Like, the series isn’t famous for its writing, but I absolutely loved the last part of Arceus. The Volo fight hit me out of nowhere, and the fact the fight itself was actually challenging was a very pleasant surprise. I wish we got a little bit more of an explanation for potato mochi guy, but the game has just the right balance of mystery and allusion to D/P to make you think. The isekai elements also reminded me of the first Mystery Dungeon games in a really good way.
I really liked most of Black/White, but I think it got a little weaker at the end. Exploring the idea that maybe this isn’t really different from cockfighting, that maybe it’s wrong to capture Pokémon and perhaps force them to fight was an interesting idea even if the game pumped the breaks on exploring it with “nah Ghetsis is just evil lol” at the end. (I never played BW2, so not sure if it’s any better there.)
On the opposite end of things, Sw/Sh are just absolute fucking slop. I played them stoned as shit, which usually makes me very easy to impress, but no. Chairman Rose is stupid and I don’t even remember why I fought him. Team Yell might as well as come from an episode of Johnny Test. I already came in pissed about Dexit, and nothing about those games seemed to go beyond the tier of entertainment and challenge that I’d expect from an iPad game for a toddler.
De_Narm@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, for the most part, I’ve mostly enjoyed games released in the third generation and didn’t touch anything past the seventh. The increasing amount of handholding turned me off and degrading mega evolutions from the once advertised evolution of the gameplay formular to a mere gimmick broke the last straw.
That being said: The Gamecube games hands down. The intro cutscene to Colosseum has more story than some generations did in their entirety and instead of you just stumbling into the plot you are actually an integral part of it. As an added bonus, both games feature final bosses that actually fight back. I think Colosseum is the only Pokemon game I ever struggled in.
Of course, taking everything Pokemon into account, Mystery Dungeon is the only true answer, but I wanted to got with an traditional RPG first.
If you insist on mainline games, you’re probably right about the fifth generation. These games have everything you would need, but the execution itself is fumbled - and it has to be, since they questioned their own franchise at its core. Logically speaking, N is right and everyone else is wrong.
There are some interesting things in other generations, but it usually feels tacked on and isn’t actually relevant for 95% of the game. Like, the sixth generation had some nice ideas - but they are mostly implied or retold, without you having any urgency in the matter. Once again why I chose the GC games, two of the few games with you being part of the plot. In the early mainline games, you mostly happen to be there when story happens, in the later games, you sometimes only get told that story happens somewhere.
brucethemoose@lemmy.world 1 day ago
+1 for Colosseum.