Aug17
Your POSITIVE Opinions
World-building within the confines of the existing franchise is apparently a niche. A GTS-based #ChainOfDeals forum game has been hit-and-miss so far. But this... this is something that really needs to happen, and if I'm the only one who's willing to make it happen, I'm going to be very very sad.
There is not enough positivity on the internet. The people with negative opinions are always the ones who make themselves heard. I want to change that. I want people to come here, and I want you to share what you LIKED about the Pokémon games. Core series, side series, spin-offs, free-to-play, any of it. I want a place where good, enjoyable opinions coalesce.
Don't shy away from it because you think it's going to be an unpopular position. Frick, if you end up double-posting between here and the controversial opinions thread, because you suspected your enjoyment of something was going to be controversial, all the better. People assume that just because something is unpopular, that means it's bad, without regarding it for themselves. Use your own judgement on this front. If you liked something about the games, then say it here.
And don't make it a masked insult, either. This isn't "I liked this better than that" or "I liked this and wish it hadn't stopped". This is "I liked this, and this is why". Maybe "I liked this, and I'm glad that didn't happen instead". Positivity. There needs to be more of it, plain and simple.
With all that said, let's get right into it.
1. I feel that the versioned core series games make the series much more enjoyable than it would be if they were standalone games per Generation.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not a drive for people to buy two of what is effectively the same game - it encourages you to play with friends, cooperatively or competitively. In fact, the versioned games actually prevent people from buying two of the same game even when they would have a good reason to. In my childhood, my mother would refuse to allow me and my siblings to buy two of the same game; regardless of whether we wanted to play multiplayer with a game that didn't use DS Download Play, or we all wanted to play a game that only had one save file, she vetoed it without a prayer. But when I got a copy of Pokémon Pearl Version and my brother got a copy of Pokémon Diamond Version, we were able to communicate with multiplayer, play on separate save files instead of having to wait until one had finished the story, and my mother didn't raise a fuss over it.
And for people who do end up acquiring both versions for their own use, usually for reasons completely unrelated to the versioning, it makes the experience better. I, for example, lost a great number of well-trained Pokémon in Generation IV. This was largely out of my own poor judgement; I wanted to play through the game again, because there's nothing wrong with playing a game more than once (despite the opinions of some people I know), and I failed to account for the fact that I would lose my Pokémon in so doing. When my brother wanted to get rid of his copy of Diamond, I told him I wanted it, and used it to play through Sinnoh again without losing my Pokémon. The experience was just that little bit different from Pearl that it was enjoyable without being note-for-note. And when I wanted to play through Sinnoh again after that, I traded my Pokémon from Pearl to Diamond, so I didn't lose them again. I still have that copy of Diamond, and I use it as a "storage" cartridge so I can play through Platinum again (and for communication with Battle Revolution; more on that later) without losing anything meaningful. And for that reason alone, I have gotten myself a copy of both versions of every pair of core series games, with the exception of SoulSilver Version and Black Version 2 because neither pair had anything transferrable that the earlier games of the generation lacked, so I can trade between i.e. White Version 1 and White Version 2 if I need.
(Yes, that includes ORAS and Sw/Sh, even after the advent of Pokémon Bank and Pokémon HOME, which do not allow storage of items. Mega Stones and Master Balls should not just be thrown away, and I bought physical copies of the Switch games which means I can't load up separate save files on two consoles.)
(Ultra Sun would fall under the same conditions as SS and B2, except that I was late to Generation VIII, really wanted the Moon versions, went to buy the games when they only had Sun versions, and made some really bad judgement calls on both sides of the morning. I've since given Ultra Sun to a family friend to save him the trouble of buying the game himself.)
2. I appreciate the fact that that Mega Evolution and Z-Power did not carry over to Generation VIII.
Both of those are deeply intertwined with the regions of the Generations from which they originated, and are available in each the region they are available for a good reason. You get a Key Stone in Kalos because you're tasked with learning more about Mega Evolution. You get a Key Stone in Hoenn because you helped a guy who collects stones for a living and is investigating a phenomenon similar to Mega Evolution. You get a Z-Ring in Alola because it's a right of passage for the people of Alola. You get a Key Stone in Alola as a sign of appreciation from the assistants of the guy who wanted to know more about Mega Evolution. You get a Key Stone in Kanto because Let's Go happens after Red and Blue are established Trainers, have travelled the world, and have gotten Key Stones from another region, and Blue wants to reward you for dealing with Team Rocket.
