Pokémon Let's Go! - Pikachu and Eevee

[Pikachu315111]

So, a lot to catch up on. First the Masuda Interview:

Masuda Interview

The interview is long so I'm going to be cutting down a low of text to get the ones I just want to talk about:

Question: Was (the 20th) anniversary one of the main reasons you chose to set Let's Go in the Kanto region, as a retelling of Pokémon Yellow?

Masuda: So actually it was more that one of the main targets of these games is kids, who haven't had the opportunity to play Pokémon Go, because you know, they don't have a smartphone, and we thought that amongst all of the previous Pokémon games up until now, the one that's the most relatable to kids like this would be Pokémon Yellow.

There's a contradiction here. So Let's Go is meant for kids, let's say under the age of 12, who don't have a mobile phone strong enough to play GO. However, the reason they chose to remake Yellow was because it was relatable to the kids... a game that was made nearly 20 years ago. Masuda, I don't think kids who are 12 years and younger have a fond memory of a 20 year old game, because they didn't exist yet. Yes, there was the re-releases but how many kids played those? Maybe some interested in seeing what the first Pokemon games were like but the Gen I re-releases was probably mostly bought by adults who were kids when Gen I first came out.

Not to say there wasn't a logical reason for choosing Yellow. He does mention kids will be familiar with Pikachu and the Rocket Trio due to the anime which is a fair point. In addition with how simple Gen I was it is the easiest to change the mechanics around in to use GO mechanics. Also he does mention it would be nice to see Kanto remade in high quality graphics from the black and white pixels, though once again that's something only a long time player would appreciate and not a kid who's earliest Pokemon game might be Gen V.

(...) the setting of the story is the Kanto region - which is a region in Japan - which is known for, or strongly associated with summer, or having a nice kind of summer atmosphere. This is something that we were always aware of when making this game and also the fact that we didn't want to make it in any way a scary game - we wanted the image to be kind of friendly graphics, things like that.

Didn't include the question as it has nothing to do with what I'm pointing out.

Saying they specifically didn't want to make it a scary game confuses me. Like, what were you doing which made you think the game could be considered scary? I'm mean, sure, you're randomly jumped by elemental monsters in the wild and you're also dealing with the Yakuza/Mafia, but the player's character is never in any danger as it's always the Pokemon out in front battling and it's made clear the Pokemon only faints. And that doesn't even have to do with the environment of the region.

Also, not make it scary... yet you made Lavender Town.

Question: (...) I know you've talked about Pokémon, and Let's Go in particular, being accessible to new players - are there still puzzles and challenges, things like Strength puzzles in caves, or have you moved away from that entirely now?

Masuda: So when we tried to think about how kids these days generally play games, what came to mind was mobile games really. Games which you play for a short time, and perhaps you'll be moving between various games pretty quickly, so if it was a game that kind of takes about two hours to get into, we thought that perhaps people might get a bit bored and then decide to move on to a different game. So back in the day, even playing in the virtual console version of the original Pikachu version, it might take you know thirty hours, forty hours to kind of complete, or progress significantly in the game. And in this age with so many games to choose from, we thought that we'd rather make something that was easier to progress through, and kind of tailor that playstyle to how we think that the playstyle has evolved over the years and how children are playing games now.

Well, this is a red flag. GF thinks two hours is too long for a kid to pay attention to a game. With Pokemon taking several hours to fully complete, they're afraid kids will get bored, put it down, and move onto another of the many games that are available never to return.

Apparently, GF can't tell the difference between a mobile game experience and an invested (for lack of better words) game experience.

Starting off with the two hours things, yeah, Pokemon takes several hours to complete. That's why there's a SAVE feature so you can play it for two hours, go play some other games you're interested in, and then RETURN to play Pokemon the next day for a few more hours before saving and repeating the process.

Second, many mobile games don't have that much of a story. Yes, yes, neither does Pokemon, but Pokemon there is a story and a sense of progression and elevation. A lot of mobile games, let's take Candy Crush and all its clones for example, where you're just playing through level after level with nothing really to do in-between. Puzzle difficulty and new gimmicks may be introduced but you're still going from one puzzle to another puzzle to another puzzle etc.. Pokemon however is an RPG with a world you run around in and explore. While battling Pokemon in the main gimmick there's other things you're doing, usually with the goal help you with battling important trainers. There's even differences between battles: Wild Battles are meant to let you catch Pokemon to use, Trainer Battles are meant to help train up your team faster than battling Wild Pokemon, important NPC battles (Rival, Gym Leaders, Team Rocket, Elite Four) are meant to be bosses to put to the test all you learned and did about battling, and Let's Go is even introducing Legendary battles and Master Trainer battles.

The mobile games that GF are thinking of is not in the same category of game Pokemon is in! They don't have to worry about Pokemon competing with mobile games. You know what games GF has to worry about Pokemon competing with? Legend of Zelda: Breathe of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Kirby Star Allies, Octopath Traveler, maybe in Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; aka, ACTUAL VIDEO GAMES! Let's Go is on the SWITCH, it's not on mobile phones! WHY are you focusing on the mobile game market for it?!

(WARNING: From this point on I really get ornery at Masuda)

Masuda: In the same vein, back in the day there wasn't any kind of mechanic where you could run anywhere in the games, but now of course with the 3D map you can go diangonally, you can go whichever way you want, you can run, it's faster to actually get around, and with the Pokémon appearing in the field as well, you can choose whether you want to catch the Pokémon or whether you want to avoid them altogether. So we're kind of, you know, bending to the will of the players here, and giving them more options to choose the way to play that's most fun to them.

What the f*** are you talking about? Okay, there was no 3D map, you couldn't move diagonally, nor could you run, but we were still able to walk around and explore the Kanto region (you even gave us a bike to ride). And while Let's Go does look like its giving you an easier way to avoid Pokemon, you could also ignore them in the old games by applying a Repel or just keep running away. You're not bending to the will of the players, you're just making things a bit more realistic.

Question: What would you say to those players who are crying out for a bit more of a challenge, maybe adult players who've been playing for these 20 years or who got into it a bit later? Should they wait for next year's RPG instead?

Masuda: So you know to those kinds of fans we'd mention the 'catch combo' mechanic, whereby you catch the same Pokémon multiple times in a row and get various rewards and benefits for that.

Fuck you. That's not a challenge that's a side mechanic so you'd catch more Pokemon you're just going to trade in for Candies. It's preparing you for battles and has nothing to do with difficulty.

Kensaku Nabana: And also the postgame content as well, in particular the master trainiers - so these are trainers who are kind of the ultimate trainers of a specific Pokémon, so you will challenge them.

Masuda: (...) that's something you can put a lot of effort and a lot of time into, if I really wanted to create a challenge for myself - and these Master Trainers exist for all of the 151 Pokémon in the game, so you know, if you want to collect all of the titles then that's something you can really challenge yourself with.

Poor Nabana, for the moment there he tried to save the question only for Masuda to open his mouth again. Hint, when addressing fans concerns with if you're going to give a challenging experience, don't use "if you want to" or "you can challenge yourself". I'll go into the Master Trainers in a later post, but this right here just strikes a cord with me. You can say I'm misinterpreting what he's saying, but to me it's like Masuda is essentially telling old fans to fuck off and make-up their own challenges.

BTW, Nabana doesn't speak up after this, because once you hear what Masuda says next I think even he realizes there's no salvaging this interview.

Question: Does that cover all of the postgame content or is there more? Is there any story-based content after the main questline?

Masuda: So you know this is obviously based on the Yellow version, so in addition to the Master Trainers in the postgame there's always the challenge of completing the Pokédex, and not just the in-game contents, but we'd like players to also challenge themselves with meeting up with friends and just trading Pokémon from both versions to complete that Pokédex.

