To me, Pokémon has always been about a sense of wonder and discovery, and building bonds with fantastical creatures. If I were to chose my favorite game of all time it wouldn’t be a Pokémon game, BUT I would say that Pokémon, simply as a concept, may be one of, if not the most compelling premise for a video game ever. There is just something very gripping about the idea of going on an adventure with different kinds of monsters. I think that the first five generations if Pokémon captured this feeling incredibly well, and Gen 6 and 7 did less so but still enough to be entertaining.
But with Gen 8, that’s where I feel that kinda dies. None of the Gen 8 games are compelling to me, it doesn’t feel like an adventure, it feels like I’m being told where to go instead of finding my own path. And my bond with my Pokémon has never been weaker, because for one, I simply spend less time with them by having to constantly switch them out to prevent overleveling. And for another, the mechanics in the game that are supposedly meant to “strengthen” these bonds weaken them for me more than anything, as what made my bonds with my older Pokémon so cherished was overcoming challenges with them, the feeling of shared success.
The collecting aspect has also been a massive sell for me, just the fantasy of cataloging all these different creatures is great. But yeah, discovery and the bonds I make with my Pokémon are what I enjoyed the most about the games, it’s something that I rarely see pulled off well in other games
I’ve been planning to make a similar post, in a different thread, as it is negative at times.
I got into a Pokemon as an adult, a little after Christmas in 2022. So I’ve been into the games for about 2 years now, and they’re the only ones I’m interested in playing.
Even without the bias of nostalgia, I prefer the older gens. I am motivated to play the games and compete them, and find the grinding enjoyable, because my Pokemon are constantly getting stronger, which makes the grinding easier, and I get access to increasingly powerful items and moves, which again make the grinding easier.
And as I progress, I get access to more rare and powerful Pokemon, which again make the grind easer, and I like to collect them because they look cool and using their stronger powers is fun.
The first game I played through was Leaf Green, and it felt like an anime, where the stakes and power level started off small, and eventually I busted this whole exciting world open. It made exploration fun!!
Now, the games had their limitations. Esp in Gens 1-3, the postgame was both limited, and what there was to do, it was hard to train up Pokemon. And plenty of pokemon were no longer available on Cart, between events, and not having anyone to trade with or who would have the alternative version of the game. And even in the B2/W2 postgame I’m playing through rn, I get bored, and am not as motivated as I was during my main play through, although I’m still having a lot of fun.
My experience in Gens 6-8 is more limited because I struggle to stay interested in the games. I feel like the 3d sprites, especially on the Switch, are less cool looking, so I’m less interested in collecting them. With xp share and power creep, the games feel easier too. I too have had to switch mons out so I don’t get overlevelled. Due to how long battles take, and how much xp you get, it’s hard to develop the same relationships with your mons because grinding is less fun.
I used to enjoy fighting ten trainers with the exact same mons, and watching my xp bar crawl up. Now, half the time I’d genuinely lose interest if I had to fight 4 weak trainers in a row.
And the story has become increasingly childishly written with more hand holding and dumbed down writing that makes me feel like I’m a weirdo for playing the games. I’m 26, I don’t need to be told sharing and friendship are important in such a direct way, it makes me feel condescended.
I also hate how Gens 6-8 look. I feel claustrophobic going through the map.
I will say, I thought S/V was a big improvement. In an open world setting, completing the pokedex is substantially more fun than it’s been before. Walking over a patch of grass for 15 minutes to find the right Pokemon starts feeling absurd, which was a problem in earlier postgames. I also feel like the writing has gotten better again, aside from the hand-holding sections that occasionally pop up.
It may be my inexperience with games, but the map for S/V was confusing at first. I’d end up fighting Pokemon that vastly outleveled me, which was exciting because it represented a challenge. And, while I was not as good at the game when I played it, in early 2023, I thought the battles were more challenging in their own way.
I also like Tera RAIDs because the higher level ones presented a challenge. Now, there’s still room for improvement, and after online for the game is dead, I may lose more interest as there are no battle facilities, but I’m more excited for the future of Pokemon than I would have been after Gens 6-8.
