JellyPop

Can't believe I actually remembered to get all three of these and I don't even play the game anymore. Grazie, Nintendolife!

This was actually one of my favourite games of the last few years. I don't think I was expecting much but the amount of effort that clearly went into it was incredible, there were so many easter eggs.

I ended up getting over 200 hours of playtime out of it, which I realise is more than most people but finding every path, pokemon and secret was hella fun.

Yesssss! Get-it!
There need to be so many more work-outs like this. Kotick in particular has been one of many weeping sores on the side of Activision-Blizzard for much too long.

I used to be a (probably worryingly addicted) WoW player, but I've been boycotting all games by these guys for years now. With the mistreatment of employees, 'anti-poaching' clauses, abundant sexual harassment claims and so much else, I just can't support a company like this no matter how much I enjoy their work.

Based on what we've seen so far, this seems like a well-rounded review.
I've noticed too many reviews recently where the body of the review and the pros & cons seem to point to a negative game, but then the score is strangely high. 6/10 seems more than fair here, how there are comments complaining when people haven't played it yet I don't know.

One other thing I would say is that although I agree with the thrust of this article, it glaringly stops short of placing the blame where it actually belongs.

Increasingly games are being produced to lower standards to increase profit margins and keep shareholders happy. This is creating a poor environment for workers and a disappointing end product for consumers.

Over time customers have noticed the amount of content in games decreasing and they're upset about that. They want to blame someone (rightly so) but this article doesn't let them know where that blame should go.
Blaming the correct people here and taking the right actions (not pre-ordering, not purchasing a game until seeing trustworthy reviews) would really improve the industry.

We desperately need journalists to help out here and I'm disappointed this article stopped short.

The problem with the phrase 'lazy devs' is it gives the real culprits for these issues, those at the top, an excuse to fall back on.

When the workers are already underpaid, overworked and pushed to meet an impossible deadline, a poor final result can be blamed on staff not trying hard enough. I've been both the lower staff and the middle management in that situation and the issue is always, always with management.

When it comes to the latest pokemon games, it's fairly obvious that the people making all the decisions are making poor decisions and both the staff and the customer will be suffering for it.

Edit: 'Poor decisions' in most cases being putting corporate greed over the quality of the end product (which is especially easy to do when a game has already made back development costs on preorders).

I just want the option to turn it off again, is that too much to ask?
Of course some people like it and some don't, but if you could toggle it, it would be perfect for everyone.

After seeing this yesterday I ordered a used copy of Platinum off ebay, it was an excellent game and I'd love to play it again (but don't want to delete my old save). I think I'll be playing this over the remakes this winter - I'm so excited for it to arrive!

@Mariotag
Same, I've been signed up since forever but I never get the newsletters or codes. The option used to be checked, but when I check back now the option to opt in or out of newsletters is gone?

@KiraMoonvalley
If you're buying the physical card packs anyway, you get a code for a digital pack each time (currently at least). I played it a few times, it's pretty nice to be able to play against people around the world and it doesn't cost anything.

Having said that I'm guessing this new version will be more in-line with Hearthstone economy-wise.

I'd be all over this! Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil was the first game I ever completed as a kid, it was a good summer.

I do like that pokeball but I'm still resisting pre-ordering.

Shiny pokemon were so much fun when it was all chance and effort. Lately it's just something you pay for.
I can't exactly put my finger on it, but something just feels uncomfortable about the way shiny pokemon, mythic pokemon and rare items are distributed lately.
Maybe it's because there's no fun involved - it's just a purchase.

Edit: It wouldn't feel so slimy if you had a chance of finding them in-game, as it is they're effectively pay-walled content.

I really wish they'd do in-game events with these. Just getting them given to you sort of takes the 'mythical' feel out, you know?

@Anti-Matter
I was gonna say! I love Mister Donut and I hope they come to the UK one day (gotta get me more of those pon-de rings!)
The Krispy Kreme ones are a bit too over-the-top sweet for me.

This thing is so cool, imagine if something like this was packaged with the game in the same way the pokeball was packaged with Let's Go!

@Vermiand Because 'their' has always existed as a word meaning something that belongs to someone? Pick up a dictionary.

Nooo thank you, I am done with pre-ordering games. This time around I'm going to wait until it comes out, see if it's any good and then decide whether to purchase.
If recent games are anything to go by, NPCs will be giving me loads of unwanted items anyway.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this game. I enjoyed the original so I was hoping I'd like it, but there was already way more content than I thought there would be.
I spent about 200 hours completing all the challenged and didn't even find the last path until past the 60hr mark (I didn't want to watch any walk throughs or see any info beforehand).

Honestly I wasn't expecting any more content for this but I'm excited to get back into it!

I'm really disappointed in the look of this one.

If they allow players to turn off the exp.all, or add in different difficulties, or even just put some additional effort and easter eggs into the game, I'd be more interested.
But as far as I can see this is going to be an ugly, watered-down rehash of my favourite generation.

Ehhh they'd better have a really good update. I enjoyed the game for ages but I really thought we'd have things like the Roost, more shops and more characters by now.