WELP! That settles it, I ain't buying these games! Oh, I'll certainly watch someone play it on Youtube, but if it ain't going to give me anything more that Gen I had then I don't see a point for anyone who played the original games to get it. This game is strictly for those who hadn't played Gen I or those who play GO and want something else to do with their Gen I Pokemon.

Question: (...) any plans to add Pokémon from other generations?

Masuda: So not right now - we'll kind of, or what we're looking forward to most right now is how the game is received. We'll see it's reception amongst all the players, and really we just... so right now players should become the trainer, throw their Pokéballs, and achieve that dream that everyone should be having including myself - you know it's everyone's dream to become a Pokémon trainer, and you know, take up your Pokéballs and get going.

Did Masuda just tell us to shut up and play this stripped down Pokemon experience and if it does well then they'll consider doing later generations?

FUCK YOU! How about this, you first make a game that's WORTH me buying.

And for seven generations now I've become a Pokemon trainer, for seven generations I've started seven journeys across seven regions and became the Champion and hero of a region seven times over. And because I've done all that I've experienced all the changes, used all the new mechanics, and have at least caught one of each species of Pokemon and decided to use them to the best of their abilities. This is baby's first Pokemon.

Oh, and for those who didn't catch this subtle message: this is also saying that if there's no more Let's Go games in the future it's our fault because we didn't buy it. It's up to us to make sure the game is well received (aka sells a lot), and if we do that then they'll decide to do games based on the other regions. Only way this to be scummier is if this happens they decide the next Let's Go game will jump to Gen III or IV with them saying they'll think about going back to Gen II if those games are well received.

Question: We mentioned briefly those HMs (...) it's been something that's changed pretty much with every game. Do you feel like you've settled on an implementation of them with Let's Go (...)?

Masuda: So yeah this is something that is tricky every time with every new game. We kind of ask ourselves well, what would you want your Pokémon to be able to do? (...) But you know when it comes to the new, or future generations, that would be up to the developer of those games to decide exactly how to implement Hidden Machines. [Laughs] It's... it's a bother every time.

???: It really is difficult. [Laughs]. So sometimes you know players, you become unable to progress in the game or you kind of get stuck somewhere it's... really bothersome. But it would be a bit boring if we just had the player push the blocks themselves!

Odd, they don't say whether Masuda continued or if someone else said the last quote (maybe Nabana?).

Anyway, first off, I feel what you did in Gen V and VI was the best idea: only require them for side areas. But of course there's plenty of other ways around this, like maybe don't require a Pokemon to know an HM to use it or just have an item that does what the HM does (no, it wouldn't be boring, honestly it would be neat to see the trainer's capabilities increasing just as much as our Pokemon). You could even keep the Poke Rides if you want some main obstacles. All in all I don't think its that difficult. If anything the main difficulty is more from GF not being that good with map design to not make mandatory HM hazards feel like a hassle (or you require too many for one location, *coughSinnohcough*).

Masuda: It's not really like a technical issue that we have with these it's just like you know, if you teach a Pokémon Surf, and then you go out to an island, and then you have your Pokémon forget Surf, and then you're stuck on that island. [Laughs] What are you supposed to do with that? It's just every time it's the same type of problem like how can you solve that issue?

So if that were the case then the player would just have to be swimming across the ocean themselves carrying their Pokémon - and you're like, well, am I the Pokémon? Or is my Pokémon the Pokémon? It would get confusing.

... What. The. FUCK. Are. You. Talking about?

You already implemented a way for that to not happen. Pokemon can't forget HMs without the move deleter and you can't release a Pokemon without a PC. If there's a situation where a player can do this then that's YOUR fault for being a bad game designer.

And even then, the only ONE example of this happening the player had to go out of their way to do. The only reason they would do it to see if its possible, and in that case it's the players fault since they had to jump through hoops in order to do it.

And no, if I was swimming or on a surfboard I wouldn't be asking "am I the Pokemon?" I'd be thinking "okay, no need to worry about having a Pokemon that knows Surf, where to go next?". Because people can swim. With the right items people can also cut, push, light up, and break things too. You know what I can't do? I can't shoot elemental blasts, I can't a hit from an elemental attack, I don't have amazing abilities to make a flashy performance. But my Pokemon can, and that's why I need them. And, in-game logic, the more I can do on my own the more my Pokemon can focus on battling; I don't need to use my unconscious Water-type to Surf around because I'm not near a Pokemon Center and I can't swim.

Question: I also wanted to quickly ask about the Pokémon that are available in the game - like those which are related to Kanto but not in the original 151. Pokémon like Igglybuff, or Magmortar, that tie into first-generation Pokémon. What was the reasoning behind leaving those out?

Masuda: So, kind of at the basis of it you know is that in the first generation there aren't any Pokémon Eggs, so you know, when we thought about how would these Pokémon be hatched in the first place, it kind of didn't make any sense. But also you know we wanted to spend more time and put more effort into making the Kanto Pokémon, the original 151, as well made as possible, and expressing them as well as we could.

... How do ANY of the basic stage Pokemon come into existence without hatching from an egg? Just have them be in the wild like you started to do with recent games! Also, that doesn't excuse you not having evolutions for certain Pokemon (like the Eeveelutions) or why the Alolan Pokemon are allowed to be in the game (so why are these foreign Pokemon allowed in and no Pokemon for any other generation?). Oh, and Mega Evolution should be impossible without them holding items yet you found a way around that!

Oh, you wanted to focus on expressing the Gen I Pokemon, which makes sense... if you hadn't done that in Gen VII (no, I don't count Let's Go part of Gen VII) because it was the 20th Anniversary!

Oh, BTW, I guess this also confirms no breeding, so yet another negative and stripped out mechanic.

Question: (...) does it suggest you have one eye on another Let's Go style game set in Johto?

Masuda: So you know maybe - if everyone enjoys playing these games [laughs] - but you know more than that, I know that a lot of people and fans have spent a lot of time hatching eggs, they've hatched... a lot of eggs, but we want them to kind of discover new ways to enjoy Pokémon games, you know I'd be really sad to think that for them, Pokémon is hatching eggs, so with this one we're trying to show them a different side of the game.

Masuda just wants to remind you that if Let's Go fails and they don't make one for Johto it's YOUR fault for not buying the game even though it's a bare bones experience... shame on your players wanting a fulfilling Pokemon experience, shame.

Also, if you have a problem with people thinking Pokemon is about hatching eggs, why don't you do something about it? And I don't mean by getting rid of breeding, I mean by making it so players don't have to breed as many eggs.

Well, that's the end of the interview and, my god, it was bad. GameFreak, never allow Masuda to do an interview again without another senior staff member to reel him in. Also, give him a good backhand smack across the face because, my god, he made these games sound horribly unappealing if not condescending. Infact, maybe you should think about limiting Masuda's influence on the development of future games because if what he says reflects what he truly thinks he may be an unhealthy influence on making the game something players want. I used to respect Masuda, but this really has made me turn on him hard.

 

[DreamPrince]

So, a lot to catch up on. First the Masuda Interview:

Masuda Interview

The interview is long so I'm going to be cutting down a low of text to get the ones I just want to talk about:



There's a contradiction here. So Let's Go is meant for kids, let's say under the age of 12, who don't have a mobile phone strong enough to play GO. However, the reason they chose to remake Yellow was because it was relatable to the kids... a game that was made nearly 20 years ago. Masuda, I don't think kids who are 12 years and younger have a fond memory of a 20 year old game, because they didn't exist yet. Yes, there was the re-releases but how many kids played those? Maybe some interested in seeing what the first Pokemon games were like but the Gen I re-releases was probably mostly bought by adults who were kids when Gen I first came out.

Not to say there wasn't a logical reason for choosing Yellow. He does mention kids will be familiar with Pikachu and the Rocket Trio due to the anime which is a fair point. In addition with how simple Gen I was it is the easiest to change the mechanics around in to use GO mechanics. Also he does mention it would be nice to see Kanto remade in high quality graphics from the black and white pixels, though once again that's something only a long time player would appreciate and not a kid who's earliest Pokemon game might be Gen V.





