Topic: Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee!

I agree that there won't be, and shouldn't be, a total re-imagining of what Pokemon is. However pushing the gamplay/battle system into some more modern would be a good change and the type of change I hope we'll see and the type of change I think we need to see if the franchise is going to move to a home console with an 80.00 dollar price.

The idea of GameFreak making a fully functional console game while also pushing boundaries at the same time...

Yup, I'm expecting a Sun/Moon/X/Y-ish game, with dialed up graphics...maybe a Pokémon: Breath of the Wild-type-game in the next decade - or two! :/ ..ideally, I'd like to see every region that they've ever created in one game - hopefully one day!

It's their first home console Pokemon RPG. They're probably going to be playing it very safe at first, if only to get a grip on the technology and what they can do with it.

@Octane Not sure if this post is sarcastic or not. Just to get through the single-player campaign, every Pokemon game except the original set of games (which still took longer than 20 hours to beat) takes between 30 - 50 hours on average to beat. That number goes through the roof into 100+ hour territory if you actually bother trying to fill out your Pokedex, complete additional content, etc.

who said anything about pushing boundaries?

All I want from a Pokemon game is only being to catch/hatch an individual species once, and once you do, it autosaves. And all opponent Pokemon give the same amount of EVs.

This way you would still be able to just play the game without giving a thought about its internal values as you're getting it or training it, and still be able to battle real people without being completely destroyed in two seconds.

Plus it makes each individual Pokemon more unique, which is a good thing especially when considering legendaries, and gives more incentive for people to get Pokemon by actually trading with people.

@Ralizah Not sarcastic at all. I've beaten most Pokemon games I've played in a day (excluding Kanto in gen 2), just from the start to the league. I'm not talking about catching all Pokemon and online play of course.

@Hitokage1 Wait, what do you mean? You can only catch Tentacool once? And every battle nets the same amount of EVs..? What the point in that? That's an awful idea if you ask me.

@Octane That's... pretty crazy. You must spend the entire day bumrushing one of those games from beginning to end. I mean, if that's how you want to play them, that's fine, but why not stop and smell the roses once in a while? As I said, the average play time for just a normal campaign-only playthrough of the shortest game in the series is still longer than 24 hours.

@Ralizah I'm not even rushing them. I think my first playthrough may have been a bit longer, but most Pokemon games don't take long at all. I think I play through either Sold, Silver, Ruby or Sapphire once a year, and I beat them in a day, they're somewhere between 8 to 10 hours.

Speedrunners can do those games in under 2 hours! So, don't worry, I'm taking my time

@Octane I mean, people can also speedrun Dark Souls 3 in under 2 hours as well. Most games with any level of design freedom can be beaten in an absurdly limited amount of time.

According to howlongtobeat.com, for example, the average playtime for just the main story in Pokemon Ruby is 36 hours (source: https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=7170) The average for story + extras in 72 hours. Even the average rushed playthrough for the main story is around 25 hours. I think the only conclusion one can come to is that you're bum-rushing these games.

@Ralizah What are you people doing in those games that takes so long? I swear I'm not rushing them at all.

@DarthNocturnal Not as far as I know, just a vanilla speedrun, no assistance, no bugs. It means skipping most trainers and relying on just one or two Pokemon to do the job, but it's certainly possible.

I have to side with @Octane on this, I usually take my time on my first play-through of any Pokémon game, and I explore about all there is to explore, and I can't ever remember spending more than 25 hours on the first time through the main campaign. When I re-play the games I usually finish in between 10-15 hours, in some games even shorter. I cannot comprehend how you can spend more time playing these games unless you make sure to step on every tile possible and really suck at battling (or prefer stall play).

Pokémon games are about 20 hours? Well for casual players probably.
But if I'm playing Pokémon I always try to catch em all.
And I think every Pokémon main game is around 60 hours if you really want to get them all.
I'm just saying that's the shortest length I'd expect from another main series Pokémon game that's appearing on a home console for the first time.

Most RPGs in general tend to take me a little while. I tend to do a lot of exploring and some side stuff on my first playthrough of a Pokemon game. The worst part is that I'm still in the habit of talking to everyone I come up to and battling everyone I meet for the experience and Dex entries.

@Octane Except it wouldn't make sense on multiple levels for them to make a statement like that for it to not be taken seriously. There's a reason why PR statements tend not to be definitive, it's because they don't want to promise anything they won't be able to fulfill or else the fans will get angry at them and be less inclined to buy the next game. So if they're saying yes to console scale, open world gameplay they need to put their money where their mouth is or else they'll lose fans that want that kind of experience. And if they're looking at fan comments this closely, then they know they won't be able to get away with the same thing but in HD. Even if they're not going to be capable of the large scale, BotW-esque open world game some of us want, they should at the very least show that they're heading in that direction. That's why I'm thinking more Mario 64/OoT, it would provide enough of a step up from 7th gen to provide that console experience without being too radically different and overwhelming for Game Freak.

@Bolt_Strike Define open world. The Zelda-go-anywhere structure won't happen. It will be similar to previous entries. You open up more of the world as you progress.

That's one thing that needs to change yeah. It's not going to be much of an open adventure if you're being railroaded down a single path. I can live with the game still being a network of routes with a few open areas thrown in (Twilight Princess is probably the closest comparison to this kind of world design), but one thing they need to do is let you challenge gyms in any order. And that much is definitely feasible with a level scaling system (which they've kind of already done in the past with the Vs. Seeker and other rematch systems).

You know tbh I probably should've paid more attention to the video, but it's possible when they were saying yes to everything, they were referring to the general sentiment all of the comments had and didn't pay that much attention to that specific comment.

@Bolt_Strike BOTW-style shouldn't happen either. Pokemon is an turn-based RPG first and foremost. The focus should be on battles, catching and training. I don't think it needs camera controls, I don't think you shouls be able to scale every mountain either.

In regards to the progression system. I'm a bit skeptical. How does it work for routes? Do the levels of wild Pokemon go up too? Are they permanently raised if you progress far enough? I think the current linear structure is fine, have a designated first gym and last gym for sure. Maybe let the player choose between 4 and 5, and 6 and 7 for example. Add branching paths, optional areas, caves, etc. Just don't make it feel like an on-rails RPG.

I think a good example is Snorlax. Remember him in gen 1? It was something special, it was a blokade and up to you to figure out how to get past him. In X&Y? You rncounter him and you're told where to get the flute in order to progress.

And another thing, don't hand out rare and/or legendary Pokemon for free. That's just cheap. The games are easy enough already.