Three years ago, as we approached the reveal of Pokémon’s seventh generation and its 20th anniversary, we looked back on all previous six generations of Pokémon. Now, three years later, as we approach the end of the seventh generation and the inevitable reveal of the next generation, it’s time to look back over the last three years of Pokémon – and what a time it has been!
Before we begin, you might want to check out our previous retrospectives here:
- Generation 1 - 1996 to 1999
- Generation 2 - 1999 to 2002
- Generation 3 - 2002 to 2006
- Generation 4 - 2006 to 2010
- Generation 5 - 2010 to 2013
- Generation 6 - 2013 to 2016
The Build-Up
It all started with the reveal of Magearna, the first known Generation VII Pokémon, in February 2016 to tie in with the movie, Volcanion & The Mechanical Marvel. When that came, the ball started rolling and later that month, on the 20th anniversary of Pokémon itself, a Pokémon Direct revealed Pokémon Sun & Moon in title only. Then, just two and a half months later, we got our first look at Alola and the new Pokémon that inhabited it. From there, information was released routinely every couple of weeks and, when Pokémon GO was released in June of 2016, the hype began again as Pokémon hit the mainstream.
9 months after the reveal, Pokémon Sun & Moon were released worldwide and the seventh generation began in earnest!
The Main Series
Generation 7 was unique in that it didn’t have a single year gap on the main series; every single year has presented us with a main series title.
The first – released on November 18th 2016 in Japan, Australia and North America and November 23rd 2016 in Europe – was Pokémon Sun & Moon. Pokémon Sun & Moon acted as a soft reboot of the franchise by throwing out a lot of what we thought were general conventions in a Pokémon game. Like Generation 6, it was a full-3D outing with the battles being generally similar in appearance, but the overworld was massively changed with the look being far more conventional and anime-styled. Set in the tropical Alola region, players travelled across the four islands completing Island 'Trials', small tasks on each island that culminate in a battle with a Totem Pokémon – essentially a boss Pokémon which gets a stat boost. This added a new dimension to how the stories went with Pokémon games, making it less about the gyms and helped make the region feel like a character in its own right.
Story-wise, Sun & Moon presented the most in-depth plot to hit a Pokémon game, to its merit or detriment depending, on who you speak to. In this game, while exploring the region, you help a girl called Lillie and a mysterious Pokémon she has nicknamed as Nebby. You learn of Team Skull, a group of thugs who failed the Island Trial Challenge, and the Aether Foundation, a group who set out to protect Pokémon, but things go awry when the head of the Aether Foundation discovers mysterious Pokémon from other universes known as Ultra Beasts, and Lilly and Nebby are dragged further into this devious plot.
Mechanically, the biggest news was that Pokémon Sun & Moon introduced the concept of Z-Moves. While Mega Evolutions in Generation 6 only boosted 46 different Pokémon, any Pokémon can use Z-Moves. Each move can turn into a massive much more powerful move. You can use one per battle, so the timing of unleashing your special Z-Move really altered the strategy.
There’s a lot to talk about with Pokémon Sun & Moon, from the much-maligned Festival Plaza, Global Missions that resulted in a lot of items for players, Battle Royals, Poké Pelago and even the Zygarde Cells being dotted around; needless to say, it certainly changed a lot of things up.
Soon after, in a Pokémon Direct in June 2017, Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon were revealed for Nintendo 3DS, and released later in 2017. These games were enhanced versions of an existing outing (Pokémon Sun & Moon, of course), the first time this had happened since Pokémon Platinum in 2008, and took the foundations of the original game and took them in a different direction. These games altered the story to be focused more on Ultra Beasts, introducing the Ultra Recon Squad, another group of characters from another world who wish to hunt down a way to protect their reality from The Blinding One, the Legendary Pokémon Necrozma, which has some new forms in the game.
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon improved on many elements. They altered the trials and made the Totem Pokémon and final boss Pokémon, Ultra Necrozma, a lot harder. It was generally a harder game all-round, which is something that had long been requested by the fanbase. It even introduced five brand new Pokémon, and was the first Pokémon game to ever introduce brand new monsters part-way through a generation.
The final main series titles of the seventh generation are in fact on the Nintendo Switch and, at present, lack any connectivity with prior main series Pokémon games. In a reveal in a special press conference in May 2018, the games Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! were revealed. These games are remakes of Pokémon Yellow and combine some of the concepts of Pokémon GO – such as battle-less capture – with the rest of the mechanics from the main series games. These titles are the most divisive of Pokémon games, getting ire from some hardcore Pokémon fans due to the removal of core features, but have largely been received fairly well by the general gaming community.
The games run a modified version of the Sun & Moon battle and overworld engine, but do remove 'Hold' items and abilities from battles. Featuring only the first 151 Pokémon and two brand-new Pokémon, these games were designed to lure back old fans and GO-exclusive players into the main series fold.
While they are somewhat simple in scope, these games have a difficulty curve and, in the post-game, feature Master Trainers. These trainers are ridiculously strong and have trained their Pokémon using the new stat system which allows you to max out each stat to stronger levels than ever seen before.
With these games, it’s hard to say which direction we’ll be going in with Generation 8, but with the promise of a more traditional outing, who knows what we'll see when the Switch gets its first 'new' Pokémon later this year.
The Pokémon
Generation 7 brought in a total of 88 new Pokémon into the fold. 81 with Sun & Moon, 5 with Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, and a further 2 with Pokémon: Let’s Go! While it’s still the second lowest number of Pokémon to grace any generation, there is once again a reason for this, which we will get to shortly.
The Starter Pokémon are the Grass/Flying-type owl Rowlet, Fire-type cat Litten and Water-type seal Popplio, once again following the Grass/Fire/Water template laid down by past games – but these Pokémon make a radical change in their final evolutions. You have the Grass/Ghost-type archer owl Decidueye, the Fire/Dark-type wrestler Incineroar and the Water/Fairy-type soprano Primarina. These are definitely amongst the more unique concepts for starter Pokémon, and they each come with their own unique Z-Move.
Away from Legendary Pokémon, the seventh generation introduced a multitude of uniquely designed monsters. From the wolf Pokémon Lycanroc – which has different forms depending on what time of day you evolved it – to the dragon Drampa and even the unique small fish Wishiwashi which changes form into a massive school of fish, there’s certainly a lot of variance and unique concepts from the Pokémon of Alola.
Legendary Pokémon-wise, following the minimalist approach of Generation 6, Generation 7 flips that on its head and includes a massive 22 Legendary Pokémon, including the Ultra Beasts. Not including Ultra Beasts, that's still 11 Legendary Pokémon, but this comes with a cravat. For the very first time, you can evolve Legendary Pokémon. The man-made Pokémon Type: Null evolves into the Pokémon Silvally, which like Arceus can be of any type depending on its Hold item. In addition to this, the Legendary Pokémon Cosmog will evolve into Cosmoem and then, depending on your game, into the cover Legendary Pokémon Solgaleo or Lunala.
