Topic: Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee!

I actually like that there's only 151, that combined with the no random battles, I might actually try to catch them all this time. For people who want the game to be harder maybe try using different Pokemon as well. I usually only catch Pokemon who I intend to use but I might use a bigger variety this time since the box is with you now. Makes it easy to Switch around.

ok random thread hijack question incoming,

I may be interested in getting a switch to play Pokemon. I'm wondering if on launch will the digital version be ready to buy/install instantly? (dec 31)

@Jarester They are scheduled to be released on November 16.

why does bestbuy say it's gonna release dec 31?

[edit] wow I just googled it actually doesn't release until 2019 december D:. I read it as 2018 dec 31 I had no idea they'd put a game on bestbuy that wont be released for that long.

and btw yes I was talking about the other pokemon game. guess that solves my question. now I dont even know if I'll get a switch this year so mehh

Also I don't know who said this back when saying it's odd these these games aren't based on a color or something. The original Yellow in Japan was just called Pokemon: Pikachu, so the name being what it is now is not that odd.

ok, google says mostlikely late 2019

but my original question still stands, when it's released does it sell as digital right away as well?

@Jarester Are you talking about the Let's Go Games or the Pokemon games coming in 2019? Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee are coming November 2018. You can download them on the day they are released. Sometimes for big Nintendo games you can download them midnight.

ah ok. I mean the pokemon game that's coming in 2019. but since it'll be downloadable on release my answer is solved thx

@Jarester Most likely, we will see pre-loads available where you can download the game ahead of time, and it unlocks at midnight on the release date, considering they don't want their server to crash.

I suspect that perhaps this game has been in production for longer than we give it credit for, hence the recycling of Gen VI and likely VII assets as well. It really does look like X&Y in HD, which isn't surprising for a smaller scale production such as this. I don't mind the "Go" series using this engine (assuming that "Go" games will be released every second year in tandem with the core series games), but I really hope that the core series games use a new or at least a modified engine that isn't just a reworked version of the 3DS games. It's bad enough that this game, released on a home console in 2018 is still limiting itself to the constraints of a 1MB ROM from 1996, at least in the sense that they're restricting the game to only the first 151 monsters, miniscule towns that don't really feel like towns etc. With so little content, it wouldn't surprise me if these games weigh in at under 1GB.

Design-wise, Kanto is really simplistic and is a product of its time, and I find it just a wee bit crazy that a high profile 2018 release is regurgitating design and technical restrictions from over 20 years ago. The graphics and other novelties may be indicative of a modern game, but the content and design is stuck in the mid 90s, and that, I feel, is the key problem with this game. It won't stop me from buying it day 1, and I long for it with feverish anticipation, but I feel that this could also could have been so, so much more.

The least they can do is also throw in the post-game content from the Gen III remakes (FireRed/LeafGreen), though I have my doubts. While Gen II and III Pokémon probably won't be available in this game, it would be nice if they could be migrated from Pokémon GO in a similar fashion to how Pokémon not included in the Alola dex in the Gen VII games can also be transferred over (incidentally, the Gen VII games are the first in the core series to not have a National Pokédex, yet they still included data for all Pokémon released to date).

I have a feeling that additional features and content will be announced at a later stage, but I'm not overly enthusiastic considering what we have been presented with so far. I'm excited that we're finally getting a home console Pokémon game with local multiplayer to boot, but I suspect that it will be very underwhelming, unless Game Freak have a few aces up their sleeve.

I would KILL for Let's Go, Magikarp though. I think if enough of us beg for it, they can make it happen. It's not as if they would have to do very much to release a third version of the game vis-à-vis Pikachu and Eevee. Better yet if it's a shiny Magikarp with bounce, flail and possibly an ever so slightly broadened move set (even if it's just a move or two) to help make unevolved Magikarp viable in battle.

Let that meme die.

No one seems to have posted this yet. Eurogamer conducted an interview with Masuda about the Let's Go games and the future of the series:

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-06-03-pokemon-boss-ju...

Really concerning how Masuda views the relationship between casual and hardcore gamers. Trying to get them to play the same game the same way is simply not going to work because of differences in skill level and gameplay preferences. If they really want hardcore and casual gamers to play the same game, they need to offer a sense of flexibility so players can experience the game the way they want to instead of being forced to put up with design decisions they don't like.

@Silly_G
I see what you're saying, but I don't think bigger means better, or that bigger must necessarily be linked to more technology (per your discussion of town size in the game, for instance). Sometimes I think "modern" games get too carried away with massiveness: cities are frustratingly large, systems are needlessly complex, etc. There's something to be said for the timeless attractions of simplicity.

