I definitely want them to continue with open world. Yes, we have gotten a lot of open world games, but open world fits the philosophy of Pokemon very well. You're adventuring through a vast region trying to befriend a custom team of Pokemon, as a trainer with a customized name and appearance. It's a very personalized experience, so it would only be fitting if you could also go wherever you want instead of having to explore areas in a scripted order.
My only real criticism with the open world in SV is the lack of level scaling. Sure you can nominally fight gyms in any order but when the consequence of that is you end up massively underleveled and need to rely on gimmicky strategies to win? That pretty much undermines the point. It's also made worse by the gym order being fairly inorganic, they seem to expect you to explore the region in a bizarre order based on the levels of the bosses. As for the solution, it's really simple and something they've done in the past: just have the gym leaders have different teams based on the number of badges you already have.
Other assorted wants and desires (some of these are probably unrealistic but this is a hopes and wishes thread so I'm still saying them anyway):
-Bring back diving, but make it more like a typical action adventure game. The 3D Marios are a good example of how diving should work in a 3D open world Pokemon game.
-A riding/following system similar to LGPE, but now any Pokemon can use field moves if it makes sense. Also uses a physics engine similar to BotW that allows you to use different types of field moves to deal with different obstacles. For example, if there's a tree in the way you could cut it down with a Scyther, burn it down with a Charmander, or ram into it with a Rhyhorn.
-Bring back the EL system from Legends Arceus. It's much easier to affect than EVs/IVs.
-I'm okay with having a Rotom Phone again, but we need actual gadgets again like what we had with past devices like the Pokegear, Pokenav, and Poketch. Some examples of useful apps it should have:
-Habitat List
-Clock/Calendar app. They could also use this to record the duration of events such as Raid events,
-Some kind of rematch mechanic like the Phone/Trainer's Eyes/Vs. Seeker (preferably Vs. Seeker)
-Expand the Pokedex to actually make it a useful resource for finding information like how it's supposed to be in canon. Have it be like Serebii or Bulbapedia where it can display things like moves, stats, evolution methods, type matchups, etc.
-Bring back interesting side modes like Contests, Pokeathlon, and Pokestar Studios (not Musicals. Musicals were bad).
-Return of Secret Bases or some type of similar decoration mode. They could potentially make this a feature of the Amie/Refresh/Camping/Picnic equivalent.
-Let Pokemon evolve mid-battle
-Create some series of hold items, one for each region, (I would say regional stones but Go already does that and they might not copy it) to allow the holder to evolve/breed into their regional forms.
Something I forgot to mention before, I really hope that the new games keep the quality of life changes seen in the 2 Legends titles. After PLA, some really good QoL was weirdly absent in Scarlet and Violet, only to return in PL:ZA. The quality of life changes I most want to see return are:
Catching Pokemon in the overworld without needing to enter battle.
Being able to select which Pokemon to lead with in battle without needing to pause the game.
Manual evolution from the menu.
Using Pokemon models rather than sprites or drawings in the box/team screens (I like to see my shinies).
Effort Level system.
"well it appears I am upside down. what ever will I do?"
Currently Playing: Hades II, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Super Mario Galaxy
@UpsideDownRowlet I think they mainly did that because PLA and SV were developed simultaneously for most of their development so they couldn't really share ideas. Gen 10 is a better litmus test to see if those mechanics make the jump to the main series since that game will have started development after PLA released.
Bring back turn-based for main battles. The Z-A battles just...weren't as interesting. I ended up using far less strategy and more just spamming.
Some type of mounts or vehicles. I enjoyed the movement skills in Arceus and S/V
Good plot. The S/V plot was great and I want more like that.
Good outfits (Z-A did this well if expensively; S/V was awful)
Medium wants:
level scaling if open world
Overworld interaction with Pokemon. Just.. the more cute things the better.
Auto-murdering - I mostly liked this in S/V although it would ideally be tweaked.
New boss mechanics. I like battling big enraged Pokemon but the 'beat boss by running in circles/dodging' which both Legends games essentially had is slightly stale.
