Dear Nintendo/Gamefreak: Please steal this idea

[Banryu]

K, so Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid all got pretty cool motion-controlled games on the Wii.
I'm not a HUGE fan of motion-controlled stuff myself, but I recognize that the technology is interesting, and new things can be done with it, I totally get and appreciate that.

But uh, there's one notable franchise that hasn't gotten the Wii motion-control treatment, I realized... POKEMON.

And I had the thought... Why the hell not?
USE THE WIIMOTE TO THROW POKEBALLS.
New types of Pokeballs in a game like this could have a higher rate of success depending on the way they were thrown, instead other circumstances like level and type of the target Pokemon. It'd be a nice, fresh welcome change to fairly static series, I think.

While you're at it, Gamefreak/Nintendo, I'd love it if we could step away from the tired formula of Grass/Fire/Water starters, rivals, and 8 Gym Leaders for a while too. Anyone ever played a little game called Pokemon Colosseum? That game was pretty fun, and a lot of the reasons it was exciting-- and the plot was more interesting than the average Pokemon main series title-- was because it stepped away from all that stuff. You get an older protagonist with no clear rival whose goal ISN'T to beat all the gym leaders, and who can't even catch Pokemon in the wild! That was a GENIUS and REVOLUTIONARY idea compared to things like Pokewood, Triple Battles, and everything else introduced in BW/2, in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong now, I liked Black and White. And I bet Black and White 2 are great games too (personally, I didn't buy them-- when they were announced I told myself I wouldn't buy them if they made BW1 obsolete. Other than the different storyline, I haven't seen any reason why someone would want to own BW1 if they already have BW2.) In fact, I probably won't buy any more Pokemon games in the main RPG series until they start making more effort to do things that are legitimately new and progressive with the series.

In fact, I think this is a problem that plagues a lot of Nintendo series in the recent years. It really seems like Nintendo isn't making the effort to make their games new and progressive anymore... You can sit here and talk to me all day about what a great addition to the Zelda series TP is, whether for its unifying story or the revolutionary motion sword controls, but at the end of the day, in my eyes the motion controls are just a glorified gimmick, and Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were just all around more enjoyable games for me personally. Granted, I'm not saying that any of these games are BAD, and certainly some series have made notable progression or improvement upon previous mechanics, like NSMB U, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, and so forth... But for all of Nintendo's talk of revolutionary technologies, it seems to me that the games on the Gamecube were a heck of a lot more inventive and creative than those on the Wii, at least in terms of gameplay.

Bottom line, Nintendo still certainly isn't bad, but I feel like lately they've been riding and expanding more upon past successes than actually making something new, creative, and legitimately exciting for any reason other than 'look, better graphics, new control mechanic,' etc. With the advent of the Wii U, here's hoping that we see a bit more creativity out of our childhood pals at Nintendo.

EDIT: DISCUSS! What new direction would you like to see the Pokemon franchise taken in?

[breh]

Well, since this is a bit of an aimless thread,

I really wish there was another game in the vein of Colosseum and (especially) XD. I'm not sure at all why there wasn't a game about shadow pokemon when the theme of the games is goddamn black and white; how do you not take that opportunity? XD was an extremely fun game, if only because it's the sole game (outside of, perhaps, gen 1) where you have a nonartificial drive to catch oftentimes strong Pokemon. You catch them with the legitimate desire of doing something with them, whether it's as simple as plugging them into the purification chamber or actually fitting them onto your team, which makes any capture, big or small, feel rewarding.

Otherwise, just note that all of the criticisms you can level should be leveled at gamefreak if anybody. They are the ones that run Pokemon, not Nintendo. Concerns about Nintendo's lacking games belong in another thread.

[Banryu]

It was kind of intended as a discussion thread for... well... exactly the kinds of things you were talking about.

I suppose I should clarify that though.

Also, I acknowledge XD's existence as essentially an improved version of Colosseum (that's what it was, right? I actually didn't play it =w='), however, when we're talking about giving credit where credit is due for new ideas... Colosseum came first, and thus, I think should receive a bit more of the praise, since XD was more or less riding the concept of Colosseum to success by expanding upon the system introduced in Colosseum. I know it's good, though! And would definitely like to see another something new like that.

