in Pokemon games is nothing to write home about, but I like having a story to follow. It gives me a reason to keep playing. The Looker missions in X/Y were a great example of plot expansion, as was the Delta Episode in ORAS. But it wasn't really enough for me. It was just a very tiny slice of story. After I completed those? I pretty much put the Pokemon games down and never looked back.

One great example of postgame content exists in Tales of Graces F. They have an entire epilogue to the plot which is sufficiently lengthy (though not as lengthy as the main game) and kind of expands upon unexplored points.

But honestly? You can't keep playing a game forever. I accept that I will lose interest eventually when I finish Pokemon's story, so that's why I'm pretty apathetic and wouldn't really care if they just keep going on with postgames as they are now, as I can just play the tiny story segment and then just ignore the rest. Everything has to end sometime and the way games nowadays feel the need to shoehorn continual content to try to get you to keep playing rather than just having a singular unified experience isn't really to my tastes anyway.
 
Well, the new areas to explore and new Pokémon to catch for your National Dex, and the ability to rematch trainers to train your Pokémon can make the post-game really fun. The Battle Frontier from Emerald was great. It was great to see Kanto in the Johto games.
 
Please note: The thread is from 6 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