Didn't include the question as it has nothing to do with what I'm pointing out.

Saying they specifically didn't want to make it a scary game confuses me. Like, what were you doing which made you think the game could be considered scary? I'm mean, sure, you're randomly jumped by elemental monsters in the wild and you're also dealing with the Yakuza/Mafia, but the player's character is never in any danger as it's always the Pokemon out in front battling and it's made clear the Pokemon only faints. And that doesn't even have to do with the environment of the region.

Also, not make it scary... yet you made Lavender Town.



Well, this is a red flag. GF thinks two hours is too long for a kid to pay attention to a game. With Pokemon taking several hours to fully complete, they're afraid kids will get bored, put it down, and move onto another of the many games that are available never to return.

Apparently, GF can't tell the difference between a mobile game experience and an invested (for lack of better words) game experience.

Starting off with the two hours things, yeah, Pokemon takes several hours to complete. That's why there's a SAVE feature so you can play it for two hours, go play some other games you're interested in, and then RETURN to play Pokemon the next day for a few more hours before saving and repeating the process.

Second, many mobile games don't have that much of a story. Yes, yes, neither does Pokemon, but Pokemon there is a story and a sense of progression and elevation. A lot of mobile games, let's take Candy Crush and all its clones for example, where you're just playing through level after level with nothing really to do in-between. Puzzle difficulty and new gimmicks may be introduced but you're still going from one puzzle to another puzzle to another puzzle etc.. Pokemon however is an RPG with a world you run around in and explore. While battling Pokemon in the main gimmick there's other things you're doing, usually with the goal help you with battling important trainers. There's even differences between battles: Wild Battles are meant to let you catch Pokemon to use, Trainer Battles are meant to help train up your team faster than battling Wild Pokemon, important NPC battles (Rival, Gym Leaders, Team Rocket, Elite Four) are meant to be bosses to put to the test all you learned and did about battling, and Let's Go is even introducing Legendary battles and Master Trainer battles.

The mobile games that GF are thinking of is not in the same category of game Pokemon is in! They don't have to worry about Pokemon competing with mobile games. You know what games GF has to worry about Pokemon competing with? Legend of Zelda: Breathe of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Kirby Star Allies, Octopath Traveler, maybe in Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; aka, ACTUAL VIDEO GAMES! Let's Go is on the SWITCH, it's not on mobile phones! WHY are you focusing on the mobile game market for it?!

(WARNING: From this point on I really get ornery at Masuda)



What the f*** are you talking about? Okay, there was no 3D map, you couldn't move diagonally, nor could you run, but we were still able to walk around and explore the Kanto region (you even gave us a bike to ride). And while Let's Go does look like its giving you an easier way to avoid Pokemon, you could also ignore them in the old games by applying a Repel or just keep running away. You're not bending to the will of the players, you're just making things a bit more realistic.



Fuck you. That's not a challenge that's a side mechanic so you'd catch more Pokemon you're just going to trade in for Candies. It's preparing you for battles and has nothing to do with difficulty.



Poor Nabana, for the moment there he tried to save the question only for Masuda to open his mouth again. Hint, when addressing fans concerns with if you're going to give a challenging experience, don't use "if you want to" or "you can challenge yourself". I'll go into the Master Trainers in a later post, but this right here just strikes a cord with me. You can say I'm misinterpreting what he's saying, but to me it's like Masuda is essentially telling old fans to fuck off and make-up their own challenges.

BTW, Nabana doesn't speak up after this, because once you hear what Masuda says next I think even he realizes there's no salvaging this interview.



WELP! That settles it, I ain't buying these games! Oh, I'll certainly watch someone play it on Youtube, but if it ain't going to give me anything more that Gen I had then I don't see a point for anyone who played the original games to get it. This game is strictly for those who hadn't played Gen I or those who play GO and want something else to do with their Gen I Pokemon.



Did Masuda just tell us to shut up and play this stripped down Pokemon experience and if it does well then they'll consider doing later generations?

FUCK YOU! How about this, you first make a game that's WORTH me buying.

And for seven generations now I've become a Pokemon trainer, for seven generations I've started seven journeys across seven regions and became the Champion and hero of a region seven times over. And because I've done all that I've experienced all the changes, used all the new mechanics, and have at least caught one of each species of Pokemon and decided to use them to the best of their abilities. This is baby's first Pokemon.

Oh, and for those who didn't catch this subtle message: this is also saying that if there's no more Let's Go games in the future it's our fault because we didn't buy it. It's up to us to make sure the game is well received (aka sells a lot), and if we do that then they'll decide to do games based on the other regions. Only way this to be scummier is if this happens they decide the next Let's Go game will jump to Gen III or IV with them saying they'll think about going back to Gen II if those games are well received.



Odd, they don't say whether Masuda continued or if someone else said the last quote (maybe Nabana?).

Anyway, first off, I feel what you did in Gen V and VI was the best idea: only require them for side areas. But of course there's plenty of other ways around this, like maybe don't require a Pokemon to know an HM to use it or just have an item that does what the HM does (no, it wouldn't be boring, honestly it would be neat to see the trainer's capabilities increasing just as much as our Pokemon). You could even keep the Poke Rides if you want some main obstacles. All in all I don't think its that difficult. If anything the main difficulty is more from GF not being that good with map design to not make mandatory HM hazards feel like a hassle (or you require too many for one location, *coughSinnohcough*).



... What. The. FUCK. Are. You. Talking about?

You already implemented a way for that to not happen. Pokemon can't forget HMs without the move deleter and you can't release a Pokemon without a PC. If there's a situation where a player can do this then that's YOUR fault for being a bad game designer.

And even then, the only ONE example of this happening the player had to go out of their way to do. The only reason they would do it to see if its possible, and in that case it's the players fault since they had to jump through hoops in order to do it.

And no, if I was swimming or on a surfboard I wouldn't be asking "am I the Pokemon?" I'd be thinking "okay, no need to worry about having a Pokemon that knows Surf, where to go next?". Because people can swim. With the right items people can also cut, push, light up, and break things too. You know what I can't do? I can't shoot elemental blasts, I can't a hit from an elemental attack, I don't have amazing abilities to make a flashy performance. But my Pokemon can, and that's why I need them. And, in-game logic, the more I can do on my own the more my Pokemon can focus on battling; I don't need to use my unconscious Water-type to Surf around because I'm not near a Pokemon Center and I can't swim.



... How do ANY of the basic stage Pokemon come into existence without hatching from an egg? Just have them be in the wild like you started to do with recent games! Also, that doesn't excuse you not having evolutions for certain Pokemon (like the Eeveelutions) or why the Alolan Pokemon are allowed to be in the game (so why are these foreign Pokemon allowed in and no Pokemon for any other generation?). Oh, and Mega Evolution should be impossible without them holding items yet you found a way around that!

Oh, you wanted to focus on expressing the Gen I Pokemon, which makes sense... if you hadn't done that in Gen VII (no, I don't count Let's Go part of Gen VII) because it was the 20th Anniversary!

Oh, BTW, I guess this also confirms no breeding, so yet another negative and stripped out mechanic.



Masuda just wants to remind you that if Let's Go fails and they don't make one for Johto it's YOUR fault for not buying the game even though it's a bare bones experience... shame on your players wanting a fulfilling Pokemon experience, shame.

Also, if you have a problem with people thinking Pokemon is about hatching eggs, why don't you do something about it? And I don't mean by getting rid of breeding, I mean by making it so players don't have to breed as many eggs.