Would I have enjoyed Mega Evolution and/or Z-Power making an appearance in Galar? Probably, for gameplay reasons. Will I enjoy it if Mega Evolution and/or Z-Power makes an appearance in Sinnoh? Most likely, for gameplay reasons. But not for story reasons, unless you received them for a good reason, from someone who has a good reason to have them. If Kahili was touring in Galar and got ambushed by Ice-types in the Crown Tundra while she was on a leisurely stroll with her Hawlucha, you rescued her, and she decided to reward you with a Z-Power Ring and a box of type-based Z-Crystals? Decent. She's Alolan, she's got a reason to have a Z-Power Ring, and Z-Crystals are handed out by NPCs in Alola. If you woke up in Postwick after becoming the Champion and your Mum told you a package came in the mail, and it turned out to be a Key Stone from someone you've never met and who doesn't even appear in person? Questionable. Better that Gurkinn or Sycamore happen to be in Galar and give it to you in person.
3. I enjoyed Pokémon Battle Revolution.
I probably would have enjoyed Pokémon Stadium if I had become a Pokémon Trainer in Generation I or II (and I owned a Nintendo 64), but that's just an inference based on how much I enjoyed Pokémon Battle Revolution. The battles are cinematic, and a spectacle to watch. The Pokémon animations are designed to be visually entertaining, the attacks all showcase #VisualEffectsOfAwesome, and the announcer is enthusiastic and cheerful. And he says Pokémon names out loud, which helps with pronunciation if you don't watch the anime (at least for the ones that have actually appeared before the game came out; they changed the pronunciation of Arceus' name for a good reason, but he had no way of knowing that was gonna happen).
The various battle gimmicks in each Colosseum are fun to play, and they paved the way road for things like Rotation Battle and Battle Royal. Waterfall Colosseum's Team Battles offered a good reason to avoid power-levelling your starter Pokémon, because it's only good for one KO. Neon Colosseum's Fortune Battles give you a good reason to know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent's Pokémon, because you might end up using your opponent's Pokémon, and they yours. Say what you will about Rental Pokémon, but they always provide an opportunity to try out a Pokémon you might not have had the chance to try out for yourself. The ones on the Rental Passes make for sound, well-rounded teams, and Gateway Colosseum's Trade Battle lets you expand those teams if you deem fit. And the ones in Sunset Colosseum's Select Battle encourage tactical thinking, instead of just brute-forcing things with a Pokémon that's been trained on a journey and given a purely offensive moveset.
Plus, in-game full-body Pokémon cosplay is still one of my favourite things in the entire franchise, even if you've really gotta earn that Lucario Costume. I kinda squeed when I saw the Sundae Dress in X/Y, because it brings back memories. I think I had an opportunity to get an Eevee outfit in Sw/Sh because I've played Let's Go, and I missed it, and I'm miffed at myself.
There is not enough positivity on the internet. The people with negative opinions are always the ones who make themselves heard. I want to change that. I want people to come here, and I want you to share what you LIKED about the Pokémon games. Core series, side series, spin-offs, free-to-play, any of it. I want a place where good, enjoyable opinions coalesce.
Don't shy away from it because you think it's going to be an unpopular position. Frick, if you end up double-posting between here and the controversial opinions thread, because you suspected your enjoyment of something was going to be controversial, all the better. People assume that just because something is unpopular, that means it's bad, without regarding it for themselves. Use your own judgement on this front. If you liked something about the games, then say it here.
And don't make it a masked insult, either. This isn't "I liked this better than that" or "I liked this and wish it hadn't stopped". This is "I liked this, and this is why". Maybe "I liked this, and I'm glad that didn't happen instead". Positivity. There needs to be more of it, plain and simple.
With all that said, let's get right into it.
1. I feel that the versioned core series games make the series much more enjoyable than it would be if they were standalone games per Generation.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not a drive for people to buy two of what is effectively the same game - it encourages you to play with friends, cooperatively or competitively. In fact, the versioned games actually prevent people from buying two of the same game even when they would have a good reason to. In my childhood, my mother would refuse to allow me and my siblings to buy two of the same game; regardless of whether we wanted to play multiplayer with a game that didn't use DS Download Play, or we all wanted to play a game that only had one save file, she vetoed it without a prayer. But when I got a copy of Pokémon Pearl Version and my brother got a copy of Pokémon Diamond Version, we were able to communicate with multiplayer, play on separate save files instead of having to wait until one had finished the story, and my mother didn't raise a fuss over it.
And for people who do end up acquiring both versions for their own use, usually for reasons completely unrelated to the versioning, it makes the experience better. I, for example, lost a great number of well-trained Pokémon in Generation IV. This was largely out of my own poor judgement; I wanted to play through the game again, because there's nothing wrong with playing a game more than once (despite the opinions of some people I know), and I failed to account for the fact that I would lose my Pokémon in so doing. When my brother wanted to get rid of his copy of Diamond, I told him I wanted it, and used it to play through Sinnoh again without losing my Pokémon. The experience was just that little bit different from Pearl that it was enjoyable without being note-for-note. And when I wanted to play through Sinnoh again after that, I traded my Pokémon from Pearl to Diamond, so I didn't lose them again. I still have that copy of Diamond, and I use it as a "storage" cartridge so I can play through Platinum again (and for communication with Battle Revolution; more on that later) without losing anything meaningful. And for that reason alone, I have gotten myself a copy of both versions of every pair of core series games, with the exception of SoulSilver Version and Black Version 2 because neither pair had anything transferrable that the earlier games of the generation lacked, so I can trade between i.e. White Version 1 and White Version 2 if I need.