Better towns than S/V. We just got two extremes with cardboard town cutouts in S/V and an amazing urban environment in Z-A. Something in-between would be nice.
I want a region that is similar in openness to Kanto or Johto. Not being able to just go in any direction, but to have actual routes and towns to explore while minimising arbitrary roadblocks. Something that has a sense of direction but isn’t afraid to let you off the beaten track. Sun/Moon was way too linear, and Scarlet/Violet way too open imo.
I want them to ditch some of the ideas that have stuck with Pokemon since the beginning. Get rid of generations, or at least make things more ambiguous (I think they’re on their way to this tbf). Challenge what makes a main game by experimenting with different structures and gameplay (again, seen to be doing this with Legends). Oh, and try something other than the Grass/Fire/Water starter trio and box legendaries.
Also more of what Legends Z-A excelled at please (Pokemon discovery in the overworld, and new battle system).
I want them to ditch some of the ideas that have stuck with Pokemon since the beginning. Get rid of generations, or at least make things more ambiguous (I think they’re on their way to this tbf). Challenge what makes a main game by experimenting with different structures and gameplay (again, seen to be doing this with Legends). Oh, and try something other than the Grass/Fire/Water starter trio and box legendaries.
I don't think some of these will ever happen. What defines a generation has definitely blurred, but I don't think they'll ever abandon the concept of a game that takes place in a new region with a large pool of new pokemon, new characters, and a new plot. It's just too easy to market and the new generation games sell too well for them to stop.
As for the type triangle, it does get tiring if you've played Pokemon a while, but for kids that have never played a Pokemon game before it's the best way to teach type matchups. After all, everyone can easily recognize that Fire burns Grass, Water douses Fire, and Grass absorbs Water. It's harder to demonstrate that with other types.
One more thought. Since it's the 10th generation... I think it would be neat if they added a new standard type. I realize that would cause chaos but it would be fun. 😆 Sound Type or something else.
As for the type triangle, it does get tiring if you've played Pokemon a while, but for kids that have never played a Pokemon game before it's the best way to teach type matchups. After all, everyone can easily recognize that Fire burns Grass, Water douses Fire, and Grass absorbs Water. It's harder to demonstrate that with other types.
I always thought the grass beats water was a bit of a logical stretch so it's really 2 logical ones plus one that can be remembered. Other triangles are almost as easy to remember.
Steel Rock Fire is pretty logical because of course steel is stronger than rock and can be melted by fire. Rock smothering fire is... at least a thing which can be remembered.
I suppose that triangle isn't great since it has fire again. If you wanted to be totally unique, they could do Fighting Rock Flying. Fighters killing rocks in karate chops and rocks being thrown at birds are easy to remember. Birds beating fighters is a little weirder... but you can remember that fighters are close-range so it almost makes sense.
Anyways, I think they could change it up pretty easily. Now that it's being talked about I wish they would change it.
I think the series really needs to improve its presentation. I'm currently playing through the Switch 2 version of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter and think this is what the new Pokémon game should look like.
@FishyS First of all, while Grass beats Water is a bit of a stretch it's still based on a common phenomenon. Everyone knows that you can water a plant to make it grow.
Furthermore, it's not just the matchup logic, it's that Grass, Fire, and Water are common elements that people can recognize as types. Fighting, Rock, and Flying (particularly Fighting and Flying) aren't really as recognizable.
@FishyS First of all, while Grass beats Water is a bit of a stretch it's still based on a common phenomenon. Everyone knows that you can water a plant to make it grow.
Furthermore, it's not just the matchup logic, it's that Grass, Fire, and Water are common elements that people can recognize as types. Fighting, Rock, and Flying (particularly Fighting and Flying) aren't really as recognizable.
I admit to often getting mixed up about plant water because I think of plants drowning, another common phenomenon. It's just not one of those basic earth air water fire match ups.