I got a lot of fun out of this game so I'm not complaining, but ideally I would have liked to see more from the updates. That maze game was pretty fun, I thought we were going to see more of that sort of thing!

Edit: After playing the update I am so pleasantly surprised.

When I first started commuting I brought my 3DS with me. I got the 5am train and walked past carriages full of sleeping, middle-ages businessmen.
I got a bunch of hits with 'I'm playing Animal Crossing New Leaf!' on them. I felt less like a stranger after that.

This colour gives me such strong nostalgia, I think it reminds me of my GBA and I'm sure that's not a coincidence.

@Altina
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving studios the chance to make games, it just seems like a big leap from no games to one of the most anticipated remakes for a franchise as large as pokemon.

I have some experience here in that the small company I work for has worked on several games for larger companies over the years. Every single time we've created a sub-par game. So on the one hand, for me, it's been fun to work on those big games. But from the perspectives of the IP owner and the fans, a more experienced company could always do better.
So it's not that I begrudge them the opportunity, I'm excited to see what they do with it, I just find it a big leap.

I'm all for outsourcing the games, but picking a company that's never made a full game before to handle a remake like this seems a bit of a weird choice?
I am continually confused by the choices these guys make with such a big franchise.

I'm not a fan of the overworld sprites and the overworld lighting is a bit mobile game looking, but it was a cool reveal all the same.

The decision to let another company handle the remake while GF works on bigger projects is definitely a step in the right direction.

I don't want to get my hopes up for this.
But I'm excited anyway... damnit.

I'm just happy there's a presentation at all.

I'd really like one of these and I'm impressed they're putting so much effort into thwarting scalpers.

For now, I'm worried about the sort of customs charges I'd have to pay to get one, so I'm going to wait and see what happens with the first wave.

I considered getting this, but since I already play the TCG it seemed a bit junior for me. It looks cool though.

I'd really like to see more actual pokemon boardgames. The Pokemon Master Trainer game was great and I'd love to see more of those.

Pocket Card Jockey is one of the best games on the DS store. It seems shallow on the surface but I've gotten so many hours of enjoyment out of it.

I still want to play Etrian Odyssey Nexus at some point.

It always feels weird that used nintendo games are so expensive because of demand, but Nintendo isn't getting any money when I buy an old ds game from ebay.
I wish they'd release more old games on the switch, like the Wii U's virtual console.

I was able to visit some pokemon centers in Japan a few years ago and the merch lines there are incredible. I don't know who's in charge of merchandising in the west but it always comes aross that they're not trying so hard?
It's almost always just basic poses of the same few pokemon slapped onto things, as if someone was given a press kit and an afternoon.

This game was such an unexpected gem. I don't know how I missed this but I'd love a sequel so much.

It'd be cooler if there were more variations to breed and the option to play multiplayer would bop.
I really enjoyed the 2D artwork / character designs so I'd like to see something in the same style for a sequel.

I love this game so much, maybe I'll play it again.

I'm always confused by people who say 'how can you say the game is bad when you bought it?'
Surely those are the only people who have the right to say the game is bad, since they've played it? I wouldn't leave a book review of a book I hadn't read.

I played Sword, it's obviously incredible rushed. Of course there were parts I liked, the soundtrack was incredible and some of the areas were beautiful. The characters would have been good if they weren't forced on the player so much. But overall it felt very rushed.
I stopped preordering pokemon games after SM and I'll stop buying games on release after SWSH. I didn't buy the DLC, sure it looks nice, but it's increibly overpriced for something that feels like it should have been in the base game.
Overall it was an incredibly disappointing experience. So when people say 'if you don't like the games, don't buy them', I'd say you have to play them to know you don't like them, then don't buy the next one.

It's upsetting, because this has been one of my all time favourite game series. But maybe in future they'll get back on form?

Now that I look at them, these are all just cards you can pick up in other boosters without the promo stamp. It'd be way cooler if they were unique to the promotion, especially since it's an anniversary celebration.

I'm really on-board with McDonalds Pokemon Card promotions. Having toy promotion is fun, but a lot of the time, the little plastic toys just end up in carboot bargain bins and landfill.
The cards on the other hand seemed great beause they're just card with a cool piece of art on.

I didn't even realise the last promotion was on, so I hope if this comes to the UK we get some sort of heads up.

@Meikahidenori
Yeah, I hope to get back into it one day. For me, that will probably mean picking up a second hand copy sometime if I can. I've also found that as I've gotten older and have more responsibilities, I have to pick a few games and stick to those, rather than finding the time to play every new release. I play a lot of Ark, so I guess that's where I get my monster hunting fix, haha.

I'm really glad you're getting so much joy out of it though, it's uplifting when people talk about how much they enjoy a game in the comments!

@Meikahidenori

Yeah, I realise I might have more fun with the whole relase. But I also might not. It's hard to tell with a demo like this.
My favourite demos are the ones where you think 'let's see if I like this...', then you enjoy it so much you have to buy the game immediately to play more.
This demo really plays down the charm of MH games, to the point where I have no idea if I'll enjoy it or not. I can't drop £50 on that.

