Soapbox: For A Jaded Pokémon Fan, Scarlet And Violet Is Exactly What I Need

Bought three games that made you angry and yet you still gotta collect em all. Jaded mon "fans"" are the absolute worst. Sorry but I find your lot insufferable. You complain like its a sport. I'd say move on but the pleasure is the anger for too many.

"I can't quite pinpoint why it happened at that particular moment in time"

Judging by your time line, you were 14 when you lost interest..so I bet I can guess what happened...puberty happened.

I am worried about gyms reportedly not scaling with the level of your Pokémon as other people on this site have pointed out in previous articles today. That would diminish a lot of the fun of doing gyms in any order.

@Sonos You sound more jaded than they are 😂 I'd say skip their comments, in fact I will because I'm not the type to get pleasure out of people's anger. I hope you get better.

Please be difficult or have a hard mode 🤞

I’ve long since stopped being excited by Pokémon games. I’ll wait for like Arlo or Radicalsoda to review it or something.

I feel that the main argument why you stopped liking the games as much is a big part of the reason why they changed Paper Mario so much.
Videogame fandoms are weird.

@Olliemar28 Kinda surprised you skipped on Legends Arceus. It really was that fresh take on the formula that so many jaded fans were clamoring for.

I just can't justify buying Scarlet/Violet because it looks like a step backwards into the traditional format that has become far too mundane. The open-world style isn't enough to justify a brand new experience and Crystal forms seem like Dynamax 2.0. There were no "wow" gameplay moments in the latest trailer or any of the latest S/V promos for me at least.

Don't worry, Ollie. When this generation lets you down in the same vein as the previous ones, maybe you'll finally be able to leave the series behind.

Personally, it was Sun/Moon that was the nail in the coffin for me; the worst games in the series for me. And with all the hullabaloo around Sword/Shield? I was happy to have jumped off the Pokemon bandwagon.

Sometimes it's better to just leave a series behind. It gave you some memories, but the magic is gone. Let it be.

Another open world game, we are lacking in those. /s

Seriously, open world games are everywhere!

Meanwhile I bought a japanese DSi LL for 30 bucks to replay SoulSilver, Platinum and Emerald

@Sonos He never said he was "angry" at Pokemon games, just lost interest because of the unchanging formula. I wouldn't cast Ollie among those who buy the games and complain about every one. He peacefully got bored and moved on with his life. Nice article, in my opinion.

Judging from the article Arceus seemed to have been what you were looking for mostly, but you skipped it anyway just cause it was a spinoff title?

As for Scarlet and Violet finally doing something to your liking after decades I'm surprised you haven't just moved on to another series, there are plenty of games that do Pokemon's own formula better than it and can recommend you games that'll probably give a better experience than Scarlet/Violet still.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 is basically Arceus but with actual polish, SMT V is another monster collector that'll net you more worth, and there are a multitude of better RPGs in general.

O I am just further out at this point

@iLikeUrAttitude smt v is like everything I want Pokémon to be

Haven't played anything new since Kirby, Pokemon just wins by default for me since nothing else appeals to me for the rest of the years new releases

Only problem I have with modern Pokémon is forced exp share on whole team. Other than that I have about a 150 hours of fun out of them. SwordShield is my least favorite of the series though, still had a lot of fun with it though though. My main drive for Pokémon is the creatures itself so Iove new gens.

Seems more promising than SWSH, but I will admit seeing the same stiff animations from the 2013 3DS game, the horrible water, and ham-fisted attempt at something new with crystal pokemon gives me a feeling that this was rushed as well. Multi Billion dollar company here, there is quite literally zero excuse

@Sonos Exactly. The problem seems less to do with the franchise and more to do with people who subject themselves to these games that they seemingly dislike to the core. Move jn, play something else. If you lost interest in Pokémon back in RSE but continued to buy the games almost 20 years later, that's the problem right there.

I was never a jaded fan. The only issues I had with the series were from gens 5-7 when so much wonky stuff was happening. I actually liked gen 8 and then Legends Arceus came in and was as good as the greatest game in the series (Platinum). Gens 5-7 felt like a step down from gen 4 to me, but they each had something to like. Also the DP remakes were lackluster at best and they shouldn't have even existed alongside Legends Arceus. I hope these games have a good amount of new and returning Pokémon. I think they took out too many in gen 8, but my favorites made it in so I didn't care. 🤷🏽‍♂️

@Olliemar28 This is the internet, criticism is to be expected. And all things considered, he was quite polite in how he worded himself.