There are also four Island Guardians, Legendary Pokémon who protect each of the islands of Alola from natural disaster: Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini, each of which is really good in competitive matches. Finally is Necrozma, a Psychic-type Pokémon that can fuse with Solgaleo and Lunala to become more powerful and then reach its Ultra Burst form of Ultra Necrozma when a Ultranecrozium Z item is attached. Without a doubt, the Legendary Pokémon of this region are amongst the most complex and lore-driven Legendary Pokémon of any generation.
Then we've got Ultra Beasts, a category of Pokémon that fit within Legendary Pokémon in the game’s code but many consider to be part of their own separate group. There are 11 Ultra Beasts in the generation and these come from a different universe. In their own environment, they are the 'top dog' and feature exaggerated designs and incredibly wild stats, often min/maxing so they have one or two ridiculously high stats and the rest being ridiculously low, in order to get balance.
First we have Nihilego, the Rock/Poison-type Ultra Beast that features heavily in the game’s story. Its concept is that it is a parasite. Next are the version-exclusive Buzzwole and Pheromosa, both Bug/Fighting-types. Xurkitree is a unique Pokémon that looks like a pile of cables turned into a Christmas tree. Kartana is one of the smallest Pokémon and features the highest Attack stat away from Mega-Evolved Pokémon and is based on origami. Celesteela is probably the most balanced of the Ultra Beasts; a Steel/Flying-type and one of the largest Pokémon to exist. Guzzlord is a unique Dark/Dragon that comes from a reality much like the world you play through, where it’s found in an alternate version of Alola that it has destroyed by consuming everything. Poipole is a unique Poison-type Pokémon that evolves into Naganadel with the concept of poison needles. Finally, Stakataka is a defensive beast designed on the concept of being a conglomeration of multiple sentient bricks combined into a fortress, and Blacephalon is a Fire/Ghost-type based on clowns and fireworks. Phew!
Generation 7 doesn’t stop there and continues with a myriad of Mythical Pokémon. It started with two in Sun & Moon, added a third in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon and finally two more in Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Let’s Go, Eevee! The first was Magearna, the first Pokémon revealed for the generation. It’s a Steel/Fairy-type artificial Pokémon that was said to be created thousands of years ago and is available perpetually through QR Code. Marshadow is a Fighting/Ghost-type Pokémon based on the idea of a creature living in your shadow and capable of copying your abilities. Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon introduced the Mythical Pokémon Zeraora, an Electric-type Pokémon that is said to be fast and strong. Finally, Pokémon Let’s Go introduced two Mythical Pokémon via its connectivity with the mobile title Pokémon GO. When you connect the two games, you can catch various Meltan in Pokémon GO and send them to Let’s Go. To top it off, you also have the capability of evolving a Mythical Pokémon for the very first time into the Mythical Pokémon Melmetal.
The number of newly-introduced Pokémon can be explained away by a new concept introduced in the generation: Regional Forms. Regional Forms are adaptations of existing Pokémon from when they were introduced to the new environment for the region. From this, their designs, movesets and stats change, essentially making them brand new Pokémon. From the Ice/Fairy-type Ninetales to the Fire/Ghost-type Marowak, these new forms gave new life and usability to 18 old favourites.
Generation 7 certainly introduced a massive amount of unique concepts for Pokémon. For a full list of Generation 7 Pokémon, check out this list.
The Anime
The Pokémon Sun & Moon anime deviated strongly from previous ones and changed its structure. No longer solely adventure based, it became a 'slice-of-life' anime as Ash stays at Professor Kukui’s house in Alola and attends the Pokémon School there. This came with the first change in the style of the anime since Black & White, where the characters are drawn to be more emotive – a change that, like some other elements of this generation, was wildly divisive. You could easily be forgiven if you thought this was a reboot, but with many references to past series, it is indeed a continuation.
Even though it’s a more casual style of anime, it still features Ash going through the region and completing trials and beating the Grand Trials of each island. His companions in Alola are more plentiful than before, with Lillie, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles and Kiawe being his classmates and travel companions throughout the region.
From time to time, there have been various long arcs through the series as well, culminating in the more epic storylines that people have come to expect, especially following the XY&Z series in Generation VI. These include an arc where Ash and company were looking after Cosmog, concluding with Cosmog evolving into Solgaleo and going into Ultra Space to save Lusamine from Ultra Beasts. This arc featured the Ultra Guardians, a group of trainers who protect the region from Ultra Beasts; the current arc looks to culminate in Professor Kukui setting up a Pokémon League. While this anime can be silly, it has many serious moments, too.
The Movies
In Generation 7, movies took a bit of a divergence from the main anime. Instead of tying in with the anime’s current position, the movies were set separately, but still featuring Pokémon from all Generations.
It started off with Pokémon I Choose You, a retelling of Ash’s original journey, deviating shortly after meeting Ho-Oh. In this movie, he doesn’t meet Misty and Brock but instead, on his journey, meets Verity and Sorrel, trainers from Sinnoh, and joins them as they explore more about Legendary Pokémon so that Ash can meet Ho-oh.
The second movie, released last year, is The Power of Us. This movie features a group of characters from Fura City, a city built around wind gifted to them by Lugia after a large fire. After catastrophe strikes, the group have to work together to save the city and protect the Mythical Pokémon Zeraora from hunters.
The third anime movie of the generation is the upcoming Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION. This movie appears to be a 3D CGI remake of the original Mewtwo Strikes Back movie. At present, it’s not clear if this movie is a straight shot-for-shot remake or if it will deviate from the original, much like Pokémon I Choose You deviated from the first series’ plot.
Finally, for the first time ever, a live-action Pokémon movie is to be released on May 10th 2019. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is an adaptation of the Nintendo 3DS Spin-off title of the same name and features Ryan Reynolds as the talking Pikachu who teams up with Tim Goodman, played by Justice Smith, to help Tim search for the truth about what happened with his father. This is the first official time that Pokémon has been adapted to a live-action environment and features lots of tie-ins with merchandise and Trading Cards.
Spin-Off Games
The spin-off games were rather unusual with Generation 7, with many games as being more of a 'service'. There were actually very few 'traditional' spin-off titles in this particular generation.
Nintendo 3DS
For unique non-free to play titles, Pokémon only had one spin-off game on the Nintendo 3DS: Detective Pikachu. This game was finally released globally after a small, teaser version of it was released in Japan in 2016. The story involves Detective Pikachu and the boy Tim Goodman, who are able to understand one another. Their journey ultimately leads to them finding out what happened to Tim’s missing father.
