Pokémon 5th Gen News/Non-Plot Discussion

I think it's adorable. :/

Especially after it's anime debut.

Of course there's little to distinguish the generations. This is why I don't "hate" any Pokémon game. I do feel that first gen comes above 2nd and 3rd in most comparisons (haven't played any 4th gen games).

1. The generations as RP Gs have had very little creative growth. Every time you're a kid aspiring to be a Pokémon master fighting a criminal Team and beating Gym Leaders using more or less the same battle system. While this doesn't make the newer games any less enjoyable per se, it does mean you have to give a lot of their credit to the original games.

2. Spriting. Hilarious caricature in the first game. Kinda cute in 2nd gen. Whoever they put in charge of spriting 3rd and 4th gen needs to be fired, as it makes even the cooler Mons look tired and generic (ex: Mewtwo, who looks like the genetic monstrosity he is back in RBY, what with his hunch (OK, his Yellow sprite looks dumb, I'll grant you that) becomes just another anthropomorphic anorexic 'tude Mon)

I dislike some of the recent designs but maybe with good sprites the newer Pokémon would look better. Some designs may be beyond help, though—Luvdisc, Lucario...

3. Writing. Later generations apply Pokémon-series tropes without knowing their original justifications. This leads to a weird effect where, for instance, every Elite Four has five members. Or the rival always chooses the Pokémon that beats yours—even though you aren't even in the same room when they choose their Pokémon. Other tropes don't cause actually logic holes, but they still feel lazy—not every Pokémon story needs to have a Silph Co. clone, a cruise ship ride, a rival who picks the advantageous starter, etc.

Also, 1st gen gave us a plot that involved very little saving-the-world, a trope I find overused.

The later generations have a much better battling system, but that's unlikely to manifest in the main game.

I don't even feel strongly enough about it to try to convince other people that I'm right—after all, most Pokémon games are the same. But I resent being told my preferences are only due to nostalgia. Don't you think it's possible I've thought through my opinions just as much as you?

edited 24th Feb '10 12:25:59 AM by Longfellow

Knowing you are one of the people here with the most conviction and resoluteness in your beliefs, Longfellow...

Eh. Who am I fooling. I would still try to convince people I'm right.

It's just I've concluded the Pokémon games are so similar that the crime isn't so much a decrease in quality as it is laziness in exploring new opportunities. We now have seventeen versions of Red and Green.

I would still try to convince people I'm right.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

It's a matter of priorities. If I were to review Pokémon Emerald, my main beef would be that it's a remake of two games that themselves are shameless Red/Green clones. There's no creativity. Didn't we all dream up games where we'd do all the fun stuff that went unexplored in 1st gen, like being Team Rocket or running a Gym or playing In The Future or something?

Once I got done with that complaint, I'd move onto the aesthetic quibbles.

It prints money. Why risk it?

Well the whole idea of printing multiple games per generation has made Nintendo untold billions. Doesn't affect my critical opinion, though.

Of course, you're entitled to your opinion - though Nintendo won't consider it, just as they won't mine.

Since sprites have been brought up, I'd like it if the fifth gen could have animations that were more like Crystal's. I was pretty disappointed when I found out that the animations in Emerald and the fourth gen mostly consisted of moving and stretching the sprites with only two actual frames of animation. The ones in Crystal were adorable... or maybe that's just my own nostalgia goggles talking.

Oh, and say what you like about the RBY sprites, but I still think the back sprites in that gen were terrible.

Hey, Lucario's design is awesome!

I agree that the pokemon series needs to be a lot less formulaic, though. I know Game Freak is trying to play it "safe", but really, Pokemon is a license to print money at this point. They could make the rival a talking gorilla and it would still sell millions. I think they can afford to alter the formula a little.

Also, I agree with the sprite complaints. What I'd actually like to see is sprite animation during the battle, not just before the attacks. It's hard to take the battles seriously when the pokemon don't even move while they're throwing attacks at each other.

I realize that programming unique animations for each attack would be time-consuming, but they could use the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon method of having an animation for "close up" and "projectile" attacks.

They also ought to make it so that the attack animations have their location adjusted for each pokemon. When the enemy pokemon uses flamethrower, I want to see it coming out of its mouth, not the general area of the mouth that's closer to its torso than anything.

edited 24th Feb '10 6:09:32 AM by SapphireFlame

I'm honestly pretty happy with the series right now, but I can see how some people would tire of the formula.

About the "shooting stuff out of your mouth" attacks not coming out of the Pokemon's mouth, I thought it was pretty funny when I got a Houndoom in Platinum and its Flamethrower would look like it's coming out of its eyes!

About the "shooting stuff out of your mouth" attacks not coming out of the Pokemon's mouth, I thought it was pretty funny when I got a Houndoom in Platinum and its Flamethrower would look like it's coming out of its eyes!

Which of course raises the question: a Houndoom with a Beaming Grin or a Houndoom with Eye Beams; which is cooler?

Actually, I've noticed myself that whenever Skuntank uses flamethrower, it looks like it's coming out of the tip of its tail. I never really thought that made much logical sense, but now it's part of my own personal Fanon that that's where it's supposed to come out.

That's not nearly as awesome as eye beams, though.

^That makes a disturbing lot of sense depending on how freely you interpret the concept of a "tail".

Technically, it comes out of it's butt...

In Battle Revo, too, it comes out of the tail tip.

Fanon is, it does fire stuff out of its tail tip. The tail is a resevoir of... whatever chemical Pokemon use for Flamethrowing.

They could make the rival a talking gorilla

Best. Idea. Ever.

Because Everythings Better With Monkeys?

edited 25th Feb '10 1:05:48 AM by PippingFool

Just like Ash's lineup!

This: [1]

You seem to be on a winning streak, Gelzo.

Ah, you guys got ahead of me. ;^; Two words: ANT POKEMON. Seriously, why are there no Pokemon interpretations of one of the most successful lines in the insect kingdom? I think they're cool.

Also, I agree that gamefreak needs to break away from their usual formula a bit. The Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series was a good start, but they need to think bigger and better. My idea? A game in which you can raise Pokemon on a more personal, one-on-one level, to enter them in a variety of competitions and unlock different modes of gameplay. Think Harvest Moon + Pokemon. Discuss?

^That sounds almost like Digimon World.