Also, since Gamefreak was brought up, it's worth mentioning that they didn't even develop Colosseum and XD (I think?)... It was Genius Sonority who did that, right? ...LET THEM DEVELOP MORE POKEMON GAMES, NINTENDO. This is kind of why I point to them as being at least partially responsible for this. But yes, you're right, the fact that Pokemon has been so stagnant and repetitive across the last several generations IS more or less attributable to Gamefreak, probably... Nintendo's other franchises might share that issue a bit, but you're right, it's not really as relevant to the topic of Pokemon as I thought.

Actually, just because I was thinking about this...

Here's everything I want to see in a Pokemon Wii game:
Basic Layout of N64 Stadium 1/2
Stadium 1 and 2 had a pretty good setup with a good number of gameplay options for the time. No stadium-esque or knock-off game since has had a menu or 'overworld'-ish system quite like this, and I can't for the life of me understand why not.
+
Single-Player Mode with large, detailed 3D environments like in Colosseum/xD
This was one of the main factors that made Colosseum appealing. Gamefreak can make the DS sprites and graphics as fancy and as 3D-looking as they like, but it's not the same as an actual, rich, detailed, interactable environment. Colosseum and XD were a great start, but I'd love to see the concept taken a step further with more Zelda-like environments for Surfing and Strengthing and whatnot.
+
Wide variety of available Pokemon from all regions like in BW2
Not much to say about this except that... Yeah, variety is nice. Oh, and I don't think we necessarily need FWG starters for this either. (Eeveelutions were some of the coolest starters because they were new and exotic or something.) Hell, they wouldn't even need a new generation of Pokemon to do this.
+
Battle Frontier stuff like in every game since Emerald / Different stadium-battle cups like in Stadium 1/2 / PBR
Kind of the same concept. All of these 'modes' (or whatever you would call them) from all the games essentially just gave you the challenge of beating a certain number of opponents with different circumstances. The Petit/Pika cups from Stadium 1 were interesting changes of pace that modern Little Cup would mirror nicely, and then I always thought that the several challenge battle-types from the various Battle Frontiers required different and interesting strategies as well. PBR kind of came the closest to this, but aside from the inclusion of Little Cup, there was really no variety between all the different colosseums. They looked pretty, I guess.
+
Gym Leader Castle / Pokemon World Tournament like in Stadium 1/2 or BW2
Again, more or less the same concept. Whether this is on the 'Stadium' menu or actually in-game somewhere, I don't really care, but either way it'd be neat to see all the familiar boss characters without having to be constrained to the Gym system of most games.
+
Minigames like in Stadium 1/2
...just... I seriously don't understand why these weren't brought back after Stadium 2. They were so damn fun! Why, Game Freak, why?! Dx
+
Customizable avatars like in PBR
This was a great idea, but not executed very well in PBR, I think. If there were more expanded options-- or if the available items were actually available for ALL characters to wear (instead of just a specific body type, that was stupid), this could be a great method of personalization.
+
Wi-fi capabilities like in everything from DS onward
Being able to see one another's customized players, in addition to battling them, would be pretty cool, yeah.
+
Followable Pokemon like in HG/SS
Because I wub watching my widdle Cyndaquil chase around after me. ;n;
Just another thing that I don't understand the reason for removing.

Again, feel free to steal ALL of those ideas, Gamefreak (or Nintendo, if you want to pass the reins to someone else). Of course, they're basically just all of Gamefreak's own ideas. :0 Just... y'know... NOT ALL IN THE SAME GAME. WHYTFNOT

[Redjar]

Are you saying B/W and B/W2 aren't progressive? I HIGHLY disagree and the FWG core is something hard to stray from. I don't want/think that will ever leave the main RPG line. The gyms being type based or the amount have a greater chance to be altered, a very small chance but a chance nonetheless. BW2 make BW about as obsolete as Platinum made Diamond and Pearl and Emerald made blah blah blah you get it. Possibly even less so honestly. I found BW to be the MOST progress made by the series since Gen2. BW2 is a mixed bag that suffers in story but makes up for it in just pure fun. They really just throw awesome stuff at you. A great lineup of wild pokemon in both species and quantity, PWT, Join Avenue, Memory Link, etc... This is the other side of 5th Gen. The one that isn't as progressive or serious but just relishes in the fun of being a trainer. I HIGHLY recommend BW2. If I did have to choose one I would honestly score BW higher (especially for it's time) but BW2 is not just your emerald or platinum. It is so much more.