Also, I don't get the complaints about "unchanged formula". Literally every major franchise has an "unchanged formula". God of War changed its camera but it's essentially the same game mechanics. Fighting games, FPS, Uncharted, Mario, Zelda, etc. are all basically in the same boat. The next logical step for Pokémon was open world just like Zelda. The core gameplay is still the same. Why should Pokémon be any different? Why would you want a complete overhaul of the formula? That's how you get a Digimon Survive.

I was starting to lose interest in Gens 5-7, the games really started to become overcasualized during that era with the regions all becoming more linear, the games being intentionally designed for casuals and all but ignoring complaints from longtime fans, and the content starting to degrade. SwSh felt like the beginning of a turnaround though, the Wild Area intrigued me and felt like a step towards the Pokemon game I've always dreamed of (even if the Wild Area was a really rough first attempt at open area gameplay). Then they took another step with the SwSh DLC, then Legends Arceus, and now here we are with the first legit open world Pokemon game. So the transition during SwSh, LA, and SV feels like a return to form in my eyes, it's a modern take on what I enjoyed about Gens 1-4. I was legit ready to leave the fanbase myself if things didn't turn around on the Switch, Gens 5-7 was pretty much the opposite of the direction I wanted to see Pokemon go but then BotW happened on Switch and the changes on the Switch seem to be driven by Game Freak wanting their own BotW. Say what you want about shamelessly copying BotW, but developers copy it for a reason, because a lot of people enjoy that style of gameplay and the strong emphasis on exploration, freedom, and experimentation and we do seem to be getting a very Pokemon take on that type of experience. So yes, I am now very excited for Pokemon again.

As someone who values the compatetive experiece, I've been able to look past bad stories and samey designs. The story is usually about 20-30 hours, but I can easily put over 10 times that into battling.

My "Jaded fan" traits come out in the form of fatigue from the absurd level of cheating that has been plaguing the franchise since Gen 6 or possibly earlier, SwSh tried their best to do ban waves and make training good teams easier, but it alwas felt like a waste when TPCi hired a well known scumbag for events. Then BDSP removed most of the quality of life, and PLA became the shortest game in the franchise abandoning peeps like me.

What Scarlet and Violet need most of all (in the context of competition) is to actually have integrity. Don't allow cheating in events (every player who won Worlds outside of Japan has been caught cheating), and add either add a report function for suspicious teams (6 perfect IV shinies with next to no playtime is always a giveaway, or all the names are discord links.) or actually make it so the same cheating engine from 2013 doesn't work i the new games.

This is especially a concern for Scarlet and Violet if the Tera types are anywhere near as scarce as Hidden Power types were.

Also can we remove IVs, or add a slider to the UI so we aren't expected to wastes dozens to hundreds of hours to get what we need. The cheaters are winning because of the massive advantage it provides.

Sorry for the rant, it was a very thought provoking article.

It should go without saying that one can be a Pokémon fan and still take issue with the direction of the series. Being passionate enough to criticize something is a positive quality. Some spend a little too much energy crudely lashing out at others for not blindly adoring every single feature the series has introduced, as if one is not a true fan for not mindlessly consuming every single ill-conceived product. Had fans of the Legend of Zelda not criticized Skyward Sword as they did, and had its developers not listened to fan feedback, Breath of the Wild would not have been made. This is the difference between timeless classics like Breath of the Wild and drop-in-the-ocean games that merely exist until the next one comes along, such as Sword and Shield (and soon, Scarlet/Violet): fans care enough to complain, and the developers care enough to act to deliver a stronger product. This has not traditionally been the case with Pokémon, and this will sadly only continue with Scarlet/Violet.

These are highly valuable companies with a lot of resources at their disposal. They do not need to be shielded from any and all criticism.

Great article. Agree with everything except scarlet/violet.

@Browny Comments like this make me realize how some people love to romanticize disdain. I can't say I care much for this attitude.

Pokemon: Breath of the Wild Edition? lol.

The only thing I have to say is if you don't like the series anymore, just move on. Nobody needs to hear it every time there's news on a pokemon game. (Not directed towards writer of article)

Will I play it? Yeah. Am I excited? No.

