With the recent release of Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, there's been plenty of attention surrounding the third generation of Pokémon games. Ruby and Sapphire introduced many new things to the franchise, such as weather, abilities, natures, double battles, a deeper IV system and a heavily overhauled PC; as a result it holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers, and it turns out that Junichi Masuda - the current Pokémon series director - has a particular soft spot for this game as well.
In an interview with Kotaku, Masuda-san revealed that the game's nature-focused theme was inspired by childhood visits to his grandparents house. Masuda lived in the urban setting of Tokyo for his childhood, so going to his grandparents house on the lush island of Kyushu was quite a change of pace. He said that he loved to catch bugs, play in the river, explore the forest, and catch fish in the ocean. He wanted to express the memories of these things through the setting and atmosphere of the game, such as how building secret bases was a lot like building treehouses or forts.
The name Hoenn came from the two kanji characters, “ho" and “en", which translate roughly to “abundance" and “bonds" or “connections". Masuda said this would contribute to the abundance of both nature and the goodwill of people; this was referring to how neighbors in his grandparents neighbourhood used to cheerily say hello as he passed them in the street.
It seems like there are a lot of fond memories and experiences that went into the creation of these games. What do you think? Do you have particularly fond memories of Ruby and Sapphire? Reminisce in the comments below.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 27
Seems every big Ninty dev has a cute but slightly sad story behind their main games. I always called it the Heonn region because I missread it as a kid, I still say it all the time now xD
And that's why Hoenn is the best pokemon setting.
I always love hearing these origin stories, they always turn out to bethings you'd never really think of. His seems to be a rather common source if inspiration too, the contrast between urban and rural areas.
There's not enough water Pokemon, so too much water.
7.8
I wonder when that will get old?
Always nice to hear an artist's inspiration that makes sense.
Unlike Andy Warhol's soup cans and the subsequent artistic analysis people give them
There's enough water in Ruby & Sapphire. Same cannot be said about the games that came after.
I thought it was a rather cute origin and now that we're aware of this, you can really see the influence it had on the whole game's design. Makes you wonder about the stories for the other regions.
@PvtOttobot Why is it slightly sad, though?
@Interneto Because he was/is cooped up in the city but he clearly prefers the welcoming countryside.
I love this game, its nice to hear the story behind it.
It makes me appriciate the game even more.
Yet no one asked him about the Battle Frontier? T.T
I hate to be that guy, but I'm pretty sure weather got introduced in Gen 2.
@Haxonberik it was introduced to battles in Gen 2 and to the overworld in Gen 3.
I don't think there's too much water
Hoenn's my favorite!!!
And now that I've been able to experience practically the whole game, I can also say there is in no way too much water.
7.8 Too Much Water
~IGN
@Angelic_Lapras_King They did. He gave a BS answer about not enough people wanting it to justify putting it in.
Frankly, Masuda has no understanding of Pokemon's fanbase, he's just casual pandering at this point.
@Bolt_Strike That's good because casual audiences always make up a larger portion than dedicated fans, which is why most business decisions are based on them.
@BlatantlyHeroic Casuals were never so dominant that they warranted stripping down the gameplay to where it is now, and on 3DS, they still aren't. It's more likely that Masuda is looking at the mobile market and mistakenly assuming that the 3DS is the same, and it's not. So that reasoning doesn't really justify their decisions. Maybe on the DS or mobile he'd have a point, but not on 3DS.
@Bolt_Strike I really doubt 10 year olds would enjoy sending out their non-competitive Pokemon to get haxxed up in the Battle Frontier. The truth is it is only popular with people who KNOW about the competitive side of Pokemon. Most people who buy Pokemon games just buy them because they have cute little pets you go on an adventure with. The Battle Frontier isn't for the average Pokemon player, and you just need to accept that.
Yes, there IS too much water. Don't care if he visited his grandparents or whatever, remove the water or make it more interesting.
Or just give the IP to Monolith Soft.
@Melkac Sigh
Really? I for one think the water routes are more interesting than the ground routes we ALWAYS see in EVERY entry. Go back to Team Magma.
@BlatantlyHeroic "I really doubt 10 year olds would enjoy sending out their non-competitive Pokemon to get haxxed up in the Battle Frontier. The truth is it is only popular with people who KNOW about the competitive side of Pokemon. Most people who buy Pokemon games just buy them because they have cute little pets you go on an adventure with. The Battle Frontier isn't for the average Pokemon player, and you just need to accept that."
You're missing the point. None of that stopped them from making the Battle Frontier in the first place OR bringing it back in future games. What's stopping them now? The casuals have as much of a presence now as they did when the Battle Frontier was first made.
Also, older fans play much more of a role in how a remake is created because a large portion of the sales are the original fans that want to relive their memories. Removing an important part of that legacy is a slap in the face to that fanbase.
"Really? I for one think the water routes are more interesting than the ground routes we ALWAYS see in EVERY entry. Go back to Team Magma."
At least the ground routes have a variety of environments and interesting landmarks, unlike the water routes which are mainly plain water with rocks surrounding it and the occasional island. So you are certainly in the minority if you think water routes are more interesting, there's less they can do with them.
@Melkac At the very least, let Monolith make a 3D Pokemon RPG alongside the existing series.
@BlatantlyHeroic I remember playing through the battle frontier in Emerald as a 8 or 9 year old and I really REALLY loved it. I will always remeber how fun it was to go through the battle pyramid and rent pokemom at the battle factory. Maybe I didn't play through each facility long enough or something, because I never remembered it being especially hard.
Cool! Who says there's to much water?
I've always loved these games, and felt that they were my favorites. I could always feel the sense of love and appreciation that went into Hoenn in general, and the graphic diversity made for a region that was fun to explore.
That said, I spent 2 months in Kyushu back in 2013, and I REALLY began to understand why Masuda loved it so much. Because of that, I have an even stronger connection to what was already my favorite Pokemon game!
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