In addition to that, Pokémon Shuffle continued through Generation 7 and added all the Generation 7 Pokémon up to Marshadow, various forms and continued on until the service finally ended in the middle of 2018. It can still be played and all the Pokémon event stages cycle weekly, and will do until the end of time.
Nintendo Switch
In 2017, an enhanced version of the 2016 fighting game, Pokkén Tournament, was released on Switch. Pokkén Tournament DX included all the content of the original as well as more characters, including Darkrai, Croagunk and Decidueye; there were also more Support Pokémon and more stages. It even included DLC to add even more goodness in. It has an annual championship series as well, for players around the globe to play in.
In 2018, a new free-to-play title was released for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. This game, Pokémon Quest, was created by Game Freak and has you controlling various blocky versions of Pokémon through Tumblecube Island, collecting ingredients to get more Pokémon and hunting down the mysterious force. This game was completely free to play, but could be augmented with a few micro-transactions.
Mobile
Pokémon GO was released in the last few months of Generation 6 and has continued strong throughout Generation 7. It has added many features over the years, including Trades, Player Battles, Generation 2, 3 and 4 Pokémon and even the Alolan Forms from Pokémon Sun & Moon. With connectivity to Pokémon Let’s Go, it has become one of the major cornerstones of Pokémon as a franchise.
Pokémon Duel is another mobile game that was introduced right at the end of Generation 6 which has been going forwards and adding content throughout Generation 7, including Generation 7 Pokémon and even the Z-Move mechanics. This game is based on the Pokémon Trading Figure Game of the early 2000s and has you use a deck of 6 figures to try and reach your opponent’s home goal; it's a bit like chess in some ways.
In 2017, another mobile title was released. This game is Pokémon: Magikarp Jump and is a fairly simple game. In it, you raise a Magikarp, feeding it until it’s as strong as it can be, and you then use it to participate in leagues that compare how high your Magikarp can jump. If you win, you move on to the next battle, but if you lose, you release your Magikarp, gain experience, and start again. This game featured three updates adding new styles of Magikarp and more Support Pokémon.
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Generation 7 brought the end of the Pokémon EX cards and introduced a new mechanic, Pokémon GX. Pokémon GX work in a similar manner to Pokémon EX but with a unique twist; they have one move that can only be used once per game between all GX moves on all Pokémon in your deck.
This moved on even further when the Ultra Beasts were introduced, adding effects to their moves that are based upon how many Prize cards you and your opponents have.
Finally, the most recent addition in the TCG is the Tag Team GX. These cards pit two Pokémon together such as Celebi & Venusaur, Lucario & Melmetal, Snorlax & Eevee and have an even stronger Pokémon GX with GX moves that have added effects if you have additional energy in, but with a catch… if your Tag Team GX is knocked out, your opponent takes three Prize Cards.
Conclusion & Look to the Future
Overall, Generation 7 was quite a divisive one. While it lacked the variety of spin-off titles, the main titles were filled with unique concepts from Sun & Moon to a new way to play for newcomers with Pokémon: Let’s Go. It was probably the most experimental of the generations, with The Pokémon Company trying a lot of new things with the franchise.
As we approach the next generation of Pokémon, we have to start thinking. Will they continue these unique ideas and concepts? How will Pokémon GO adapt to it? What surprises will there be? Will live-action movies continue? Only time will tell, but give us your predictions below, and also let us know what you think of Generation 7.
Comments 81
Sun/Moon were solid games after the disappointing X/Y, but other than that the gen really didn't do much for me. Ultrasun/Ultramoon didn't really feel like an wortwhile investement at all, ultimately it had so little new compared to the base version.
I'm really hoping Gen 8 will be good. I think they should put more focus in exploration and such and make the linear story telling take bit of an backseat. A big problem with the modern Pokemon game has been how disappointingly railroaded they are.
This was an... interesting journey this last few years. Sadly, I'm kind of on a pokemon burnout after feeling ripped off by ultra sun, although I still intend on beating let's go.
I lost interest in Pokémon after playing Moon. I loved X and Omega Ruby, but Moon was just a disappointment. Gen 8 will have to be great if I want to jump back in.
Gen 7, for me, is far worse than 6. If Gen 6 was already disappointing during the single player campaing, SM/USUM is way worse with its constant interruptions, blocked paths and terrible story (I mean, I want to be the champion/hero, not Lillie's bodyguard, but that may be only me). Meta-game wise, Gen 7 tried to make some Pokémon more viable through Z-moves, but that ultimately brought an unnecessary layer of depth since you had to rely on the other player being bad/unexperienced enough to use a common strategy with the Z-moves. Predicting if your opponent had a Mega and its moveset based on the team is far easier than predicting which of the 6 has a Z-Move (or multiple)... and then predicting his moveset and finally which move he's gonna use the Z-move on. As I said, it was easy if it looked like they just copied a set from Smogon, but with a player that knew what he was doing was quite the headache to deal with. Then you have USUM which is the stupidest thing ever. Just when we thought we were over the third version (gen 5 had sequels and 6 had remakes instead), we go back to that, and worse, we get now 2 different versions. They could have added more cool stuff through DLC, but no, instead we got this. These, along the nerfs that some Pokémon got (like Gengar) are some the reasons I stopped playing it altogether.
As someone who got into Pokémon, and subsequently Nintendo with Sun/Moon, I shall look fondly on these years. Also if anyone says that B/W had a better story then the first S/M games they will be rectified.
@Devlind I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the games, and you make a lot of good points. USUM were notably unnecessary, and a Sinnoh remake would have been much preferred (of course, now we won’t get one until it’s inevitable Let’s Go treatment). I didn’t mind being Lillie’s helper of sorts, it’s not always necessary to be the main character. Lillie, Lusamine and Guzma had some pretty interesting character development, with only Gen 5 standing close on that front.
@TheFanatic I guess I'm kind of burnout after years of getting games that try to get the attention of people that just don't care about the franchise instead of the people that supported it for years. That said, I don't want a hardcore Pokémon experience that only veteran players could enjoy, just a game that respects the player and let them figure out stuff. BotW is the most recent example in my mind of this being done right.
I will always enjoy Pokemon games. I love Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and caught all 150 Pokemon in it minus Mew and Meltan. So I will eagerly await any new Pokemon game.
