Sun and Moon have been out for more than a month now, so let's get back on track. Should have posted this earlier, but I guess it is never too late. Seven more things I like.
To start with, some things from S/M. I once took a photo with the Poke Finder and got a comment that said "7.8/10 Too much water". That was golden.
The Poke Rider. This is exactly what HMs should always have been like. You still need to "unlock" them during the story, but they are not tied to a specific Pokemon that you have, and you can use them at any time, you don't need to have a specific Pokemon in your party. I really hope they will keep it like this for all future games. Though there are two I would change or remove. The first one is Tauros since I think I prefer the bike for fast travel, though perhaps there can be access to both so you can choose which one you prefer. I would also change or remove Stoutland. Despite the fact that I really like Stoutland as a Pokemon, the Dowsing Machines in Gen 5 and HG/SS will forever be the best ones to me.
I liked the Strange Souvenir in X/Y. While all games except R/B/Y have had references to past games, this was the first time they made a reference to a future game, foreshadowing that Sun/Moon were to become a thing eventually. I also noticed one more thing. In Anistar City, there is the Sundial, and a NPC mentions the existence of Moondials as well. Not sure if that was more foreshadowing or just a coincidence, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
I like how some parts of S/M gave me a feeling of other Nintendo games. The music in Seafolk Village sounds like something you would hear in a Zelda game. Hearing sounds and Pokemon cries in the overworld made me think of Pikmin. And Celesteela looks like something from Metroid Prime 2. Its color scheme and robotic appearance reminded me of the Sanctuary Fortress.
I like when the games in a pair have more differences than just version exclusive Pokemon. Notably, the games that have done this the best are the Hoenn, Unova and Alola games. In R/S and OR/AS, you fight a different team depending on your version, and Groudon/Kyogre create different weather effects in the overworld. In B/W and B2/W2, some areas look completely different depending on the version, while others have minor differences in design and layout. Then there's Black City and White Forest, which as far as I'm concerned are the first completely version-exclusive areas (though you can get both using the Key system in B2/W2). And then in Alola, the time in the game is different depending on which version you are playing.
Memory Link in B2/W2. It really helped them feel like true sequels. They referenced characters and events from past games in many instances, you got access to some exclusive battles and Pokemon, and you got to see the name you gave to your player character in the previous game, which I thought was incredible.
If you speak to a person in Coumarine City in X/Y, you get to hear Emotion (a.k.a. Unwavering Emotions) from Gen 5. I loved hearing it again. It caught me off-guard on two occasions, first when I played through the game for the first time, and then when I replayed the games a little in the lead-up to S/M, had forgotten about it at that point so it was a pleasure to be surprised by it again.
That's all I had for now. Happy New Year everyone.
To start with, some things from S/M. I once took a photo with the Poke Finder and got a comment that said "7.8/10 Too much water". That was golden.
The Poke Rider. This is exactly what HMs should always have been like. You still need to "unlock" them during the story, but they are not tied to a specific Pokemon that you have, and you can use them at any time, you don't need to have a specific Pokemon in your party. I really hope they will keep it like this for all future games. Though there are two I would change or remove. The first one is Tauros since I think I prefer the bike for fast travel, though perhaps there can be access to both so you can choose which one you prefer. I would also change or remove Stoutland. Despite the fact that I really like Stoutland as a Pokemon, the Dowsing Machines in Gen 5 and HG/SS will forever be the best ones to me.
I liked the Strange Souvenir in X/Y. While all games except R/B/Y have had references to past games, this was the first time they made a reference to a future game, foreshadowing that Sun/Moon were to become a thing eventually. I also noticed one more thing. In Anistar City, there is the Sundial, and a NPC mentions the existence of Moondials as well. Not sure if that was more foreshadowing or just a coincidence, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
I like how some parts of S/M gave me a feeling of other Nintendo games. The music in Seafolk Village sounds like something you would hear in a Zelda game. Hearing sounds and Pokemon cries in the overworld made me think of Pikmin. And Celesteela looks like something from Metroid Prime 2. Its color scheme and robotic appearance reminded me of the Sanctuary Fortress.
I like when the games in a pair have more differences than just version exclusive Pokemon. Notably, the games that have done this the best are the Hoenn, Unova and Alola games. In R/S and OR/AS, you fight a different team depending on your version, and Groudon/Kyogre create different weather effects in the overworld. In B/W and B2/W2, some areas look completely different depending on the version, while others have minor differences in design and layout. Then there's Black City and White Forest, which as far as I'm concerned are the first completely version-exclusive areas (though you can get both using the Key system in B2/W2). And then in Alola, the time in the game is different depending on which version you are playing.
Memory Link in B2/W2. It really helped them feel like true sequels. They referenced characters and events from past games in many instances, you got access to some exclusive battles and Pokemon, and you got to see the name you gave to your player character in the previous game, which I thought was incredible.
If you speak to a person in Coumarine City in X/Y, you get to hear Emotion (a.k.a. Unwavering Emotions) from Gen 5. I loved hearing it again. It caught me off-guard on two occasions, first when I played through the game for the first time, and then when I replayed the games a little in the lead-up to S/M, had forgotten about it at that point so it was a pleasure to be surprised by it again.
That's all I had for now. Happy New Year everyone.
