... and it's that I don't like when ROM Hacks want to "balance" the official Pokémon. I mean things like changing typing, abilities, base stats, or learnset, or modifying the moves or abilities themselves.
I know they want to make the joke Pokémon viable (a pre-Sirfetch'd classic was vastly buffing Farfetch'd's stats and make it Fighting/Flying), but it feels really wrong to me... for some reason. And yet I don't find creating Fakemon, new moves or abilities as wrong as that.
Which is why I appreciate when "vanilla" options exist (say, the Drayano ROM Hacks).
Maybe it is because I disagree with the buffs themselves?
It's more likely because when you see, say, Farfetch'd, you should already know what you're up against.
It's a shitmon, normal/flying-type, not really much of a threat in the hands of dumb AI.
When you see that same Farfetch'd actually be a Fighting/Flying-type with good stats and actual stabs that doesn't require SD+Crit to do real damage, odds are you'll feel that you got tricked or that you're just dealing with some unknown jank.
It's really hard to make hacks that change base stats and the like enjoyable because no one wants to actually stop mid-battle and break out a doc file listing all the changes to know wtf Caterpie got now.
When I actually attempted to rebalance GSC+Stadium 2, I had a clear idea of the in-game GSC portion being an extended tutorial to help people adjust for when they played St2. One of the things I wanted to implement (But didn't have time to) was adding the Pokédex as a Key Item that actually listed the typing of the mon you were battling, and if caught, the Base Stats and Evolution Method.
It'd pretty much work like the anime when Ash pulls up the Dex to learn about an unknown mon, and being optional, it wouldn't be too intrusive.
But that's just a huge chunk of work that a lot of hackers just don't wanna do/can't do/don't know how to do. Actual polish takes a tremendous amount of effort, and I think a lot of people's issues with the later games are that GF has been slipping on that front. Read: Animations, draw distance, route design, etc.
It's less "what could've been" and more "why does this feel like a step-down?"
So, on the topic of difficulty...
For all the talk about how Pokémon is incredibly easy, and that Game Freak does not want to make it challenging, I kind of think not many appreciate how heavily customizable Pokémon's difficulty is, and that's something that should be noticed.
Masuda did point it out in an interview... right before answering a question saying the Exp. Share wouldn't be toggleable in SwSh.
Oh yeah, there's also that 50% Exp Boost item in the IoA that also can't be turned off and can be gotten as soon as you arrive in the Wild Area.
These small details + the lack of proper difficulty settings (BW2 had such a good system going, it just needed to be more accessible) just forces the player to go extremely out of their way to have any semblance of difficulty.
My main problem with difficulty in rom hacks and just most fans suggestions is that most of them are just really fucking boring and grindy. They feel more like kaizos than someone trying to design a difficult game. When the only way to progress is just "bruteforce it with higher levels" then theres nothing interessing going on.
That is true, and it's bad design taken to the other side of the spectrum. Grinding is not difficult.
I'll try and use an example to explain what I'd like in terms of difficulty.
I presume most of us have at least heard of the Totem battles. I dislike the asymmetrical design, but they had something interesting. A strategic theme for most of them. So how would they translate into SwSh?
Take Milo for example. Both of his mons got a nifty, signature ability (Cotton Down) that isn't used in favor of one he cannot use (Regenerator).
Instead of making that battle a boring Dynamax rout, why not use those abilities in his favor and base his team on speed control? (And give him more than 2 mons for crying out loud, at least 3 or 4.) No need for crazy or busted stuff, just some flavor to bring out actual strategy.
Totem Araquanid had that theme and people weren't chucking 3DSes out of windows for it.
The current games are not just easy. They're boring. XY started off on a very strong note with Viola actually using Water Sport to cover for her weakness, but well... You get past Reflection Cave and is greeted by the likes of Korrina, so that one didn't quite stick the landing, I'd say.
The main issue is that "adding difficulty" in a Pokemon games can realistically always be bruteforced by grinding.
Issue? That's not a problem. It allows kids to just barrel through games like a CB Gorilla Tactics Darm with an overleveled starter if they want to. There's nothing really wrong with that.
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