That out of the way I am VERY surprised the Wii did not have anything more robust than PBR. I'm quite dissapointed I never played Collesium or Gale of Darkness but have heard nothing but good things. Those games aside PBR is a step backwards even when comparing it to the Stadium games. I would very much like to see a new stadium game (PBR is really just a stripped down Stadium), and an actual story game like the gamecube games is something I know is greatly wanted. I just very much disagree with your outlook of the main series. I've been here since Yellow and that's just my POV.

[Banryu]

Before I say anything, let me first establish that I respect your opinion though it may be different than mine, and if I say anything to give you the impression that I don't, just know that... I do. =w=

Originally Posted by Fat Redjar

Are you saying B/W and B/W2 aren't progressive? I HIGHLY disagree and the FWG core is something hard to stray from. I don't want/think that will ever leave the main RPG line. The gyms being type based or the amount have a greater chance to be altered, a very small chance but a chance nonetheless.

No, I am not saying BW 1&2 aren't progressive. Each new generation of games is of course progressive in its own way, albeit... Sometimes in varying increments. In the case of BW 1/2, I'd say that it's probably more progressive than say... DPP, but not at all as progressive as GSC. As for the FWG core, it TECHNICALLy already has been strayed from if you count Colosseum and XD as titles to be included in the 'main RPG line'. (Will probably vary on your point of view, seeing as they were the only Pokemon games released on a non-portable system, however they DID keep the mechanics that the Pokemon games at the time were using (namely Ruby and Sapphire for Colosseum and FR/LG for XD). I don't feel they belong among the ranks of the spinoff titles like the PMD series, Ranger series, Pokemon Box, etc. so personally I count them among the main series.

Originally Posted by Fat Redjar

BW2 make BW about as obsolete as Platinum made Diamond and Pearl and Emerald made blah blah blah you get it. Possibly even less so honestly.

In retrospect I realize that, that they were more or less doing what every other 'third title' in the set had done albeit with a bit extra (which is nice! Not gonna deny that). But the issue I have with this, and that I'm starting to have with the third games in general since around the time of Emerald is that... Well... They just feel like a waste of time. I never had Ruby or Sapphire so I didn't experience this when I got Emerald, but when I got Platinum, I just had no motivation to play it since I had already done so much in my Diamond version. The promise of new moves from the tutors wasn't enough incentive for me to do what felt like the same thing all over again.

Originally Posted by Fat Redjar

I found BW to be the MOST progress made by the series since Gen2.

I disagree and I would say that Colosseum would be the most progressive, and that no game since has made as much of an effort to evolve the series as either it or Gold and Silver has. (You haven't played Colosseum or XD though, so you'd be pardoned for thinking that.)

Originally Posted by Fat Redjar

BW2 is a mixed bag that suffers in story but makes up for it in just pure fun. They really just throw awesome stuff at you. A great lineup of wild pokemon in both species and quantity, PWT, Join Avenue, Memory Link, etc... This is the other side of 5th Gen. The one that isn't as progressive or serious but just relishes in the fun of being a trainer. I HIGHLY recommend BW2. If I did have to choose one I would honestly score BW higher (especially for it's time) but BW2 is not just your emerald or platinum. It is so much more.

No one ever plays Pokemon for its story anyway LOL. (PMD, perhaps, but we're talking about the main series.)