If it's a new player, I feel like anything is probably fine. birds are a pretty recognizable type of animal, although I admit 'fighting' is a weirder category. Although fighting and flying are common pokemon I personally have almost always had in my team since early in my first ever game. At the time I didn't really understand any of the matchups including the basic ones, I just picked things which I liked 😆
One more thought. Since it's the 10th generation... I think it would be neat if they added a new standard type. I realize that would cause chaos but it would be fun. 😆 Sound Type or something else.
Forgot to respond to this.
Game Freak really only creates new types in response to imbalances in the type chart, particularly when one type becomes OP and needs nerfing. Dark and Steel were introduced as counters to Psychic because there were no quality counters in 1st gen (granted Steel isn't a direct counter but it does resist Psychic so you could certainly switch one in). Fairy was introduced because Dragon became OP over time (in earlier generations there weren't as many Pokemon or moves but by 5th gen it had developed into an OP monster). At this point in the series I don't think there's any type that stands out as OP like Psychic and Dragon were, and certainly not to the degree where such a type is as centralizing as those were (maybe Fairy and Steel kind of are, but they still have quality counters so I wouldn't say they're OP), so I don't think they're considering new types right now.
@Bolt_Strike You're probably right. That's why I said it would cause chaos to add a new type — it would be potentially adding lack of balance rather than balance. I doubt they will do it, I just think it would be fun. As someone who just plays for fun and doesn't care about the competitive aspect, I just want something new and weird.
@FishyS No, I get it. The typings are getting stale at this point. By the time Gen 10 comes out, the same number of generations will have passed since Fairy than between when Dark/Steel and Fairy were introduced. And they're almost out of new type combinations with only 9 combos that have yet to be represented (Normal/Rock, Normal/Bug, Normal/Ice, Normal/Steel, Fire/Fairy, Rock/Ghost, Ground/Fairy, Bug/Dragon, and Poison/Ice) and they'll probably finish them off by Gen 11, if not this next game, at the rate they burn through them. So what then after that? What's going to make new Pokemon concepts interesting? A new typing feels appropriate from that perspective but Game Freak's MO is to use typings to nerf OP types so It's probably not happening anytime soon if ever again.
What's going to make new Pokemon concepts interesting?
As y'all have said, I don't think they'll do a new typing, not this late into the series. Now, what they COULD do to mix things up (I don't know if they would, it would still have some problems) is increase the max amount of typings from two to three. Could be a cool little thing to do once they finish all the dual typings. 🤷🏻♂️
@HyruleWanderer They'd never do triple types, it's too unbalanced. Then you'd have x8 weaknesses (for example, what if you had a Grass/Bug/Steel type, then it'd be x8 weak to Fire) and that would be utterly unsurvivable, x4 are bad enough.
The presentation definitely needs to improve. I don't exactly have high hopes, but I did find it genuinely distracting especially in Scarlet and Violet. Everything looks so flat and bland looking.
Its not a hardware issue or anything. Plenty of games look great on Switch, just seems like a developmental problem.
@Bolt_Strike Regarding the type triangle - fair point, I just hope they find a way to mix it up a bit. I’m sure there are other ways to show type advantages without necessarily having the starters follow a type triangle. It could be demonstrated via the first few encounters you have.
As for new types and triple types: no thanks. I think Pokemon risks being too complex and the type chart is already at its limit of complexity. If anything I wouldn’t mind them having a go at resetting it - maybe do something like the TCG where they have vaguely the same types but they’re grouped/interpreted in a different way.
People often complain that Pokemon removes gimmicks every generation but I think it’s for good reason tbh. Up until generation 7 Pokemon was always increasing in complexity with new Pokemon, moves, types, items, etc. I think to truly add something new and of value some of the old needs to be removed or reinvented - otherwise things become unwieldy. I’m not suggesting Game Freak dumb down their games (maybe Let’s Go Pikachu was a step too far)…but i do think things need a good shaking up (rather than being iterative as they have been) and the Legends games have, IMO, been a good start for this.
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Topic: Next Pokémon Game Hopes and Wishes
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