Well, that's the end of the interview and, my god, it was bad. GameFreak, never allow Masuda to do an interview again without another senior staff member to reel him in. Also, give him a good backhand smack across the face because, my god, he made these games sound horribly unappealing if not condescending. Infact, maybe you should think about limiting Masuda's influence on the development of future games because if what he says reflects what he truly thinks he may be an unhealthy influence on making the game something players want. I used to respect Masuda, but this really has made me turn on him hard.

The mobile part really bothers me: If the whole point of the game is supposed to give a GO experience to younger kids because they don't have cell phones, then what's the point of lowering the standards to mobile games which kids SHOULDN'T have acesss in the first place!!?? Also, wouldn't little kids be upset of not being able to catch Pokemon from other generations ( which they probably most likely grew up with ) which are in GO, but not in Let's Go?

The " expression " speech is a bunch of BS, since they are clearly the same models from XY ( Just different lighting ), not to mention the animations are unused from SM. In fact, they could have put every Pokemon in the game since they had models and running animations ready, but no, they wanted to give us this schizophrenic game for Gen 1 pandering.

Why are Megas in the game, but not abilities? Abillities are much more simpler than mega evolution, which just causes unesscary power creep. If you asks me, mega evolution seems like a tongue and cheek way to drag older fans into the game.

If there are two things I like about this game:

At least the characters actually show emotion. ( Flashback to SM Protagonist who smiles while Lillie, Gladion, and Has stare at Lusamine in horror after she releases the UBs. )

The music is quite relaxing, though I don't agree with reasoning behind it. Speaking of which, Masuda should go back to composing music rather than directing, cause if this the next " 20 " years of Pokemon, I may quit the series as a whole.

 

[Sulfurian]

So, a lot to catch up on. First the Masuda Interview:

Masuda Interview

The interview is long so I'm going to be cutting down a low of text to get the ones I just want to talk about:



There's a contradiction here. So Let's Go is meant for kids, let's say under the age of 12, who don't have a mobile phone strong enough to play GO. However, the reason they chose to remake Yellow was because it was relatable to the kids... a game that was made nearly 20 years ago. Masuda, I don't think kids who are 12 years and younger have a fond memory of a 20 year old game, because they didn't exist yet. Yes, there was the re-releases but how many kids played those? Maybe some interested in seeing what the first Pokemon games were like but the Gen I re-releases was probably mostly bought by adults who were kids when Gen I first came out.

Not to say there wasn't a logical reason for choosing Yellow. He does mention kids will be familiar with Pikachu and the Rocket Trio due to the anime which is a fair point. In addition with how simple Gen I was it is the easiest to change the mechanics around in to use GO mechanics. Also he does mention it would be nice to see Kanto remade in high quality graphics from the black and white pixels, though once again that's something only a long time player would appreciate and not a kid who's earliest Pokemon game might be Gen V.



Didn't include the question as it has nothing to do with what I'm pointing out.

Saying they specifically didn't want to make it a scary game confuses me. Like, what were you doing which made you think the game could be considered scary? I'm mean, sure, you're randomly jumped by elemental monsters in the wild and you're also dealing with the Yakuza/Mafia, but the player's character is never in any danger as it's always the Pokemon out in front battling and it's made clear the Pokemon only faints. And that doesn't even have to do with the environment of the region.

Also, not make it scary... yet you made Lavender Town.



Well, this is a red flag. GF thinks two hours is too long for a kid to pay attention to a game. With Pokemon taking several hours to fully complete, they're afraid kids will get bored, put it down, and move onto another of the many games that are available never to return.

Apparently, GF can't tell the difference between a mobile game experience and an invested (for lack of better words) game experience.

Starting off with the two hours things, yeah, Pokemon takes several hours to complete. That's why there's a SAVE feature so you can play it for two hours, go play some other games you're interested in, and then RETURN to play Pokemon the next day for a few more hours before saving and repeating the process.

Second, many mobile games don't have that much of a story. Yes, yes, neither does Pokemon, but Pokemon there is a story and a sense of progression and elevation. A lot of mobile games, let's take Candy Crush and all its clones for example, where you're just playing through level after level with nothing really to do in-between. Puzzle difficulty and new gimmicks may be introduced but you're still going from one puzzle to another puzzle to another puzzle etc.. Pokemon however is an RPG with a world you run around in and explore. While battling Pokemon in the main gimmick there's other things you're doing, usually with the goal help you with battling important trainers. There's even differences between battles: Wild Battles are meant to let you catch Pokemon to use, Trainer Battles are meant to help train up your team faster than battling Wild Pokemon, important NPC battles (Rival, Gym Leaders, Team Rocket, Elite Four) are meant to be bosses to put to the test all you learned and did about battling, and Let's Go is even introducing Legendary battles and Master Trainer battles.

The mobile games that GF are thinking of is not in the same category of game Pokemon is in! They don't have to worry about Pokemon competing with mobile games. You know what games GF has to worry about Pokemon competing with? Legend of Zelda: Breathe of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Kirby Star Allies, Octopath Traveler, maybe in Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; aka, ACTUAL VIDEO GAMES! Let's Go is on the SWITCH, it's not on mobile phones! WHY are you focusing on the mobile game market for it?!

(WARNING: From this point on I really get ornery at Masuda)



What the f*** are you talking about? Okay, there was no 3D map, you couldn't move diagonally, nor could you run, but we were still able to walk around and explore the Kanto region (you even gave us a bike to ride). And while Let's Go does look like its giving you an easier way to avoid Pokemon, you could also ignore them in the old games by applying a Repel or just keep running away. You're not bending to the will of the players, you're just making things a bit more realistic.



Fuck you. That's not a challenge that's a side mechanic so you'd catch more Pokemon you're just going to trade in for Candies. It's preparing you for battles and has nothing to do with difficulty.



Poor Nabana, for the moment there he tried to save the question only for Masuda to open his mouth again. Hint, when addressing fans concerns with if you're going to give a challenging experience, don't use "if you want to" or "you can challenge yourself". I'll go into the Master Trainers in a later post, but this right here just strikes a cord with me. You can say I'm misinterpreting what he's saying, but to me it's like Masuda is essentially telling old fans to fuck off and make-up their own challenges.

BTW, Nabana doesn't speak up after this, because once you hear what Masuda says next I think even he realizes there's no salvaging this interview.



WELP! That settles it, I ain't buying these games! Oh, I'll certainly watch someone play it on Youtube, but if it ain't going to give me anything more that Gen I had then I don't see a point for anyone who played the original games to get it. This game is strictly for those who hadn't played Gen I or those who play GO and want something else to do with their Gen I Pokemon.



Did Masuda just tell us to shut up and play this stripped down Pokemon experience and if it does well then they'll consider doing later generations?

FUCK YOU! How about this, you first make a game that's WORTH me buying.

And for seven generations now I've become a Pokemon trainer, for seven generations I've started seven journeys across seven regions and became the Champion and hero of a region seven times over. And because I've done all that I've experienced all the changes, used all the new mechanics, and have at least caught one of each species of Pokemon and decided to use them to the best of their abilities. This is baby's first Pokemon.

Oh, and for those who didn't catch this subtle message: this is also saying that if there's no more Let's Go games in the future it's our fault because we didn't buy it. It's up to us to make sure the game is well received (aka sells a lot), and if we do that then they'll decide to do games based on the other regions. Only way this to be scummier is if this happens they decide the next Let's Go game will jump to Gen III or IV with them saying they'll think about going back to Gen II if those games are well received.



Odd, they don't say whether Masuda continued or if someone else said the last quote (maybe Nabana?).

Anyway, first off, I feel what you did in Gen V and VI was the best idea: only require them for side areas. But of course there's plenty of other ways around this, like maybe don't require a Pokemon to know an HM to use it or just have an item that does what the HM does (no, it wouldn't be boring, honestly it would be neat to see the trainer's capabilities increasing just as much as our Pokemon). You could even keep the Poke Rides if you want some main obstacles. All in all I don't think its that difficult. If anything the main difficulty is more from GF not being that good with map design to not make mandatory HM hazards feel like a hassle (or you require too many for one location, *coughSinnohcough*).