I was pretty disappointed with the demo. It's been years since I've played a Monster Hunter game, but I played the heck out of my old PS2 copy and Monster Hunter Freedom 2.
I get that the demos are aimed more at hardcore players, and I'm all for shorter tutorials in a time where every game tutorial drones on and on, but to throw new and returning players in with nothing at all just seems unnecessary.

I played across a few classes for an hour or so before giving up when I couldn't work out how to eat. How embarrassing.

I've not really been interested in this game, but it has to be said the quality is nice.

I'd really like to see more variation in the appearance of the actual pokemon (like Spinda's spots, spiky-eared pichu etc) in the future, it makes pokemon seem more like real creatures to have that variation. The outfits and fun, but it does seem like pokemon are becoming more peopley I guess?

I'm so excited for these, I loved the DPPt games so much. I just have a sinking feeling they'll be closer to SWSH. They can't have had much time to develop them, so I'm expecting bare bones games with missing features and a half-arsed story about dimensions tacked on.

I'm really hoping we get a remake closer to HGSS and less like ORAS!

There's nothing wrong with this so long as they remember that children aren't stupid. I feel like a lot of recent games have been dumbed down slightly 'for kids'.
I remember being about 8 and having people treat me like a baby and thinking 'I must remember when I'm grown up not to talk to kids like that'.

I'm really really hoping for some good DPPT remakes... with the way the series has gone recently I don't have much hope.
I just want some really amazing, well thought-out games with a whole bunch of love put into them.

I'm always excited to see official merch ranges. Then always disappointed with the results. I feel like it's always the same few pikachu poses and a few default pokemon slapped over everything, there's never anything artistic or interesting about the designs.
A few of the uniqlo designs were pretty nice, but then those were fan designs. I guess whoever's in charge of pokemon licensing / design isn't really interested in what they're doing.

Meanwhile Pokemon Center designs are constantly teaming up with famuos design companies to create amazing ranges. I'd love to see more of that.

From the headline I was expecting a sort of faux English / Tracer style accent, but I'm actually pleasantly surprised. It's that sort of Tracey Beaker / Peppa Pig accent that I've never actually heard from a real person, but I kinda like it.
It sounds almost too young for the character model, but otherwise it's well done.

When playing the game I definitely imagined Gloria as having a more northern accent, maybe Scottish? But I may have been brainwashed by memes.

I was excited at first, then it began to wear off as launch approached and it seemed like the games would be very short and rail-roady.
In reality they were much more rail-roady than I expected.

The environments looked nice and there were some aspects I liked, but overall the games were disappointing. I find it way too easy to get the most powerful, shiny pokemon. The models are okay, but the animations make them look a little soul-less. The NPCs drag you around to the extent that it feels less like your adventure and more like you're a side character for Hop's adventure.
On top of that, I don't really like the direction pokemon designs are going in. So many of them evolve into men wearing clothes now. They feel less like species designs and more like character designs. It doesn't really feel like a living ecosystem anymore.

I did like some of the NPCs, although I'd have liked to have the choice of when to interact with them, rather than being forced into every interaction. The music was pretty good. There were a lot of quality of life improvements I found helpful and I loved the inclusion of curry.

Overall I'd give it a 5/10. It was very okay, but this was my favourite franchise and I was expecting more love and care to have gone into it. (for such a cashcow, a HGSS level of love shouldn't break the bank)

@Ghostchip @Abeedo
I know you guys are trying to have a fight up in here but thanks for that dekudeals link, I'd never seen that before.
I guess it's different for different areas, but for me in the UK it shows that the price went from £18 to £12 just a few months back.

I still don't know if I'll get the Pokemon DLC, I was pretty excited at first but reviews for the last area seemed pretty mixed. If it goes down in price though I'll definitely consider it.

My favourites are probably Platinum and Soulsilver.
I'll always have a soft spot for blue and silverm but I know that's mostly nostalgia.

As someone who's worked in the games industry for years, this is badly needed. Buyers want higher and higher quality games for the same price and investors want those games to have low development times.
I've been through so many terrible crunches, I'm sure it's damaged my health at this point.

On the other hand, as a consumer, I'd want to see this figure justified by the quality of the game. For example, I would have paid $70 for AC: New Horizons, but I wouldn't have paid $70 for Sword/Shield.
At a higher price point, I'd want to buy fewer games of higher quality than I do now.

I'd also want to see that extra $10 going into extending development times and stopping crunch 'culture', rather than going straight into Bobby Kotick's bonus, which is what I expect will happen with Activision.

I think I'm gonna wait this time around. Sword and Shield were pretty games, but they weren't really enjoyable to play until after the storyline had ended (what with being led by the hand between every destination and every battle being so easy).
I was excited for the DLC at first, but given that it's just more storyline, I'll wait and see what the consensus is before actually purchasing it.

Meanwhile, I thought New Horizons would be a 5 minute distraction, but I've played it pretty much every day since launch. The value for money and attention to detail are phenomenal. (not to mention the free DLC shortly after launch).

I played the iOS Nexomon last year and was really pleasantly surprised. The dialogue is really well put together, the story was good. The monsters are a little over designed but at least they aren't all people-shaped and wearing clothes like pokemon lately.