In the case of Black2 and White2, I have little doubt that it's the most progressive of the 'third' Pokemon titles, and in fact it definitely DOES look like a lot of fun. However, I just decided that I didn't want to throw any more money at Gamefreak for essentially delivering the same package in different wrappings so many times across the years-- I mean, think about it. All that REALLY changes from gen 3 to gen 5 (depending on how broadly you look at it, I suppose) is a) the individual Pokemon that you have access to for in-game play, and b) the mechanics of the gameplay, whether it be battles, contest-like stuff, and so forth. BUT the basic tasks, the basic EXPERIENCE of each of these games is more or less the same. All I'm asking for is a different experience, like the one that Colosseum was able to deliver at the time of its conception. To Black and White's credit, it DID introduce a stronger story than any of the other games have had, but I believe it also regressed in other ways, such as heavily reducing the puzzle elements in gameplay. Where in Gens 1 & 2 we had sophisticated, occasionally genuinely-difficult rock-moving puzzles, in Black and White Strength only serves to shove boulders into holes in the ground, for instance. In any case, I realize that my stance on all this IS a touch radical, and its definitely not something I really mean to urge others to follow me on, but that IS my personal preference and that's where I stand on it, at least for now.

....Although I have to admit that the inclusion of some of my favorites (Flygon among them) and people constantly suggesting it to me has certainly made it a tempting prospect. =w=

Originally Posted by Fat Redjar

That out of the way I am VERY surprised the Wii did not have anything more robust than PBR. I'm quite dissapointed I never played Collesium or Gale of Darkness but have heard nothing but good things. Those games aside PBR is a step backwards even when comparing it to the Stadium games. I would very much like to see a new stadium game (PBR is really just a stripped down Stadium), and an actual story game like the gamecube games is something I know is greatly wanted. I just very much disagree with your outlook of the main series. I've been here since Yellow and that's just my POV.

Actually, when I first got Colosseum, I was pretty much expecting a GCN version of Stadium 3. Gotta admit I was pretty disappointed not to see that familiar overworld-menu like in the first two stadiums, though I pardon it for being just a different kind of game. It's just its own story game that also happens to be able to function as a vessel for 3D multiplayer battles.

Not much else to say other than that I agree, LOL.
PBR was a huge step backwards from both Stadium AND Colosseum in terms of... well... Everything. (Gameplay, story, music, graphics, FUN.... EVERYTHING.)

[Redjar]

A few things of note: I really love your rebuttal. To be blunt when I saw you ranting about different typed starters I was expecting something far more immature. I do not consider XD and Collesium to be mainline games. They are on a different system and have different style than what I consider main series but this is just MY opinion and you have to take into account I haven't fully experience these games as well. That also colors my views. Also Yellow version was a thing but that "starter" won't count for obvious reasons.

For the record I believe the most progressive games were far and away GSC. RSE and DPPt were good, but with a few exceptions are just more in line of upgrades and expansions. I swear I'm the only person NOT a huge fan of RSE, (which was horrendously regressive in taking away days of the week and nighttime. Also, if we are talking design wise, which we really shouldn't, I believe Gen3 is where pokemon designs become busier and "less pokemony" as some people put it. I honestly love Gen 5 designs and my disposition towards Gen 3 designs (to which I personally think it is the worst) goes hand in hand with my dissatisfaction of the generation in general.

Gen 5 was meant to be rebirth of the series as I'm sure you know. It does this quite well. This is even more evident in the current anime. As a bit of a side note the current anime series makes a great first season, it just doesn't make a good 10th season( or w/e season we are on). Something similar to this is what I believe your complaint is. The problem with the main series games is that since '96 ratings and sales have shown that pokemon sells better to a younger audience. This is my belief anyway. The target audience in '96 was fully capable of the puzzles that you were speaking of. As well as other neat innovations such as the UNOWN ruins and the braille in RSE. That doesn't sell games as hotly today and what we have is a simplification of the overworld. Gen 5 does away with these puzzles and replaces them with World Tourney, White Tree Hollow, and etc... But (and I didn't really think about this until your rebuttal) It's all battling. Just with different people. So yeah I wish there were a few more experimental things. I do still love Would Tourney with the different play modes, leaders, and champions. I also like the medal system. Requiring you to beat E4 with one type at a time or to solo them and a few other somewhat creative challenges which have almost definitely been implemented by anyone else who got bored with the main game, (akin to nuzlocking). Most depth was put into plot, which I happen to thoroughly enjoy pokemon lore and story. This pandering to younger audiences is most obvious to me in Heartgold and Soulsilver. EVERYTHING is just SO bright and simplified. I really did not enjoy the remakes because they just looked like they were skewed towards younger crowds. Gen 5 didn't have this problem nearly as much.