... What. The. FUCK. Are. You. Talking about?

You already implemented a way for that to not happen. Pokemon can't forget HMs without the move deleter and you can't release a Pokemon without a PC. If there's a situation where a player can do this then that's YOUR fault for being a bad game designer.

And even then, the only ONE example of this happening the player had to go out of their way to do. The only reason they would do it to see if its possible, and in that case it's the players fault since they had to jump through hoops in order to do it.

And no, if I was swimming or on a surfboard I wouldn't be asking "am I the Pokemon?" I'd be thinking "okay, no need to worry about having a Pokemon that knows Surf, where to go next?". Because people can swim. With the right items people can also cut, push, light up, and break things too. You know what I can't do? I can't shoot elemental blasts, I can't a hit from an elemental attack, I don't have amazing abilities to make a flashy performance. But my Pokemon can, and that's why I need them. And, in-game logic, the more I can do on my own the more my Pokemon can focus on battling; I don't need to use my unconscious Water-type to Surf around because I'm not near a Pokemon Center and I can't swim.



... How do ANY of the basic stage Pokemon come into existence without hatching from an egg? Just have them be in the wild like you started to do with recent games! Also, that doesn't excuse you not having evolutions for certain Pokemon (like the Eeveelutions) or why the Alolan Pokemon are allowed to be in the game (so why are these foreign Pokemon allowed in and no Pokemon for any other generation?). Oh, and Mega Evolution should be impossible without them holding items yet you found a way around that!

Oh, you wanted to focus on expressing the Gen I Pokemon, which makes sense... if you hadn't done that in Gen VII (no, I don't count Let's Go part of Gen VII) because it was the 20th Anniversary!

Oh, BTW, I guess this also confirms no breeding, so yet another negative and stripped out mechanic.



Masuda just wants to remind you that if Let's Go fails and they don't make one for Johto it's YOUR fault for not buying the game even though it's a bare bones experience... shame on your players wanting a fulfilling Pokemon experience, shame.

Also, if you have a problem with people thinking Pokemon is about hatching eggs, why don't you do something about it? And I don't mean by getting rid of breeding, I mean by making it so players don't have to breed as many eggs.

Well, that's the end of the interview and, my god, it was bad. GameFreak, never allow Masuda to do an interview again without another senior staff member to reel him in. Also, give him a good backhand smack across the face because, my god, he made these games sound horribly unappealing if not condescending. Infact, maybe you should think about limiting Masuda's influence on the development of future games because if what he says reflects what he truly thinks he may be an unhealthy influence on making the game something players want. I used to respect Masuda, but this really has made me turn on him hard.

Yeah, and him talking about "players hatching eggs" made me nervous. Blind fanboys will defend gamefreak to their death about how let's go won't bother the "core games" but the more he talks the more I'm assured that hes lost it after Pokemon Go.

 

[Pikachu315111]

- Confirms that there's no eggs or breeding (which seems toghether with held items absence was one of the factor that influenced the absence of cross gen evos/preevos)

Going more into my argument, just as they had found a way to workaround having Mega Evolutions without a Pokemon needing an item they could have done that for cross gen evolutions:

• Baby Pokemon they can just have them on the field, maybe having them appear on a route earlier than their basic stage (like having Pichu appear on Route 1).
• Crobat, Blissey, Espeon, & Umbreon evolves by Friendship (unless you took that out too, and if they did then just make them evolve at a certain Level or after being fed a certain amount of Candy). Espeon & Umbreon would be time based.
• Bellossom needs a Sun Stone, easy enough to program in along with the other Evolution Stones.
• Politoed, Slowking, Steelix, Scizor, Rhyperior, Kingdra, Electivire, Magmortar, Porygon2, & Porygon-Z need a certain item to evolve. So just make these items (King Rock, Metal Coat, Protector, Dragon Scale, Electrizer, Magmarizer, Up-Grade, Dubious Disc, and don't forget Oval Stone for Happiny) into Evolution Items, combining them with the Evolution Stones.
• Magnezone/Leafeon/Glaceon needs a Magnetic Field/Moss Rock/Icy Rock to level up near which they could easily place in the Power Plant/Viridian Forest/Seafoam Islands.
• Hitmontop is just a Level evolution from Tyrogue after meeting the right condition which shouldn't be too hard if Candies are just giving a flat stat increase.
• Lickilicky/Tangrowth just needs Lickitung/Tangela to know Rollout/Ancient Power.
• Sylveon is a bit tricky as it's evolution is locked to a mechanic only the Partner Pokemon have now. Might be best to make it Friendship base plus having a Fairy-type move (if it doesn't have a Fairy-type move then evolve into either Espeon or Umbreon).

As we said many times, reason Let's Go is just Gen I because GF just LOVES to pander to Gen I, which by now is getting pretty stale (I can't even imagine a Gen Wunner still being excited as they've been smothered by the pandering). Part of me wonders if they even want to make a Let's Go for any other generation (and honestly, with what they're doing with Let's Go, who would want to?)...

Taken together, these statements at least make it look like they plan to make perfect-IV Pokémon obtainable through mass capture. Effectively the same as egg hatching, just with more engagement (throwing Poké Balls instead of walking in circles), yet ultimately plagued with the same problem: that you have to sift through another haystack every time you need a new needle, and that the postgame metaphorically consists of embroidery contests.

AND still goes against the message the main game tries to put forth but the post game says is wrong: Any Pokemon you catch you can train into a strong Pokemon. True for main game, but in post game if you don't toss it aside to perform eugenics to get a smaller list of acceptable Pokemon with perfect IVs, Nature, and certain Egg Moves (and Hidden Power type) you're not going far in the Battle Facility or metagame. In the main games this is done by hatching Eggs, but in Let's Go they just switched it to catching as many Pokemon of the same species as possible before finally getting the best one according to that game's mechanics. All the rest you then trade in for candy to then feed to that Pokemon so it can get those extra stat boosts that it can. Sure there's no Nature or Egg Moves to worry about (though who knows if getting the right Hidden Power type is still an issue) but it's still timely grinding that goes against the lessons of the main story. And considering the Master Trainers mean you got to do this with ALL 151 POKEMON might have only made this chore even worse as it's now not just the final evolutions you only needed to care about!

...But I actually question the fact that even kids would find fun grinding (or even see a *reason* to) pokemon over and over for the perfect IVs and facing the almightly Caterpie master.

Yeah, they mention one of their concern is that after two hours the kid would get bored and drop the game... yet they then make a mechanic that is essentially just that which would only assure kids would get bored and drop the game? Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy. Unless what Codraroll said is true in that GF honestly think mindlessly catching Pokemon is the "fun" part about Pokemon... I honestly don't know which is the dumber option...

I get it, if we don't like it, we don't have to do them. I personally did Mantine Surf like twice outside of the mandatory tutorial and that was it. But it's disappointing to see so many resources being dumped into unnecessary garbage like this. Does it maybe appeal to children? Probably, but don't ignore the generation that grew up with Pokemon from the very beginning.

That, and tying it in with Pokemon Go is a mistake IMO, and I hope this is a one-off thing that they'll never attempt again.

I didn't mind Mantine Surfing though I didn't think of it being a challenge but a small distraction. Once you know what to do (and with a little bit of luck) getting the top score on all the high scores was easy. But once you do that there's no other point to Mantine Surf aside from quickly building up BP to get those Tutor Moves or items you want. But what was just atrocious was the Ultra Warp Ride, ugh.

And I don't think making a core series-like game connected with Pokemon Go was a mistake, it was just the way they went about it.