@Devlind I always felt that Gen 8 needed to take some design ideas from BOTW, but on a smaller, more dense scale. I never was awfully fond of the climb to champion that is forever apparent in mainline games, so perhaps they could forego that and have the protagonist fulfil some sort of duty. Have a vast story with multiple characters, a few calls to older games and a fulfilling reward system, and I’d be happy. The one other thing I’d ask for is a toggle between Turn Based battling and Dynamic battling when against a trainer. An open world would allow for this to be feasible, and the modern hardware makes it idealistic. Of course, they’d have to keep it simpler with wild battles, but I’m okay with that. Don’t change what isn’t broke, right? However, I’d like the ability to see wild Pokémon to carry on from Let’s Go, which I’m sure it will. Can’t think of anything else on the top of my head, apart from perhaps a more detailed customisation system at the beginning of the game.
I won’t say im burnt out. But I do think a longer break between generations needs to happen. I do agree replaying through the Alola region with Ultra Sun, they can’t repeat that same formula of cutscene after cutscene. It’s ridiculous. I also think there needs to be a happy medium between allowing those who want to use the Exp Share mechanism as it is versus those who don’t. Currently playing through US, I have noticed this generation of games is made for its use. There aren’t that many trainer battles around to build your team. That he’s to change. But with all that being said, I love this franchise and I happily await the reveal of Gen 8.
There’s also a part of me that hopes this piece is some little hint that you know something and Nintendo’s gonna share info pretty soon
Worst games in the series. Excessive cutscenes, terrible characters, tiny world, minimal trainer battles and Team skull may as well be called team gobsh**e.
Edit: Also let's not forget the one hour (minimum) slog to get to the first Pokemon Centre.
Anime Ash looks like he has a mustache!! And I think Misty likes it...
@TheFanatic Yup. Freedom to explore is what has been missing in Pokémon for a while now. In Gen I there were some stuff that blocked roads, yes, but if you had the means to go over them you could move to a lot of places before you were intended to. Nowadays, if it's blocked, it is blocked until you go where the game wants you to go. The game must teach you where you should go through gameplay, not blocking it. Dark Souls comes into mind. At the beginning of the game you have 3 paths to go. Not a single one is completely incorrect, but if you are a new player, or not skilled enough, you'll get your b*tt handed to you in at least 2 of those paths. The game is teaching you where to go without marking it on a map or having a long cutscene with someone telling you that. The same could be applied with Pokémon.
The objective could be changed too, Colisseum and Gale of Darkness is a perfect example of this, but I guess that's a no go for any mainline game for the moment.
I guess the change from turn based and action rpg can be done, but both being separated. Turn based combat opens up a high level strategy layer that simply couldn't be replicated on an action combat system, but the same can be said on the other on high level skill with the controls. A game that do both would be very complicated to pull off, but having a spin off like that wouldn't be bad.
About wild Pokémon appearing on the overworld, I'm ok with that, but I hope that they just don't wander about everywhere without doing anything in particular like in Let's Go. Put some mankeys playing on some branches, pidgeys roosting on a nest, rattatas fighting over a berry or just a girafaring eating some grass. That would make the world feel more alive, along actual towns/cities where people actually have a schedule.
I largely skipped Gen 7. ...until the Let’s Go Series came out and ended up being so much fun. - Now I may get the mainline game on 3DS just to do some catchup. — — — Does anyone think it’s possible that Gen 8 might be reminiscent of Brest Of The Wild? ...in that it could be open range? That would be amazing.
Very informative and well written as always, Joe. I like Gen 7 a lot, SM was a breath of fresh air to the main series. And Let's Go is actually fun, although it didn't last long. Master Trainers got tedious after a while and the lack of competitive elements made me drop it fairly quickly compared to any other main series title. Now, where's that Pokémon Direct?!
Can we get a "corrections" link on here? Paragraph 4 of "the Pokémon", It's a caveat you're thinking of. A cravat is an article of clothing.
In my opinion Pokemon’s been a constant stream of disappointment since XY lol. I know I haven’t lost the magic because I loved B2W2 that came out just a year prior.
I just hope Gen 8 goes back to focusing on actual new Pokémon instead of gimmicks, decent side/post content (contests, movies, battle frontier, etc), routes that are interesting to explore, and providing a big adventure without all the constant interruptions. BW were the peak storytelling for me - it was there and it was enjoyable, but ultimately it was just a fleshed out story unlike the railroad that SM were.
And also I hope we get more intesting spin-offs. I enjoy GO, especially when the weather’s nice, but it’s not worth losing Mystery Dungeon for. Feels like all we ever get now are free-to-play crap games.
@Devlind You make some very good points. A while ago I envisioned a path which could perfectly represent my thought process. The idea was to have three cars going down the tag in various states of disrepair, with a thug standing behind them. In a turn based format, they would stand by the cars and wait for you to walk past them, and the battle would begin like normal. In this case, the first battle wouldn’t begin until you pulled out your first Pokémon (you would be able to shuffle through Pokémon with the right stick). This would cause the first thug to attack you, with let’s say a Koffing for this example. You pull out your Charmeleon (hypothetically), and you can have it use one of its four moves (R, ZR, L, ZL) on the enemy. You could also use X to jump over one of the cars, and can move the Pokémon side to side. Type effectiveness still matters, and damage is still inputted in the same way, but of course you only miss when you don’t hit the opponent. Moves could be dodged, but it’s relatively slow, making it easy enough to land a hit. The other thugs can join in if you have a significant level advantage over the opponent, boosting the challenge slightly and saving the player time.
Or they could just scrap all of this and nick the turn based Earthbound style because honestly that’s just perfection.
I feel that Gen 7 has held up better than Gen 6 overall, though to date I've only played Pokemon Sun and hope to get to my copy of Ultra Sun before Gen 8 hits; overall I'd say 7 is mediocre. I liked some of the things that Sun tried differently (Pokeride, trials were a nice change of pace, a better written team of antagonists, a fairly engaging story compared to other recent games, Alolan forms). Conversely, that same plot had a few pitfalls and loose ends, there was a little too much handholding, and the post-game was severely lacking.
Personal complaint, as one who has been playing the games since the beginning: I have no problem with Game Freak/TPC trying new things. Some of those new things work, but then I feel like some of those things are stuck in their respective generation and aren't expanded upon in any meaningful way or are dropped entirely. I get that the extras in these games become a bit meaty at times, but why not expand upon some of the things that people enjoyed in previous games and cut out the stuff that truly didn't work?
I personally miss Sinnoh's Underground/Secret Base shenanigans, and I loved the movie studio outside of Virbank City in B2/W2. Edit: And Join Avenue.
I have very mixed feelings about this Pokémon Generation.
At first i really liked Pokémon Sun & Moon a lot. I even considered them as some of the best games in the series. But as i played through the games a second time all magic from my first playthrough was gone and the game felt really tedious and boring for the most part.
The arrival of UltraSun & UltraMoon didn't make things better. I really hoped Game Freak was done with making these "3rd version" games. Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 did it right by making a direct sequel to the previous games, almost like how Gold & Silver are a direct sequel to Red & Blue. That way Back & White are still relevant today and not totally absolete.