(Yes, that includes ORAS and Sw/Sh, even after the advent of Pokémon Bank and Pokémon HOME, which do not allow storage of items. Mega Stones and Master Balls should not just be thrown away, and I bought physical copies of the Switch games which means I can't load up separate save files on two consoles.)
(Ultra Sun would fall under the same conditions as SS and B2, except that I was late to Generation VIII, really wanted the Moon versions, went to buy the games when they only had Sun versions, and made some really bad judgement calls on both sides of the morning. I've since given Ultra Sun to a family friend to save him the trouble of buying the game himself.)
2. I appreciate the fact that that Mega Evolution and Z-Power did not carry over to Generation VIII.
Both of those are deeply intertwined with the regions of the Generations from which they originated, and are available in each the region they are available for a good reason. You get a Key Stone in Kalos because you're tasked with learning more about Mega Evolution. You get a Key Stone in Hoenn because you helped a guy who collects stones for a living and is investigating a phenomenon similar to Mega Evolution. You get a Z-Ring in Alola because it's a right of passage for the people of Alola. You get a Key Stone in Alola as a sign of appreciation from the assistants of the guy who wanted to know more about Mega Evolution. You get a Key Stone in Kanto because Let's Go happens after Red and Blue are established Trainers, have travelled the world, and have gotten Key Stones from another region, and Blue wants to reward you for dealing with Team Rocket.
Would I have enjoyed Mega Evolution and/or Z-Power making an appearance in Galar? Probably, for gameplay reasons. Will I enjoy it if Mega Evolution and/or Z-Power makes an appearance in Sinnoh? Most likely, for gameplay reasons. But not for story reasons, unless you received them for a good reason, from someone who has a good reason to have them. If Kahili was touring in Galar and got ambushed by Ice-types in the Crown Tundra while she was on a leisurely stroll with her Hawlucha, you rescued her, and she decided to reward you with a Z-Power Ring and a box of type-based Z-Crystals? Decent. She's Alolan, she's got a reason to have a Z-Power Ring, and Z-Crystals are handed out by NPCs in Alola. If you woke up in Postwick after becoming the Champion and your Mum told you a package came in the mail, and it turned out to be a Key Stone from someone you've never met and who doesn't even appear in person? Questionable. Better that Gurkinn or Sycamore happen to be in Galar and give it to you in person.
3. I enjoyed Pokémon Battle Revolution.
I probably would have enjoyed Pokémon Stadium if I had become a Pokémon Trainer in Generation I or II (and I owned a Nintendo 64), but that's just an inference based on how much I enjoyed Pokémon Battle Revolution. The battles are cinematic, and a spectacle to watch. The Pokémon animations are designed to be visually entertaining, the attacks all showcase #VisualEffectsOfAwesome, and the announcer is enthusiastic and cheerful. And he says Pokémon names out loud, which helps with pronunciation if you don't watch the anime (at least for the ones that have actually appeared before the game came out; they changed the pronunciation of Arceus' name for a good reason, but he had no way of knowing that was gonna happen).
The various battle gimmicks in each Colosseum are fun to play, and they paved the way road for things like Rotation Battle and Battle Royal. Waterfall Colosseum's Team Battles offered a good reason to avoid power-levelling your starter Pokémon, because it's only good for one KO. Neon Colosseum's Fortune Battles give you a good reason to know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent's Pokémon, because you might end up using your opponent's Pokémon, and they yours. Say what you will about Rental Pokémon, but they always provide an opportunity to try out a Pokémon you might not have had the chance to try out for yourself. The ones on the Rental Passes make for sound, well-rounded teams, and Gateway Colosseum's Trade Battle lets you expand those teams if you deem fit. And the ones in Sunset Colosseum's Select Battle encourage tactical thinking, instead of just brute-forcing things with a Pokémon that's been trained on a journey and given a purely offensive moveset.
Plus, in-game full-body Pokémon cosplay is still one of my favourite things in the entire franchise, even if you've really gotta earn that Lucario Costume. I kinda squeed when I saw the Sundae Dress in X/Y, because it brings back memories. I think I had an opportunity to get an Eevee outfit in Sw/Sh because I've played Let's Go, and I missed it, and I'm miffed at myself.
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