"The biggest thing I feel with Let's Go is really hoping that it's going to serve as sort of a base or starting point for the next 20 years of Pokemon"

... Now to be fair, he did say this would be a "base or starting point" and not something like a "model". When he was talking about HMs he mentioned how it would be up to other game directors to decide how to handle them, which means he's not going to be directing at least the Gen 8 games.

Maybe I jumped the gun a bit during the interview and everything he's saying is just strictly for Let's Go. He sees Let's Go being a simpler series, aka not being challenging and post game content being light. Now, if this is the case, it was poorly explained and I still think this extreme simplification and lack of challenge/post game content is bad (especially for a 60 dollar game). But if all this was just for Let's Go and he's letting another director handle Gen 8, only implying Let's Go's engine is what they'll be using to build future games upon, then that's fine. Sucks for Let's Go and I won't be getting it, but at least the core series is unaffected by Masuda's odd thinking.

Yo real talk though if Masuda is asking people to go away from hatching eggs, I’d love that for gen 8. I’m so sick of breeding lol, just lemme build and test my teams in peace!

Indeed, if that wasn't just talk and Gen 8 they're going to rework the breeding mechanic so you don't need to breed dozens of eggs to get the Pokemon you want that's a simplification I can get behind. But note that according to the interview it seems like Masuda isn't for reducing grinding but just changing the grinding to something he thinks is more "fun": not hatching eggs but catching a lot of the same species of Pokemon.

....So wait, ALL 151? I think what they mean would be all non-legendary pokemon (Unless.....)

P.S. Since it says 151 trainers, does that mean there is no Meltan Trainer?

I don't see how the math adds up. There's 4 Legendary (and one Mythical) in Gen I: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo, and Mew. Minus them is 146 and I don't see how else they'd fill the other 5. There's more than 5 Alolan Pokemon so it can't be them.

Infact, from what it sounds like, the Alolan Pokemon may not be used by these Trainers. I question if the Mega Pokemon would be used as you'd then need two Charizard and Mewtwo Trainers. And of course Meltan obviously isn't getting one.

Before we got the various confirmations (that held items were in fact gone), I was hoping this meant all the different Mega Stones got condensed down to one item. Oh well, looks like that's not the case.

I can still see you having to collect the individual Mega Stones, you just don't need to have the Pokemon in Let's Go hold them.

I think the biggest reason that rivals were more of a jerk in the early days is that we were just limited with what we could express with the pixel graphics. There's not much you can do with that kind of little sprite on the screen, so we worked harder to characterize them through dialogue and give them certain personalities. Also, because it's just dialogue and there's not a whole lot going on on the screen, it doesn't give as harsh of an impression even if they're jerks, I think. Now we have HD graphics and the visuals are much more impressive. If you also made him a jerk, the impression would be a lot stronger on players. Another thing, just my own personal take, is that it feels that people with those kinds of personalities these days are not as accepted by players, I think, as they were back then. - Masuda explaining why Blue was replaced.

My take from this is more that bullying is taken more seriously nowadays then it was used to. Years ago if bullying was happening the kid that was being bullied was essentially expect to handle the problem themselves, stand-up to the bully to show they wouldn't be pushed around. However in recent years we've come to realize how serious bullying is and how it can drive bullied kids to take drastic measures (extreme examples being committing suicide or going on a school shooting). With kids playing Pokemon maybe having been bullied and play games to escape it, a "jerk rival" may put a sour taste in their mouth even if they do beat the rival over and over again. Some may take satisfaction from it, though as Siggu pointed out Blue doesn't learn from being beaten and says "Smell ya later" no matter what so more sensitive kids could feel depowered from that.

So in that case, if we were to get a "jerk rival" again, there would probably be a twist to it. Like Gladion was mean to you but not because he didn't like you but he was doing what he felt he needed to do and you just got in his way, but he's not a bad kid. Also he was part of Team Skull who are a villain team so you'd expect them to be antagonistic.

With that all said, would still like a break from friendly rivals. Like how about a rival that initially doesn't care about us but grows more interested in us as we battle? Or maybe have one that takes things seriously/personally and see being beaten by the main players as the main player showing they're better then them.

Does anyone actually remember Cheren over Bianca from black and white?

I actually feel like Cheren and Bianca are some of the better rivals due to the character development they go through and the results of that development being seen in B2W2.

Of all the rivals the game have had I'd say the most forgettable would be the XY rivals since there was too many of them and the "main" one was just the other gender playable character who was given a blank slate. To me Shauna was the standout since it felt like she was actually trying. Tierno and Trevor was just "there".

 

[Kanburi]

And I don't think making a core series-like game connected with Pokemon Go was a mistake, it was just the way they went about it.

I should clarify, because I totally didn't mean it the way it sounds: I don't necessarily mind the transfer of Pokemon from Go to Let's Go part of the tie-in. What I don't like is the catching mechanic of the game that's very Go-esque. That, and the "you can only get Meltan on Go via Let's Go" aspect, as well as Mew only being available for another 4,000 Yen (or 4,980 if you purchase the two separately, though there is no reason to do so). We all know they're very cash-grabby, but this is over the top for me.

I understand the need/desire to dumb the game down a little bit for new players (the majority of whom are children), but what I worry is that it'll be a long time before we get back to what we're used to, if they're even going to do that at all. A player whose first game is PLG this year will find a very steep learning curve for the 2019 game if breeding is brought back, as opposed to... however they plan on making high IV Pokemon available in PLG. Having to catch a lot of the same Pokemon (perhaps even consecutively as a chain) is going to be an absolute pain, especially with that mechanic.

I'm at the very least hoping there's some translation error for the interview. Is there a Japanese version anywhere?

 

[Sereg]

Personally, I don't think Go's catching method is inherently bad. Giving the feel of actually throwing the ball is nice. (though not being able to weaken with your own mon sucks)

Also, I happen to like catching Pokemon (but new ones. I don't want to be forced to catch repeats. And the reduction in roster just makes that worse). And the loss of old features is just sad. I'm glad megas are still in, but no abilities? Seriously? Abilities have become practically defining. There are Pokemon people like because of their abilities. Their abilities are a massive part of their flavour. (Loss of items is also hard, especially as that was part of the cost/benefit balance of megas and Z-moves, which I also like, but that hurts less than abilities to me.)

 

[Worldie]

Personally, I don't think Go's catching method is inherently bad. Giving the feel of actually throwing the ball is nice. (though not being able to weaken with your own mon sucks)

Also, I happen to like catching Pokemon (but new ones. I don't want to be forced to catch repeats. And the reduction in roster just makes that worse). And the loss of old features is just sad. I'm glad megas are still in, but no abilities? Seriously? Abilities have become practically defining. There are Pokemon people like because of their abilities. Their abilities are a massive part of their flavour. (Loss of items is also hard, especially as that was part of the cost/benefit balance of megas and Z-moves, which I also like, but that hurts less than abilities to me.)

I've actually already gone over why losing abilities is not a big deal.

If you don't want to go all the way back some pages I'll sum it for you
- Go is a PvE game mainly oriented for the story and no real PvP
- in the story usually you have no real access to HAs
- story catchable pokes rarely if ever have competitive nonHA abilities
- previous point is even bigger for gen 1 mons

Bonus point: since the only confirmed postgame is 1v1 vs master trainers, abilities would also be pretty much irrelevant there.

 

[Sereg]

I've actually already gone over why losing abilities is not a big deal.

If you don't want to go all the way back some pages I'll sum it for you
- Go is a PvE game mainly oriented for the story and no real PvP
- in the story usually you have no real access to HAs
- story catchable pokes rarely if ever have competitive nonHA abilities
- previous point is even bigger for gen 1 mons

Bonus point: since the only confirmed postgame is 1v1 vs master trainers, abilities would also be pretty much irrelevant there.

Abilities don't come up as often in PvE, but they still come up. And they can be quite noticeable, have a big effect on flavour and have some really cool effects. I mean, look at the loss of Levitate for a start. Suddenly Gastly is rolling on the floor again.