I thought UltraSun & UltraMoon would improve the pacing of the game, but that's sadly not the case. It still feels like you're in tutorial mode forever, the game constantly holds your hand and every time i think i can explore the world a bit something like a wild Tauros blocks the road. After playing the game for almost 4 hours i couldn't go on, i was bored the entire time.
Also i'm aware many players feel UltraSun & UltraMoon get much much interesting halfway into the game, but i don't want to force myself trough hours of boring gameplay just to get to this point.
And don't get me started on the Sun & Moon Anime. I really liked the way Ash was portayed in X & Y and tought things could only get better from this point. No, instead they decided to throw all of that out of the window and make Ash feel even more stupid then in the first season of the anime. After watching 10 episodes of this season i dropped it hard and never looked back.
On the other hand i really enjoyed the Let's Go games, even though i have a few problems with them, mostly the Master Trainers. Instead of maybe implementing the Sevii Islands from FireRed & LeafGreen or giving us something truly unique they gave us the true definition padding.
Sadly the Pokémon spin-off games this generation were also very lackluster. Detective Pikachu was the only highlight for me. Other than that we just got Pokémon Tekken DX and a couple of uninterresting free-to-play games. I remember Pokémon spin-offs being much more creative and fun in the past.
At this point i really want to apologize. I know i've been very negative about Pokémon Generation 7, but as someone who's been with the series since it started 1999 in europe i was really disappointed about the franchise as a whole during the last years.
My highlight during this generation was without a doubt watching the new Movie "Pokémon: I choose you" in cinemas. Here in germany the last Pokémon movie shown in theaters was the third one in 2001. Just sitting there and hearing the original Pokémon Theme one more time made me cry.
At the end of the day Generation 7 were some of my least favorite years in Pokémon history, but i'm still trying to be optimistic about the future of the series.
This was one of my favourite generations. I was super excited for Sun and Moon, and they did not disappoint. I was wary of US at first, but when I finally got round to playing, I'd be lying if I didn't say I really enjoyed the game, perhaps just a little less than Sun. Currently playing through Let's go, and am once again having way more fun than I thought I would. Honestly my main issue with the game is that for some reason the shadows are really pixilated. Keep in mind, that is coming from someone who's least favourite gen is gen1.
Links to previous generation articles aren't accurate.
Gen1 goes to 2
2 to 3
3 to 4
4 to 5
5 to 6
6 also to 6
Gen 7 was the worst of all 7 due to excessive cutscenes and too much focus on people instead of you and your partners. Having 400 pokemon available before post game is too many, black and white felt right with their 200.
That said, the Tapus are some of the cooler legendaries, an early companion becoming the cover pokemon was cool, and Primarina is among my favourite pokemon ever.
@Nagi_Nagisa While I disagree with a few of your criticisms, I feel your judgement on the anime is pure ignorance. The first set of episodes were rough, certainly, but as the series progressed it’s become home to some of the best episodes of the show ever, alongside some tense story arcs and surprisingly deep characters. It’s no Indigo League or XYZ, but it’s up there. If nothing else, give the Stoutland episode a watch.
Looking forward I only have two requests:
1. Leave Ultra Beasts in gen 7, they were an abomination and were ugly. I would have liked them more if they weren’t counted as “Pokémon” to be caught and battled with on your team. They have no place in there and I hate them.
2. Also cut out the Z-Moves.
My main issue is that they almost completely killed off their first big idea with Mega evolutions! Why start with 40 something and then just stop! It showed that they weren’t consistent with themselves. Make something new, yes, but then stick with it. It was a great idea. Don’t jump ship and then suddenly come up with dumb aliens or ultra powerful moves that a Lv. 1 Zigzagoon can kill with. Im done ranting now but to sum it up Gen 7 was a complete mess and I just wish they could continue the mega evolutions. They actually sold me on the idea and then threw it in the trash.
@TheFanatic Maybe it's ignorance, but i just don't feel the need to watch the current Sun & Moon episodes. I'm not trying to come across like a hater and i believe you when you say there are many great episodes during the Sun & Moon story arc.
It's just mainly the style of of these new seasons i don't like. And as i said, Pokémon Sun & Moon were a big disappointment for me at the end, so it's not really compelling for me to watch an entire story arc based on these games.
@Nagi_Nagisa That’s fair, I guess I was too judgemental. Let’s just hope that the 2019 games are the resurgence many desperately want, because a lot of those who haven’t already jumped ship will be scavenging for lifeboats.
@Nagi_Nagisa Interesting take on S&M. I personally feel it’s been a consistently good couple of seasons. Some episodes are stronger than others of course. But I think in terms of overall focus and investment in peripheral characters, it’s one of the better ones.
Still have all my old holographics. Might be worth some money by now. Also I wish the Anime was more like Pokemon Generations. You know like have 2 shows: one for older fans and one for younger fans. Generations was phenomenal
Pokemon Generation 8 needs some DRASTIC changes.
1. Change the Battle system from Turn Based into FF XII style / Yokai Watch 4 / Pokken style.
2. Make it Open World style.
3. Character can do more actions like Jumping, Rolling, Throwing, etc.
4. Alternative ways to get money like checking from boxes, selling the forage items, selling the key items after got from Battles, etc.
5. No Limitation for Pokemons to learn ALL abilities. Instead, player can set the Pokemon abilities like Monster Rancher.
6. Training gadgets to train some Pokemon's parameter, so we don't have to rely on the Gym all the time.
7. Each Pokemon have Affection meter between you and other Pokemons like on Monster Rancher 4, so when they have to be Tagged, their relationship can affect during Battles.
8. Character customization from Head to Toe, skin tones, outfits, voice samples.
9. Your Pokemons may get injured during Battles and they CANNOT attend the Battles until they take some treatments at hospital, just like Monster Rancher 2.
10. What is the purpose of Pokemon's graveyard if they CANNOT die ? Your Pokemons can DIE by aging (take very long time until they passed away) or injured or heavily poisoned during Battles.
That's the harsh reality, even on Digimon and Monster Rancher the Monster can die.
11. The whole story concept it SHOULDN'T have to be like an apprentice that have to follow the paths of numerical Routes then meet with someone challenge you. Every Pokemon games i have played it always started from Mom's house, the character went out, met with other peoples, challenged by other peoples, etc. That was so Archaic in my opinion. Game Freak SHOULD Twist the storyline plot by given some different scenarios, like i start the game with Post Apocalypse situation (There was a Dangerous Legendary Pokemon caused the Apocalypse long time ago) or i lost in the specific places and founded on the different places or the character was in the mission with other characters to battle with other Pokemons but suddenly their plans ruined by some unexpected circumstances. It doesn't have to be Mama kid that start their journey from their house to meet with Legendary Pokemons.