It’s too much of the same. It feels like the IP hasn’t “evolved” very much over the years. It just feels like same ol, same ol. Some gimmicks are awesome. Some are not. I’m all for Mega evolution and Dynamax. Z-moves? Garbage. TERASTAL? Re-skinned z-moves. For the first time in PokeMon history I feel the design are bland and uninspired. I’ve loved every Gen’s sneak peaks. Not this one. I will force myself to play this. So sad that it’s gotten to that point. I feel like I’ve already played this and it isn’t even out yet. Also, the red BikeMon looks terrible and that big ol’ tire in the middle of its butt looks odd. The Blue one feels more organic

Just to put a dampener on things but Pokemon games have ALWAYS had 3 "storylines". It wouldn't surprise me if this is the same as those but a bit more fleshed out.

1) Beat the gyms - Beat the league
2) Stop the big bad team
3) Complete the Pokedex

They may surprise me but these are the three things I think the "storylines" revolve around.

Why are GameFreak STILL struggling with fram rates on the Switch? A lot of that trailer was painful to watch.

After saying all that, I'll probably still get sucked into buying on day 1

@iLikeUrAttitude Haven't played Monster Hunter, but SMT V, while good, doesn't scratch the Pokemon itch whatsoever. The demon designs aren't meant to be appealing in the same way and they're meant to be disposable.It also doesn't have the same sense of wonder and adventure that the (good) pokemon games have. I love other JRPGs but they don't scratch the same itch that Pokemon does for me.

Is Pokemon the gaming equivalent of a McDonalds Happy Meal?

For people that will eat anything they're served as long as it isn't tasting directly bad (and maybe most important; that's it's not offending in any way possible).

@Yorumi I guess nostalgia is one helluva drug then.

@HammerKirby Fair enough, nothing can truly replace pokemon, but there will still be better alternatives to it.

As for MHST2 theres a free demo on the eshop I would heavily recommend playing it, and if you think of getting it save data transfers over.

Anyone understand this PreOrder option:
What has been revealed, is an early purchase bonus. Those who buy the game and reach a certain part within it by 28th February 2023 will be able to claim a special in-game Pikachu.

@Olliemar28 let me walk that back then. I'm not trying to offend anyone or hurt your feelings. Two adults with criticisms.

But every time anything mon related is printed a litany if complaints follows. Its the "this music is popular so i hate it vibe". It is tiresome as it is pubescent. I know, I wasted time doing the same thing for too long. I feel you.

Gl, I hope you like the game or find something you do like. If you dont play something else. Making a career hating something you loved as a 10 year old isnt cool.

@Thief it wasn’t so much the criticism or the fact it was the internet but the way Sonos insulted his “lot”. Yes he was definitely not polite in his comment. I don’t understand why others have to explain to the one insulted that their feelings are invalid.

To be honest, Pokemon Legends: Arceus felt like the shake-up the series desperately needed, and I wish they'd built on that for the next mainline generation. Nearly every aspect of the traditional Pokemon RPG experience was re-evaluated in that game, and it was mostly for the better.

I'm still interested in Scarlet/Violet, but I'm afraid my expectations are higher now than they would have been prior to PLA.

@Royalblues Wooper is an axolotl.

I think Ollie was forthright in his description of a lull in passion which is, at minimum, within the boundaries of expectation towards a series which fails to reinvent itself. Personal stance here from me: with any series, it should be quite acceptable to place yourself at either end of the Love/Hate spectrum and be treated respectfully.

It doubtless took some courage to post a non-homogenized viewpoint towards these rather ebulently praised titles. Hopefully by taking chances with new mechanics there will be an opportunity to appeal veterans and less devout RPG enthusiasts.

@hadrian jeez, wake up on the wrong side of pooped-in cheerios?

I hope that these games bring people joy. As for myself, Pokemon games stopped being fun for me about 20 years ago, so you all have fun with these new games.

I think what gets me isn't that people enjoy Pokemon games; it's when Pokemon fans, including game reviewers, argue online that the games are still 9/10 or 10/10 experiences. They're not. They're not even close. By today's standards of what is possible in terms of gameplay, visuals, storytelling, and art direction, they are a decade or two behind the curve. At their absolute best, modern Pokemon games are still only around a 5/10. We live in a world with Dragon Quest 11 and Persona 5. Modern Pokemon can't hold a candle to these games.