 

[Worldie]

Abilities don't come up as often in PvE, but they still come up. And they can be quite noticeable, have a big effect on flavour and have some really cool effects. I mean, look at the loss of Levitate for a start. Suddenly Gastly is rolling on the floor again.

I don't recall Ghastly having any issue in gen 1 despite not having Levitate ;)

 

[Sereg]

I don't recall Ghastly having any issue in gen 1 despite not having Levitate ;)

Again, it's not about them not having issues. It's about aesthetics. Gen III taking away the weirdness of floating mon being hit by ground moves (and similar) was a good thing (even if some mon that float still ended up without it).

 

[Worldie]

Again, it's not about them not having issues. It's about aesthetics. Gen III taking away the weirdness of floating mon being hit by ground moves (and similar) was a good thing (even if some mon that float still ended up without it).

That's more an exception than a rule. Most floating mons (and including some with wings like several bugs) arent levitaters. Yeh it's flavour but on pure gameplay experience the issue is nearly unexistant.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Master Trainers:
So starting with the trailer (and site) things I noticed:

1. So first thing I notice is the Master Trainer's design: their the Trainer Classes but all are in these red and black jackets. Why is this notable, because means the Trainer Classes don't have to all look the same to one another! While some Trainer Classes had one or two alternatives, for the most part they only had one sprite/artwork/model for a trainer class. One of the things about Colosseum that was neat is each trainer had a unique appearance be it different colored clothes or hair. Are we finally going to see that in the core games? Trainer Classes having alternate clothing choices (be it style or color) as well as skin, eye, and hair color (hair also having style options)?

2. So for ones that battle you it's a 1 vs 1 where you have to train up the same Pokemon they're a master of, but they may have special moves (some examples being Giga Drain Kabutops, Rock Slide Pinsir, and Solar Beam Lapras; notable thing is that these moves were learnable by these Pokemon via TMs). So I'm guessing they're pretty much going to be the best version of that Pokemon to take down other members of its species. Interesting idea, but I see just one problem with this: wouldn't that mean the winner would be decided who goes first most of the time? And whether you're able to get those super effective moves onto your Pokemon? And you have to train all 151 Pokemon from scratch (well, I suppose if you go about it methodically you can win with a basic stage Pokemon and then evolve it so it can verse another Master Trainer), dear Arceus that sounds so time consuming!

3. And then there's some who just want to see the Pokemon... so what's the point of having that trainer?

Yeah, I think this idea is dead on arrival. It's an interesting idea... but the execution is just wrong. What kills it is it being a 1v1 mirror match, it either means these "master" battles are going to last a few turns as you spam you super effective move the fastest or it'll be drawn out as the Pokemon doesn't learn a move that's super effective against itself so can only do super effective or neutral damage (and this gets worse depending on how defensive the Pokemon is). And there didn't need to be 151 of them, just having one for each evolution family and maybe some additional special ones would have sufficed and maybe allowed you to make the challenges more interesting. And ones who just ask to see their favorite Pokemon might as well just give you those titles by default.

• TMs are reusable
• Happiness is in (rival's sister is the happiness checker)
• Anime references: Brock talks about being a breeder, Misty uses a Psyduck instead of Staryu
• Trainers can turn in directions more randomly, "easier to avoid". The route after Brock is used as an example
• New Pewter Crunchies item is a Full Heal like other regional sweets

Reusable TMs: Nice, didn't think they would change that, though I'm curious how this would effect where they're placed in the game.
Happiness: So further no reason they couldn't add in the cross gen evolutions that evolve via happiness.
Anime References: Nice to have, though would it only be Brock and Misty (and Team Rocket) or will this be throughout the game?
Turning Trainers: How is them randomly turning easier to avoid?
Pewter Crunchies: Ooh, so this no means each generation now has its own food specialty Full Heal item! :D

• Also mentioned in the article: It looks like the Bicycle shop is confirmed gone? But the Fan Club in Vermillion and its infamous chairman are confirmed to return, so what changes there?
• Something I didn't think about until the article made it clearer: What happens if you enter the Jessie and James Double Battle in Mt. Moon with only one Pokemon on your team? Is it going to be like Liza and Tate where they refuse to battle you and block your progress until you come back with at least two Pokemon? Is it changed to a regular Single Battle instead? Or do they hang up a lampshade and force the player into a 1 vs 2 battle? (For that matter, what does the game do if you try to enable co-op mode with only one Pokemon on your team?)

Stuff less related to the above:

• So that steelbook artwork from 2 months ago turned out to be largely true (Pikachu gets a Water-type move and a Flying-type move, while Eevee gets a Fire-, Electric-, and Water-type move). But it also clearly showed Eevee using elemental moves of its remaining evolutions' types (Dark, Psychic, Grass, Ice, Fairy). So either the steelbook artwork is exaggerating Eevee's moves, or Eevee has five more signature moves on the way. This would be 'unfair' for Pikachu, but the argument on the other side is "if the artwork illustrator clearly knows what signature moves the starter Pokemon are getting, why would they deliberately draw in extra moves for Eevee?".
• Don't think this has been talked about yet but it's confirmed that battling Legendary Pokemon will have a time limit, likely 5 minutes. Is this the first time the core series has ever had this kind of time limit requirement? I wonder if they flee when time runs out (and then for them to come back, you'd have to leave and re-enter the area, or less generously you'd have to beat the Pokemon League again).

Bike Shop Gone, Chairman Isn't: Chariman probably just gives you a TM.
Jessie & James: Probably just block your way, don't want to push the kiddie into an unfair situation. Wouldn't be surprised if they also have an additional requirement like being at a certain Level.
Steelbook Spoiler: Maybe Pikachu also has some additional secret moves too. Maybe not as many as Eevee, but enough that it ain't hurting. I can see Pikachu getting fewer but stronger Partner Moves while Eevee getting more type coverage but they're weaker compared to Pikachu's.
Legendary Time Limit: First time I think, and probably do run away and either got to wait the next day or even beat the Elite Four again to have another chance (or you can, you know, save before the encounter).

I should clarify, because I totally didn't mean it the way it sounds: I don't necessarily mind the transfer of Pokemon from Go to Let's Go part of the tie-in. What I don't like is the catching mechanic of the game that's very Go-esque. That, and the "you can only get Meltan on Go via Let's Go" aspect, as well as Mew only being available for another 4,000 Yen (or 4,980 if you purchase the two separately, though there is no reason to do so). We all know they're very cash-grabby, but this is over the top for me.

I understand the need/desire to dumb the game down a little bit for new players (the majority of whom are children), but what I worry is that it'll be a long time before we get back to what we're used to, if they're even going to do that at all. A player whose first game is PLG this year will find a very steep learning curve for the 2019 game if breeding is brought back, as opposed to... however they plan on making high IV Pokemon available in PLG. Having to catch a lot of the same Pokemon (perhaps even consecutively as a chain) is going to be an absolute pain, especially with that mechanic.

Don't mind the GO catching mechanic, but they should have kept in letting us weaken the Pokemon.
Don't really mind the Meltan tie-in as it's technically free, but the Mew does seem pretty scummy (especially if they're going to have a Mew Master Trainer).

I think these changes are just for Let's Go, Gen 8 is going to relatively be untouched by the dumbing down (or I hope to Arceus that it is). But I wouldn't mind seeing some things brought over like Wild Pokemon being on the field and the Poke Ball throwing mechanic does seem fun as long as they also keep us being able to weaken the Pokemon.

I've actually already gone over why losing abilities is not a big deal.

True, though I feel this also means they shouldn't have Mega Evolutions either then.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Personally, I don't think Go's catching method is inherently bad. Giving the feel of actually throwing the ball is nice. (though not being able to weaken with your own mon sucks)

I also really like the risk/reward factor of the bonus circle.

 

[doipy hooves]

Turning Trainers: How is them randomly turning easier to avoid?