@Anti-Matter The last thing we need from a Pokémon game is something as intense and detailed as that. Permadeath should be an option, not a set rule. Also, this amount of intricacy would require far too much effort of GameFreak’s side, to create a game like RDR2 (impressive, but at times overbearing) with the wrong demographic in mind.
@UmbreonsPapa I'm not saying the Sun & Moon Anime is bad as a whole. It just didn't grab me. If you and others like it i hope it continues to entertain you, but i would like to see the next story arc change a few things up
@gloom I guess my question then would be what would you then call Ultra Beast if not Pokémon? I mean, I get it’s a hard concept to wrap your head around as a player. It came off as odd. But I get the in game narrative/ idea behind them. They’re not really sure what they are, but are ultimately given the designation as Pokémon. And to be honest, I don’t think it’s any different than the concept of Deoxys being introduced as a Pokémon
@Nagi_Nagisa Fair enough. I wouldn’t never assume to think everyone is gonna enjoy everything I do. So it’s understandable. Like you, I’m hoping the next generation in general is a bit more exciting and fresh.
I enjoyed the games but didn't warm to them as much as i did with previous games although randomizing them improves the games a ton as you can make the games much more challenging
@UmbreonsPapa That’s a really good connection to make how technically Deoxys came from the same place as them. I would not have a problem with them if they were simply called Pokémon. But instead they were given the new “Ultra Beast” title which separates them even from Deoxys. Technically.
To be honest, what I ultimately don’t like is that they are as strong as legendaries yet aren’t “Pokémon.” And Game Freak dumping yet another 8 or however many into the OP pool just makes things messy.
@gloom Fair arguments. Maybe Game Freak made a miscalculation in how they went about describing them. I too was confused initially as to what we were supposed to consider them. But I understood playing through the story that, in a sense, we were supposed to be on that same road of discovery as the characters. Again, maybe the wrong approach for the player. One thing I will say is that I hope the number of Legendary/Mythical/Ultra Beast this gen is kept to minimum this gen. They’ve kind of lost their luster at this point
Awful generation that's continued Pokemon's downward spiral in quality. There's a reason why LG is divisive and why there were so few traditional spinoffs, it's because they've been pandering to mobile gamers so they've removed all sense of depth and substance from the series. It should be no surprise that that's so hated by segments of the fanbase, and honestly more fans should be taking issue with this because the kind of crap they've been pulling lately is just as scummy as on disc DLC and microtransactions. If Game Freak is really serious about appealing to hardcore gamers, this series needs a complete 180 in terms of design philosophy. Enough treating the player like they're incapable of thinking for themselves and sterilizing everything. Enough cheaping out with bare minimum content and charging full price for it. They're in the console market now, act like it. Games like BotW and Odyssey make these games feel like a preschool effort in comparison.
“this comes with a cravat”
BEST TYPO EVER
@UmbreonsPapa Agreed with that! I think Gen 5 was also a big culprit for having way too many legendaries. It’s just too much and cheapens the “legendary” status. Gen 7 had all of the ultra beasts, all of the Tapu’s, and then some extras as well. It’s just too over-saturated.
Post game is one of the most important things on a pokemon main game. Gen 8 needs something great like emerald's battle frontier. The battle tree on gen 7 is not what im talking about, i spend several hours on it, believe me, but never had the same level of fun. Im into the competitive scene right now, but even when i love it, the main reason for that is the fusion of my hungry for more content of the game and the lack of it.
@Bolt_Strike Dude, don't be a jerk and let Pokemon fans enjoy what they like instead of forcing your opinions down their throats and trying to turn them into fact
Vanilla Sun & Moon was eh, but Ultra Sun & Moon felt like a pretty big slap in the face to me. It's one thing to nearly copy & pasta the story from the main games into a third version and add a ton of new things like that, but Ultra Sun & Moon tweaked the story in exchange for less extra content. If this was done in one version, it probably would've been great, but 2 versions? Really? That's just greed at that point.
In terms of gen 7, my main issues were that it wasn't your story, it was Lily/Gladion's story. We really should have just played as one of them. Though overall I really liked the story in Sun/Moon and with insane villain that was Lily's mother.
I felt that USUM relied too much on previous fan's tolerance of "remixed/3rd versions". In an era where DLC add ons are common, standard, and extremely easy to do, there is no excuse for this sort of thing anymore. Pokemon Crystal and Emerald and Black/White2 could not have been released as DLC, but on 3DS it was entirely possible, especially since the vast majority of the changes in USUM were just the ending and post-game. I enjoyed the Rainbow Rocket stuff, and battling that monster Pokemon, but didn't like how they changed the ending with Lily's mother.
Pokemon Let's Go Eevee/Pikachu are fine as entry level games targeted at people who either have never played Pokemon, or are new to gaming in general. But I feel they oversimplify things too much in some areas. While multi-player wasn't a focus, co-op makes this game, which is already laughably easy, into a total joke. And in VS the existence of stealth rock without a way to remove it is a terrible decision that warps every game. Further, the mandatory 20-minute time limit warps it even more, forcing players to largely only play aggressively.
Conversely the candy system that replaces the old EV system is awful! Massively tedious on a level worse than shiny breeding pre-gen 6, and horribly broken. And they are aware of it, because normal rules online ignore it entirely.
Pokemon Go was initially a fad that grew very tiresome. However the game has improved a lot since its release. The introduction and later changes to gyms, the ability to trade, fight raid battles, and send gifts all made the game much better. But it still suffers heavily during events with painful server lag. Community days in Asia are a total gamble, sometimes working fine, other times, totally flopping because their servers completely crash. They should not treat an entire region as a "test" region only to fix it for Europe and the Americas after screwing over Asia/Australia regularly.
I painfully hope that Gen 8 brings a return to the classic Pokemon formula, with a new region, a modest amount of new but creative Pokemon, Pokemon Bank support, and a reasonable level a difficulty. Or if they chose to revisit an existing region, that they give us an entirely new story in that location.
@Bolt_Strike Yes the pokemon series need a complete overhaul just like what happened to the Zelda series with BOTW. Gen 7 is the peak of Pkmn Stale. Battles are slow, environments are bland, cutscenes are pointless and unecessary on top of a shallow plotline.
However I believe Gamefreak is 100% incapable of doing that. They star in mobile and out of place titles like pkmn detective / quest / lets go. Their talent lies in asset flipping and tetris standard of content making. That's why their boss ran.
@Evilworm Dude, don't be a troll. And TheAwesomeBowser is right, you should be banned.