I really don't expect any great jumps in anything in the main RPG line. Whether this is just me genuinely loving the current formula or just having given up expecting any radicle change to the overall system I honestly cannot say. In future games I would like the return of world tourney, FWG core, gyms, but I want a more rigid world. I don't really mind the corniness of Team Rocket or Plasma etc. I just would like pokemon to appreciate the audience that got it here in the first place. This was touched upon in the current gen. A team rocket member shows up, the PWT has challengers only older players would know, the depth of story, the attempt at making BW a brand new experience by sealing off all old pokes. It could've been just another DPPt and people would've bought it. One of the reasons I enjoy BW2 is because the leveling is better distributed. Final gymleader is in the 50s. In GSC the E4 is in the 40s.... I'm hoping GF takes this newest installment and keeps going forward.

And yeah. Where dafuqs our non handheld console game....?

[Cobraroll]

Sorry to be "That guy", but the Internet is chock full of these threads appealing for Nintendo/GameFreak to "Do this!" and I doubt hardly a ten thousandth of a percent of them is ever read by the relevant people, and an even smaller fraction of those again are taken into account. Pokémon's winning formula is doing the same things over and over again, but each time introducing it to a new audience. Older fans may enjoy some bits of nostalgia thrown in, but they are hardly considered as a major target group when new games are designed. Don't get me wrong, I love a good discussion, but shaping it as a plea to GameFreak doesn't get us anywhere.

That being said, though, I too long for some fresh breath into the franchise. I'm a fan of reusing old, but good content, and not adding new stuff for the sake of novelty when you have something almost identical already which already does the job good enough (see: first half of the Unova Pokédex. You'd be hard pressed to find something which isn't a clone in there). It's not that I'm opposed to new Pokémon, but I think the older ones should be considered before new designs replace them. I mean, it's nice and all with new larvae (Sewaddle), but we have three already which looks the same and does the same. Same with the pair of martial artists, cave-dwelling bats, heart-shaped fish, and goddamn electric rodents. I don't necessarily hate that those were copied, but that they were copied while not at all acknowledging the existence of the older 'mons was almost painful. Luckily, BW2 did a lot to remedy the faults of BW1. A mix and match of Pokémon from all generations, while still keeping the majority of Unova populated by indigenous Pokémon, was a great idea.


Also, I don't know about you, but I'd like to see some change in the art style of the 3D Pokémon games. This is - by far - my biggest beef with the franchise today.

Have a look at the Super Smash games, for instance, to see the contrast to other characters. Note how the Pokémon's textures are always smooth, single-colour, like molded plastic. Hair is treated like flat, spiky panes. No matter how grim the Pokémon, its body will be smooth and shiny. Regardless of what the Pokémon is supposed to be, it looks like it was waxed and polished. Fur, feathers, leathery skin, stone plates... no regard. It's all the same. Patterns - even those on fur, such as Electivire's - are made with perfect lines, total colour contrast and no "blur" around the edges.
Meanwhile, the world around the Pokémon is made as realistic as possible. See Pokémon Colosseum/XD, which have "realistic" concrete and stone textures, grimy soil and sand. In the PokéPark games, trees have bark, there are gravelled paths and somewhat realistic shadows. And the Pokémon look really out of place.

GameFreak needs to make some desicions on the textures of Pokemon, and apply them to the 3D models. At the moment, it looks just dumb. Give Aerodactyl leathery skin. Make Bulbasaur slimy like a frog or rough like the stem of small plants. Give Pikachu short, fuzzy fur or skin like a human's, it doesn't really matter to me as long as they do something.
Though, improving the textures and applying fur, and less "stiff" animation would really increase the required data space to store all the Pokémon models and their animations. If that's a concern, they should make the environment match the art style of the Pokémon, with equally simplistic surfaces. The current divergence is just awful.

[DEMo_Gorgon47]

What if instead of the battle mechanics we have now, they made a wii/ds Pokemon games where you actually control the pokemon you are fighting with? (like Mortal Kombat or any of the Naruto fighting games, but not so 2D) This way, you can actually impliment dodges and the terrain you are on as well as your typing, moves, EV's, and IV's

[Wild Eep*]

Let's keep the discussion to games that are out or confirmed to be coming out. We don't need threads about games we'd like to see.