Trainers are either spinners (randomly turn) or just stay in the same direction blocking one line of sight. Most trainers on Route 3 were normally static, so it sounds like there'll be more of the spinner type which allows you to just walk past them as they turn.

The context from the article makes it clearer than what I said. I guess it isn't "more randomly" as it is more trainers.

Trainer battles tend to be a little easier to avoid while walking around than they have been in the past. Most Kanto Trainers will occasionally turn in a different direction, creating an opportunity to sneak by.

 

[Worldie]

True, though I feel this also means they shouldn't have Mega Evolutions either then.

I am quite confident that including Mega Evolutions was pure fanservice for no other reason.

 

[Sulfurian]

I am quite confident that including Mega Evolutions was pure fanservice for no other reason.

To be honest if they actually do announce new kanto megas I will have to take back all the negative things I've said about this game. >>

 

[Worldie]

To be honest if they actually do announce new kanto megas I will have to take back all the negative things I've said about this game. >>

To be honest if they announced new KANTO megas I think they'd just get a massive fan outrage

 

[bdt2002]

I'm reading over this post after just having got home from school, and I'm here with my opinion on these games. Or at least the controversy around the games.

Feel free to hate me, but I'm actually siding with the developers of Let's Go when it comes to viewpoints. Yes, the game is a letdown for core audiences like most of us are here. Yes, the game is making Game Freak and Pokémon look bad (that other Switch RPG GF announced a while back actually looks more appealing tbh, but that's for another time), but still, we as fans must consider what's going on here. The original Yellow came out 20 years ago. They're the only shot of following their noticeable pattern of having access to Kanto on every game system so far (GB/GBC, GBA, DS, 3DS Virtual Console) and from a marketing standpoint, it's going to be saving them money on resources in the long run, AND be bringing in younger fans in time for Generation 8 (and Sinnoh remakes after that, I think), which our good friend Mr. Masuda has also talked about in the past, but no one payed attention to.

So yeah, I think Game Freak is in the right here. Now, about the actual game, there are 3 major things I like about it:

1. First game since the GAMECUBE where Eevee is a Starter (I grew up with the Wii so that's awesome)
2. Thus game opens up SO many possibilities with Generations 7 and 8. I could make a whole forum's worth of a list.
3. Following that last one, that reminds me. Didn't Gen 7 have location data for Go in the game files or something like that? Cross-trading, anyone? I don't play Go, but that sounds really cool. Now let's hope they actually do it.

 

[DreamPrince]

I'm reading over this post after just having got home from school, and I'm here with my opinion on these games. Or at least the controversy around the games.

Feel free to hate me, but I'm actually siding with the developers of Let's Go when it comes to viewpoints. Yes, the game is a letdown for core audiences like most of us are here. Yes, the game is making Game Freak and Pokémon look bad (that other Switch RPG GF announced a while back actually looks more appealing tbh, but that's for another time), but still, we as fans must consider what's going on here. The original Yellow came out 20 years ago. They're the only shot of following their noticeable pattern of having access to Kanto on every game system so far (GB/GBC, GBA, DS, 3DS Virtual Console) and from a marketing standpoint, it's going to be saving them money on resources in the long run, AND be bringing in younger fans in time for Generation 8 (and Sinnoh remakes after that, I think), which our good friend Mr. Masuda has also talked about in the past, but no one payed attention to.

So yeah, I think Game Freak is in the right here. Now, about the actual game, there are 3 major things I like about it:

1. First game since the GAMECUBE where Eevee is a Starter (I grew up with the Wii so that's awesome)
2. Thus game opens up SO many possibilities with Generations 7 and 8. I could make a whole forum's worth of a list.
3. Following that last one, that reminds me. Didn't Gen 7 have location data for Go in the game files or something like that? Cross-trading, anyone? I don't play Go, but that sounds really cool. Now let's hope they actually do it.

The problem trading with SM and UM and Go is confirmed not to be in the game, so that’s that.

Does Pokémon Conquest not count for Eevee as a starter?

What are these ‘possibilities’ you are talking about?

How exactly is remaking Kanto going to save money and resources? Also, why do younger fans need Kanto to be hooked in? Why can’t the other regions and their games suffice to get new players?

 

[bdt2002]

The problem trading with SM and UM and Go is confirmed not to be in the game, so that’s that.

Does Pokémon Conquest not count for Eevee as a starter?

What are these ‘possibilities’ you are talking about?

How exactly is remaking Kanto going to save money and resources? Also, why do younger fans need Kanto to be hooked in? Why can’t the other regions and their games suffice to get new players?

1. I was talking main series (assuming GCN games count), but yeah.
2. I wasn't aware of the message of no trading.
3. Going to Kanto wouldn't. I was talking more along the lines of game hardware.
4. Possiblities for 3DS/Switch compatibility and stuff like that :D (Imagine using a 3DS as a controller for TV mode in Gen 8)

 

[bdt2002]

And don't eliminate the possibility of other Let's Go games for the other regions in the future. I know people would hate that, but considering how big of a Totodile fan I am...hey, if Let's Go Totodile is a thing, take my money and run. Apologies for all of this in advance.

 

[Duckster]

Super stoked for the stat overhaul!! I've been hoping for this since Gen V but now we can finally leave our RNG pokebank mons behind and start from scratch for Gen VIII.

That alone tells me gamefreak has crafted this with utmost care while keeping hardcore players in mind, and while I do believe they took the easy route with a remake, that just gives them more money to invest in something bigger with more detail come the core game release.

Btw do people think they really are cutting corners with the no abilities thing or were they actually thinking that maybe some 'mons would be broke? Cloyster comes to mind, Dragonite, Kangaskhan, and the Charizard Y + Venusaur combo too. It would probably be super easy to program but someone was probably like "hm Cloyster above Mewtwo? Yeah... no."

Anyways just my thoughts but I really hope you guys reconsider this game... I wanna see what sets ppl come up with and have like a permanent B Metagame to current Gen OU since everyone is so split on past Gens.

 

[bdt2002]

Super stoked for the stat overhaul!! I've been hoping for this since Gen V but now we can finally leave our RNG pokebank mons behind and start from scratch for Gen VIII.

That alone tells me gamefreak has crafted this with utmost care while keeping hardcore players in mind, and while I do believe they took the easy route with a remake, that just gives them more money to invest in something bigger with more detail come the core game release.

Btw do people think they really are cutting corners with the no abilities thing or were they actually thinking that maybe some 'mons would be broke? Cloyster comes to mind, Dragonite, Kangaskhan, and the Charizard Y + Venusaur combo too. It would probably be super easy to program but someone was probably like "hm Cloyster above Mewtwo? Yeah... no."

Anyways just my thoughts but I really hope you guys reconsider this game... I wanna see what sets ppl come up with and have like a permanent B Metagame to current Gen OU since everyone is so split on past Gens.

I hadn't even considered all of that. That only further gets me excited for the games. Worst case scenario, if they do suck, I can just play Smash Ultimate LOL

 

[Theorymon]

How exactly is remaking Kanto going to save money and resources? Also, why do younger fans need Kanto to be hooked in? Why can’t the other regions and their games suffice to get new players?

In this case at least, Let's Go's Kanto map is extremely similar to the map from RBY, so I'm guessing that massively cuts down on map design time. That plus the much more limited selection of Pokemon makes me think that this game has a far lower budget than your usual 3D Pokemon game. This game started development around 2 years ago if I recall, while gen 8 started development "before the Switch was announced".

I doubt Nintendo and TPC would want to admit this, but Let's Go just screams "filler game" to me in some ways because of this. There was no way they were gonna get an HD gen 8 out 2 years after SM lol

 

[bdt2002]

This might be one of the most intelligent things I have ever heard about game development on the Internet. Respect. And somehow, enough to alter my opinion a tiny bit.