@Alantor28 Gamefreak had no experience in developing a AAA game on a powerhouse next gen console, all they have been developing are handheld titles from gameboy - DS. Hence why i said they are fully incapable of reinventing / Innovating the pokemon formula.
@Evilworm Um, Let's Go was a success and let's not forget about the success of Pokemon GO. But that's just your opinion, but you're trying to twist them into fact.
Game Freak still makes great games and I'm sure the next mainline Pokemon game for Switch will be great, but you will probably try to make others listen to how that mainline Pokemon game on Switch will be bad and your words will fall on deaf ears because people will enjoy the mainline Pokemon Switch game.
@Evilworm Also, I happen to noticed that you like to bash the Switch and claimed it will fail like the WIi U and sprout the Nintendoomed nonsense, so yeah, you must be a troll.
@Evilworm They're not even good at asset flipping anymore. USUM added even less to SM than previous third versions, it was practically a copy/paste job.
@Alantor28 Just because the games are popular doesn't mean they're quality products. McDonald's is popular and their food is full of artificial crap, they're popular more because they're accessible and less because of the quality of the food.
Really, McDonald's is the perfect analogy here because mobile really is the fast food of video games and Game Freak is utterly obsessed with mobile. Problem is, that the console market has TOTALLY different expectations from mobile, completely the opposite in fact. Game Freak trying to peddle games like LG for $60 is like a chef in a 5 star restaurant trying to sell you a McDonald's hamburger for $20. That's not to say there's not enjoyment to be had from eating a McDonald's hamburger, but it's the wrong audience at the wrong price. The fanbase supporting that is just bad consumer decision making, plain and simple. Regardless of what kind of experience you like, the bang for your buck just isn't there.
@Alantor28 Nintendo is full of crap and Gamefreak is even more Crap for unleashing pkmn Lets Go.
And anyway right now, Nintendo is going on life support just like the wiiU / early days of 3ds.
I just noticed something.
The only real new Pokémon spin-off during this Generation was Pokémon Quest, which has to be the bottom of the barrel in terms of Pokémon Free-to-Play Games.
Pokémon Tekken DX is just an updated Gen 6 title and even Detective Pikachu isn't a real Gen 7 game, since the first 3 chapters of the story were released during Gen 6 on the japanese 3DS eShop only.
What happened here, Game Freak? Pokémon used to be full of creativity. It feels like those days are completly gone.
My main Pokemon experience is playing Pokemon Shuffle for the past 3 years. So it's nice to connect information and evolutions to them. Especially the Tapu Pokemon, I was curious about them, and had no idea about Cosmog and Cosmoem and that Solgaleo or Lunala evolved from them. It's also great to see their full bodies! In Pokemon Shuffle, all you see is faces mostly.
BTW, I've collected all 801 in Pokemon Shuffle without paying money, and only have the final two expert stages to defeat. Currently I'm trying to S-Rank all the main stages. I have about 5 to do. I don't know how people could do it when the game was fresh because the ultra Pokemon in the game right now are so devasating. Back then you'd need to start a stage with most of the power ups, which cost coins, which is real money if you're impatient.
I began playing Sun on 3DS and never new Litten evolved into Incineroar. He's brilliant in Pokemon Shuffle and arrived in the game in about the same time as Decidueye and Primarina. All 3 have similar mega blast single damage strikes. I'm also trying to play Let's Go when I get spare time away from the 3DS, and Smash Bros and SMBU on Switch.
PS: Pokemon Shuffle is so much easier to play these days. You get more coins a day (at least 1000, which includes doing two special stages a day) compared to 500, daily power-ups or hearts (plays) or a jewel (used to buy coins or reactivate bonus stages) that cycle over 15 days, and monthly (and sometimes mid-monthly) mega bonus stages handing our level-ups, mega speed-ups, skill swappers or even 5000 coins. Also the safaris, online stages and special pokemon cycle much faster. The game is also a good introduction to learning types and abilities. Remember, it's 100% free. My favourite pokemon are Garchomp and Mewtew.
Overall, this was my least favorite Pokemon generation. It wasn't necessarily the objective worst, but Sun was easily my least favorite Pokemon game ever and was a huge let down having just come off of playing Black 2 for the first time. Didn't even pick up USUM because well... didn't like the original probably wouldn't like the second. Let's Go wasn't bad, it was honestly pretty fun. Nothing mindblowing, but harmless. Still, I'm interested to see what we get in this year's entry and hopefully the series will head in a direction that interest me more.
@Evilworm
*The Switch was the best selling console in the US and Japan for 2018
*The Switch is currently selling at a faster or matching rate to the PS4, 3DS, and other successful consoles
*Their stocks dropped last week in a way completely expected in the stock market to a point still well above where they were pre-Switch era
*17 million for this fiscal year will be the kind of numbers Nintendo hasn't seen since the Wii era and demonstrates a momentum that almost guarantees the Switch will become the second best selling Nintendo home console at least.
But yes, Nintendo is on life support. Totally failing as a business.
@Bolt_Strike Yeah no. They are still doing good. It's just your opinion and it's in the minoirty.
@Evilworm Yeah, you are a troll, simple as that. Nintendo isn't on life support as you claimed. They're still doing good.
@Klunk23 So, you agreed that the Switch is doing well and disproving EvilWorm's claims? Just wanted to know.
My early experience with Gen 7 was actually a positive one. I enjoyed Pokemon Sun and Moon and early on Pokemon Go was a good novelty for me.
But, as the generation went on, things became worse and worse. First off was USUM, a game that was unnecessary, came too soon after Sun and Moon (and on the same console) and didn't change enough or fixed the most obvious problems the originals had. In fact, playing USUM made me more aware of the issues the original Sun and Moon had.
What issues S&M and USUM had? Well... I was glad they tried to improve the difficulty after the games that give you legendaries, Pokemon ready to megaevolve or another starter midgame without any effort but, I have to admit that, even seeing how easy X&Y was, it still had a better pacing than S&M and USUM. Some people say that the slow pacing is because they went overboard with the story but, in my opinion, that's not the case. S&M and USUM just doesn't have enough confidence to let you play the game more than 5 minutes straight without telling you what to do or where to go and it get's old, specially on the second playthrough (that's why more people complained about this months after release and after USUM launch). That combined with the lower framerate in battles (meaning slower combat), not being able to skip ZMoves animations and (in the case of S&M) the SOS battles made the pacing too slow. And the fact that they didn't fix this issues in USUM is just... why? And , even if it is better than X&Y, the post game in S&M still is inferior to the DS era. And I don't want to bring up how USUM, on top of not introducing a lot of new content, the story changes they did make the story worse (in my opinion) than the originals.
And then... LGPE. Oh boy. Truly a big game just like Zelda BoTW and Mario Odyssey, right...?
