Now that I had
enough time to play Pokemon Moon thoroughly (btw thanks Nintendo for
releasing it five days later in the EU) I can wholeheartedly say that
the Game is excellent. But more on that tomorrow when my review
launches.
Today I want to
talk about something that has been on my mind since Pokemon X and Y
launched. And that is the question of Pokemons Future. We already
have crossed the 800 mark for Pokemon, which is a lot from the
original 151. And even though they released less new Pokemon with
Generation six and seven the complaints about bad design have been
growing louder.
First let me say
that I don't share these feelings. I don't think the Pokemon design
overall has been getting worse. Even in the first Generation there
have been some very uninspired designs. Grimer and Muk come to mind.
What's true is
that the Pokemon designs have become more outlandish and cartoon
like. While the original 151 were mostly looking like animals in the
newer generations many Pokemon got an extremely cartoony design. This
makes them harder to classify for people and often causes some
backlash against the design. But wit over 800 released Pokemon it
becomes harder and harder to create something that isn't either a
slightly remade version of an already released Pokemon or too
outlandish to work in the context of the game. And this problem won't
go away. So what is the Future of Pokemon? What can GameFreak do to
keep the franchise afloat after 20 years on the top?
Take your time:
2013 we got X/Y
and now in 2016 we got Sun/Moon.
Three years is a
good time frame for a new Pokemon Generation, but I would even go a
little bit further and make it four years. If you overstretch a
franchise with to many consecutive releases it burns out, as
evidently shown by Assassins Creed or Call of Duty, but if you give
your Fans some time to recharge you can avoid the much dreaded
franchise fatigue. A new Pokemon Game every four years, with a remake
sprinkled in between, should be the perfect time frame to ensure the
franchise still exists in 20 years.
Use the new
Generations to introduce new Concept and then expand on those which
worked in the Remakes. This way GameFreak can create a flow of
creativity, which doesn't tire its consumers with countless releases.
Reduce the amount
of new Pokemon:
This has been
something that they have been doing for the Past couple of
generations. Sun/Moon added 81 new Pokemon, while X/Y added only 72.
However X/Y also added several Mega Evolutions. Speaking of Mega
Evolutions. I think this is the path GameFreak should follow. This
way they can reduce the amount of new Pokemon while also increase it
at the same time. What I want to say is that instead of creating a
completely new Pokemon they can ''bring back'' a classic by giving it
a Mega Evolution. Something they did perfectly in X/Y and OR/AS. They
invigorated some of the older and less used Pokemon. It's also easier
than designing new Pokemon because the base Form of the Mega
Evolution gives you an anchor where you can ground the design.
It's a shame that
Sun/Moon don't add any new Mega Evolutions, but instead focus on the
new Z-Attacks, which don't have that big of an impact in my opinion.
For the Future
they need to bundle their creativity and focus on a few new Pokemon,
while also giving some older ones Mega Evolutions to increase the
diversity in viable Team Compositions.
Open up the World
of Pokemon:
Generation seven
did a good job in freshening up the franchise. Instead of traveling
from Gym to Gym you now explore the four islands of Alola and try to
beat the different trials of the Island Challenge. These Tasks can
vary a lot and bring a fresh feeling to the old concept. Of course in
the end the Pokemon League awaits, but some customs shouldn't be
changed.
This concept of
the Island Challenge is something that GameFreak should build upon in
further releases. It opens up a lot of possibilities for a truly open
Pokemon Game. In Sun/Moon the path you take is still very linear. You
can't progress unless you beat a specific challenge first. Of course
this is to ensure that there is a smooth challenge curve and you
don't meet Pokemon or Trainers you aren't ready for yet, but it's
also pretty restricting.
How about instead
of taking a specific path across an Island it was totally open from
the get go? What if you'd like to tackle the Fire trial before the
Water one? This way players would get much more invested. The Problem
with encountering Pokemon and Trainer, which are much higher than
yours, could be solved in two ways.
Either make them
scale, so that you'll always encounter Pokemon around your level or,
and I would prefer that solution, give the player a warning if he
enters an Area which is too high level for him. And if he ignores it
he has to deal with it or fail.
With the step into
full 3D Pokemon opened up its world and now is the time for the next
step and create a truly open Pokemon Adventure.
These are the
three main points, which would keep the next generation of Pokemon
fresh and interesting. GameFreak have the comfortable Position that
they created a franchise with a timeless concept, so they don't need
to change any fundamental things about Pokemon. But they also
shouldn't rest on their laurels. Pokemon is a huge franchise, but it
isn't a no-brainer as the rise and fall of Pokemon Go did show us.
What are your
ideas for the future of Pokemon? How do you think they should keep
the franchise fresh? Let me know.
And as always
thanks for reading
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