Just my opinion. I'm someone who, for instance, thought that Breath of the Wild's map could have easily been a quarter or even a third smaller and it would have only made the game better.

I really like this more simple approach for the Go series. As a lapsed Pokemon gamer who was in middle school when the very first games came out, it'll be cool to get back in but in a less hardcore way. Going back to Kanto is good not only for the nostalgia but also for the simplicity that you list as a negative for you, but is actually a positive for people like me.

@Silly_G Totally agreed. Game Freak doesn't really put enough attention into the game design and content period and they really need to now that they're on console. Those elements of the game are extremely important to the console market.

BotW esque open world would be the ideal for a modern Pokemon console experience, but even with a Kanto remake they could make it feel more modern by going for more of a BW2-esque upgrade and throwing in new Pokemon, new areas, new features, the whole works. Not this prettied up copy/paste job.

@rallydefault For console gamers, it does. Large, open ended, impressive areas simply inherently appeals to the home console experience giving players tons and tons of space to wander around, explore, and do whatever they want. And while you do have a point about BotW being bloated by empty space, even when you trim the fat from it it's flat out a MUCH bigger game than anything Pokemon's ever done. So LGPE definitely feels far behind when it comes to being a console experience. It's much closer to a mobile experience than a console experience.

@rallydefault : I wasn't suggesting that they make the game excessively large or difficult to navigate. I think Breath of the Wild was fairly straightforward and the towns and villages were sensibly sized. They obviously lack the breadth of a real-world village, but they are big enough to feel as if they are adequately populated, which enhances the area's sense of realism and community. In the Pokémon games, most towns are made up of a few houses, a Pokémon centre and perhaps another landmark or two. That's it. And a few seemingly homeless residents who wander the town and are programmed to emit one string of dialogue (two if Game Freak are feeling generous). Most of these elements were due to hardware and memory limitations of the time. It is absolutely ridiculous to me that the Let's Go games are being shamelessly restricted to these same constraints when there is no necessity for it.

My issue is with the fact that the game is being limited to design and technological constraints of handheld software from 1996. Rather than redesigning areas in the game in a manner that would be befitting of a game of this period in time, they are limiting themselves to the shallow scope of the original Red/Green games, and that does not bode well for the future of the franchise if the fanbase and developers consider this to be good enough. I feel that the entire region should have been overhauled, while still being identifiable to longtime fans.

Simplicity for the sake of appealling to a broader audience is fine, but the Let's Go approach has been completely and utterly lazy. The production values are more akin to a premium mobile game than a AAA home console release in 2018, especially when you consider the fact that so many of its assets have been recycled from handheld games, namely Pokémon GO and the 3DS games. The Gen I games are already readily available for those who yearn for that era of technological constraint. Sadder still, is that the 3DS games appear to offer so much more content and a far larger world for a fraction of the price (with the same production values to boot).

Having said that, my feverish anticipation is still intact, but it's frustrating that Game Freak are not seizing this opportunity to make the franchise evolve in any meaningful way.

So how come no one's complaining about an open world Tetris game? Puyo Puyo Tetris is still basically limited to the design and constraints of the handheld software from 1989.

Also I prefer how the game looks here say to something compared to Pokken. I think some of the shading on the Pokemon in that game don't look that good, kind of gives it a cheap feeling. Like they put these hyper realistic and detailed shaders on the same Pokemon models they've been using.

@KaiserGX Well, Tetris is its very own concept, whereas Pokemon is an adventure game which both draws expectations from people who play it, and also has competition to which it can be compared to.

I'll agree with you that Gengar looks better in Lets Go. The thing is, the Pokemon models themselves (which were made back with X/Y) are actually pretty good. I'll give credit where its due. It is the graphics everywhere else that are lacking, and that makes a big deal because most of the game we experience is not the Pokemon themselves.

That same Gengar model used in that Lets Go screenshot there could also be used in a much more expansive, dynamic 3D environment and look fine. The Pokemon are not the problem.

@Silly_G While I agree with you, I'm holding off until I see what's going on with the so-called 'main entry' next year. If this was indeed made as a stopgap once they realized Pokemon 2019 wouldn't be ready in time, it explains the lack of progress in this game, which looks straight recycled out of X/Y. The fact that it's not even as good looking as Sun/Moon makes me think this is definitely not meant to be the future of Pokemon.

@Harmonie I love the way it looks though. It looks pretty much how the concept art was suppose to look like.

It seems limited edition TCG cards are a preorder bonus including Ash's Pikachu.