I don't want to go on with this but my biggest issue with LGPE is that it doesn't feel like a big Switch game at all. In terms of content and production values it just doesn't look like the same amount of effort, care and budget went into LGPE compared to Zelda BoTW or Mario Odyssey. The fact that is for kids is not an excuse because Mario is also for kids and they did put effort into Odyssey. Pokemon is a 10+M franchise in a home console. It is embarrassing niche RPGs seem to have more production values.
@Alantor28 Yes, exactly. That last part was sarcastic.
@Alantor28 It's not an opinion. That's like saying it's an opinion that a smaller box of cereal should cost less than a larger box of cereal. Products with higher quantities/substance are inherently more valued.
You're putting way too much stock in absolute sales. There's more to it than that. Businesses don't just look at a decision that makes money and go for it, they look for the decision that makes the MOST money. And you have to ask yourself, would these games have made them more money than any other alternatives? It's hard to really make that claim.
This is especially true when you look at the console market and the kinds of games that typically sell on console, they're pretty much the exact opposite of what Pokemon is this gen. So you have to think that there's a major untapped market that these games aren't hitting that actually WOULD be the best option they can take and what we actually got was unnecessarily gimped for questionable reasons.
@Bolt_Strike Again, it's just your opinion. You're trying to turn your opinion into a fact which is not working.
@Alantor28 No, it's not an opinion. If you buy a 10 oz box of cereal for $5 or a 20 oz box of cereal for $8, then the 20 oz box is objectively a better deal. There's no debate here, this is just straight math.
@Bolt_Strike Again, just your opinion. Nothing more. No need to try to turn it into a fact. Only fools would try to turn their opinions into facts.
@Alantor28 You're the one who can't seem to tell the difference between fact and opinion. I have nothing more to say to you.
I like that gen 7 wasn't just the same 'get 8 badges, face elite 4' as every other title. There were things I didn't like - the story scenes dragged on for a long time, for instance. But overall, I thought the game was great and the competitive scene (particularly draft league format) was better than ever.
Let's Go was a nice distraction while they waited notoriously long for the userbase to grow to the point where releasing a mainstream game on switch could reasonably compete with gen 7 for eventual sales. But the Pokemon Company have always done that...black and white 2 released well into the life of the 3DS. Hopefully Gen 8 will take the best of Gen 7 and the Gale of Darkness console RPGs and make something awesome.
Pokemon Moon was first game in the main series I dropped as soon as the credits rolled. I made no attempt at the Battle Tree, no attempt at trying to get the absurdly hard to encounter Pokemon, no attempt to play online...
The game was just... soulless and boring. For a game that was supposed to be different, it used all the same tricks and just called them with different names, while removing much of what made the previous games fun.
The best thing about generation 7 is that they didn't decide to do the Sinnoh remakes. I consider this a good thing because I wouldn't want them to be tarnished by generation 7's philosophy toward game design.
@grupvilla Pokemon Lets Go is an exact 100% copy and pasted game from the GBA FR/LG , reskinned with mobile game graphics, competitive elements replaced with gimmicks. So unimaginative and so out of date, really Gamefreak a massive fail.
For those who are still on the fence on getting it, play Fire red / leaf green on an emulator, the experience is the same and could be better!!. If you can, play it on Soulja boy console.
@Alantor28 our opinion yes, but the fact remains, Pkmn LGPE is a BAD game, why was it review bombed in the first place??? Why is there a controversy??? Play Pokemon Yellow and LGPE, tell me the difference....other than a new Skin.
Do you see bad review bombing for RDR2, GOW, KH3, RE2, MHW....some people hate these games but couldnt Review Bomb it because it's ultimately a good game, only a 'minority' of trolls did so. Back to LGPE, there's a 'Majority' of trolls instead?? It didnt happen with X / Y, Sun/ moon or any other pokemon games.....
They should make the next game where we play as a pokemon and we have to capture humans. Pet me now inferior being!
Gen 6 and 7 killed any love I had for the series. Not even going to buy Sword/Shield and I really hope they don’t mess up the inevitable Sinnoh remake but I don’t hold much hope after OR/AS.
@jowe_gw the real issue with the story change was not the new parts, but rather the removal of the old parts such as lusamine's psychotic break down & subsequent possession by Nihilego. what should of been done was what was done in the manga with Nihilego possessed Lusamine attacking Ultra Necrozama and failing, but later having the possession undone when learning that her husbands still alive
actually, why dose this article not even mention the manga? its been the best part of the franchise since ch 1
@nessisonett I was not a big fan of Gen 6 and 7 either, but I'm honestly having a blast with Sw/Sh. It's by far my favorite 3D entry in the series
@Superzone13 Switch games are just so expensive that I’m not sure I can justify that much on a game that I’m not fully sold on.
“One cravat”, surely you mean ‘caveat’? A cravat is a necktie.
Anyway gen 7 games had some nice ways to mix up the formula but overall I think it’s one of the weakest for me. Best thing it introduced was the regional variants which I would love to see added retroactively to past regions! Also Team Skull were great fun if not a threat in anyway.
Aside from that it focussed so Much on legendaries and ‘ultra beasts’ and so many new Pokemon didn’t evolve at all. Sure they each had unique gimmicks but personally I’ve always found it a disappointment.
But that’s just me, each to their own!
that pose is weird. the pose the little girl has in the thumbnail.
@Expa0 what do you expect? they are games made not for your target audience
@nessisonett people did for lets go. if price is turning you off then stop playing games gaming is going up $60 is well worth it 50 hours in pokemon shield.
@nessisonett wow how said better stop playing see ya laterno one cares
@Alantor28 lets go sold 11 million units because people are idiots but sword and shield was more sucessful people complain about price point when these idiots spent $50 on mew and $60 on lets go i skipped lets go because it looked like it was designed for a 2 year old.
@GAMER1984dude Switch games are way overpriced and the sales on the eShop are rubbish. I could get Witcher 3 on PS4 for about £7 and get 5 times as many hours as I could from Pokemon or alternatively, for the low price of nothing, I could play the Pokemon games I already own that actually interest me. While I’m sure some people would love nothing more than to spend £50 on games, even waiting a couple of months can save a whole lot of money.
I'm just gonna say it, I've enjoyed Sword and Shield FAR more than Sun and Moon. Or the Ultra games. I would rank gen 7 to be the second weakest generation or the weakest generation.
Ultra Sun & Moon should've been one version instead of two, the Let's Go games should've been $40 instead of $60, and Pokken DX was a no effort port, but that's an overall problem with the Wii U ports and not exclusive to this scenario. Other than that, Gen 7 was fine. Not horrible, not great, just above average. Would still play one of the Ultra games again over X&Y or ORAS again. Can't speak for the anime or TCG other than the anime's art style looks awful.
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