Love what you're going to love, but maybe take the rose-colored glasses off.

All I really want Pokemon to be is comfort food. Most of my dissatisfaction with the newer games has been things they've added that didn't work or things I liked that they removed. I've still enjoyed most of the newer mainline games, and spinoffs like Arceus are a nice change of pace, but I really would have been fine if they were still making new games that looked and played the exact same as any of the first few generations.

I just want Pokemon breeding. But even then... I don't know if I truly wanna go down that road again.

Complains that the games won't deviate from the formula, yet refuses to buy the biggest deviation (Arceus Legends) because it wasn't mainline enough

@BrazillianCara
Can't say I've ever been one to romanticize disdain. I'd love nothing more than to effortlessly enjoy every new entry of every series I once liked.

But the extreme opposite, to unquestioningly accept every new entry as though we were blessed to receive it at all is just as unhealthy and unreasonable. Every franchise waxes and wanes over time, and it shouldn't be looked down upon when a member of the fandom chooses to voice their displeasure over the course the series takes.

And examples like this one, where someone begrudgingly continues to play entries in the series out of a sense of obligation is not a healthy approach. It's okay to leave a series behind if it no longer provides the enjoyment it once did, whether one grew out of it or the series has genuinely shifted away from what drew you in the first place.

I abandoned Pokemon with Sun/Moon when it became clear they were spinning their own wheels and catering to the youngest demographic (which is fair). In the same vein, I abandoned Tales of series when their stories started meandering about after a series high point; or Fire Emblem after the series went all in on the dating sim element over genuine strategic gameplay. To name a few examples.

But at the end of the day, I accept that these series aren't for me anymore. I look in, every now and then, hopeful it returns to what I want out of them, but I don't begrudge anyone who still enjoys it. I do question the heck out of their tastes, though.

I agree entirely with the overall thesis here. Pokémon games HAVE been dull, uninteresting, and formulaic for generations (the last I played was Ruby). Plus, the Pokémon have continually devolved further and further into "grasping at straws" and the bizarre.

That said, I am genuinely interested in Scarlet/Violet. I almost bit on Arceus, but it was just too flawed of a game for my taste (including it being visually dreadful). I look forward to seeing more about S/V and am truly hopeful that it will still be interesting to me when launch arrives. With Arceus, each trailer and reveal made me less and less interested. So far, the opposite has been true with S/V, and that's exciting!

Is it just me or is Gamefreak just a little bit too late on innovating? I've been waiting for so long for these changes to happen, and although they somehow "revolutionaized" the formula in Legends Arceus, the sloppy production values seemed to undermine the overall experience. That game was indeed a breath of fresh air, but it felt half-baked. I feel like Gamefreak could exert triple A production for Pokemon (voice acting where art thou), but they're just too lazy/stingy to do so.

I was 20 years old when the magic of Pokemon captured my heart. Now I'm a bitter 45 year old cougar and my heart has been disappointed by this series so many times already. </3

@BrazillianCara lets give PM some credit when the formula still had plenty of chances to grow but stopped after 2 games, Bug Fables is an example of that evolution

its easy to kick pokemon down when its a powerhouse franchise that does yearly releases along with countless spinoffs. its almost impossible to evolve the franchise in a big way when it never slows down

Didn't you guys say the same of Legends? .-.

X/Y was when I began losing interest as I thought the move to 3DS the games started having more and more story and slower and slower battles and just felt like a chore to play through. It didn't help that Mega Evolutions and everything they've done since then like Z-Moves and Gigantamax were all gimmicks that weren't fun at all. This Terastal mechanic doesn't seem any better.

Sun/Moon was really what did it in for me though that was just painful to play through. Still haven't finished Sword/Shield or even started Arceus so who knows if I'll ever be caught up again.

I get the feeling. I was a fan since the first generation of games, with my first game being Yellow. I always aimed to complete every game's National Dex, which was a major factor to my disappointment with Sword/Shield. Not even Legends with its refreshed mechanics could pull me back. Here's hoping that Scarlet/Violet stokes the flames once more.

I would really like it, if they make one entry classic and one entry with a new take on the formula from now on. The same with Zelda please and propably most other series I love. Generally I am quite happy with Pokemon.

This will be the first pokemon game for me. Looks great!

The gameplay needs to be more interesting again, than "press 'a' to win".
everything else is secondary for me.