@graysoncharles But... That's exactly what I said the emulator does?
The 3DS models are just high-poly models which were crunched down in real time. Their pixelated textures is the result of purposely swapping them for the weaker 3DS's hardware. Outside the 3DS - the models have nice and smooth textures*.
*Edit: exluding Pokedex 3D. These feel like the most hi-poly -uncrunched- models you could get, with the greatest textures so far shown in any game (unless Let's GO improved the textures further).
@graysoncharles They are pretty hi-poly though (SD and HD doesn't matter that much, it's the engine and processing power that's important, not the screen resolution). I think they are great for HD games (I'd say they look as "same-ish" as Digimon models in the Next Order). Have you seen them on higher settings on an emulator? Search for it on YT (talking about emulation is often redacted here).
I would think that it's the opposite - they had to tone down the models for the other games, especially for 3DS. And this is what happens on 3DS actually - low-res textures etc. Their assets are great for what they are being made - using them in all upcoming titles.
@graysoncharles "The Let's Go games are a prime example of blatantly reusing models from the 3ds games..."
There is nothing wrong with reusing the assets if the assets are working great. But to the point.
The models you are refering to are models initially made for a Wii game (where they first appeared), actually. They were all made with reusing in mind though - that is their purpose - to be assets to be reused (that's A LOT of models after all!). The same models work just fine in fullest detail on 3DS (with hi-res textures), as well as on various mobile phones (Pokemon GO), and on Switch
So, I'm hearing the news, and I have been linked to this article so many times, that... Well, hello and welcome, I'm back to comment.
Let's sums things up.
Making games is really hard. And there are obviously deadlines as well. Balancing the meta game and competetive play is also hard, with ... well almost infinite numbers of combinations you can get with all the 'mons, their items, their forms etc (think about testing all of this!). I sure can understand that. And the fact that so many 'mons may become too much to handle on a single game someday. Yes, it's all true. As for me, I don't mind that much the pokemon cull. And they (TPC/GF) probably know what they are doing: old fans will buy the games anyway (twice), while the newcommers don't care about the previous mons that much. And the casual player doesn't have to be bothered with "catching 'em all". We may as well forget about the whole thing in the next few years, where it will become the new standard - who knows - it happens all the time. To the devs it looks like a path full of benefits! But let's see what GF's did in the retrospective:
1. To correct: GF doesn't make 3D pkmn models. Creatures does. In fact, GF has never done a 3D pkmn game up until XY. The first confirmed appearance of the modern models are in 2009 (until then they used N64 models too). By 2012 we are certain that they had all mons up to gen 5 done in 3D - fully animated. These models were used in Wii/mobile GO games too.
2. GF has never been that quite good at programming (coding) in their pkmn games (starting from their first pkmn games up to today's). Most probably they have a lot of legacy code to deal up with, and to patch up (ORAS & SuMo are excellent examples of culled graphics and shortcuts to make the games work). And now it... "leaks" I guess.
3. Yet, the poor performance of 6th & 7th gen may be explained if we assume these were simply... "ports" from an engine dedicated to Switch. Assuming that, they had to be cut down to fit the dated 3DS hardware. Then, why does the gen 8 look so bland? (I know, footage is not final, and I hope it will improve). If taking away mons makes the game to look and play better, then this isn't all clear now.
4. Balance issues was always handled by tiers, and bans. They know, from the very beginning of the series (Dratini with Dragon Rage in Petit Cup), that some mons may be overpowered. After the cull, people will find new powerful mons, which will dominate the meta - nothing will change. If anything, culling is only a begining (or just one step) of the solution of the problem (the 'mons need base states changes along with the availability of moves etc).
5. Long story short: these games are the same at their core base since 1997. Just easier, under different names, and where the same activities are called differently. The same old game, but with more sparkles sprinkled over it. It is rarely, very rarely as of a few past years, where something added to the games is either long-term influencing or holds up to the next generation. Fans are starting to noticing this now. ...Bad timing?
From a developer perspective: it looks like the core Pokemon games are victims of its own success. As if- the series doesn't know where to go. Doesn't know whom it should appeal to. It appears to be lost. The series doesn't want to take brave steps either (especially after the gen 5 backlash), and instead it serves us the same formula. Et cetera. You can't satisfy everyone. If you try to do that - you will end up with mediocrity at best. That's a hard issue to deal with.
6. Lack of communication (at least with the Western fans, dunno about Japan). Development of pkmn games is really secretive, and very little info comes up even after releasing the games. The fans are often clueless what's next (except, you know, getting the same game at its base). I think a dialogue would be better for anouncing an info like this, along with more transparency about what's happening behind the scenes. Less people would be shocked or suprised, and the could understand why a such decision has been made. In other words: a better PR would prevent most of the outrage.
In the end, it is not suprising to see a situation like this (the only suprise is that we are just seeing it now). I can understand the reasons behind the cull. The anouncement was delivered not very well though. And the fans can't see the gameplay improvements which supposedly happened thanks to the cull. That's the issue here. The trade-off is not visible. (Hopefully) yet. (Just in case: I wish GF the best and I hope for the franchise to stay strong).
@Meowpheel True. But not sure if more of 1-2-Switch style games are worth those 70-80 bucks. I can play plenty of these, without spending 2 hours to set up, on my DS & 3DS tbh. And heck, 1-2-Switch is already an overpiced hardware demo, no exuse. 40 bucks is what the sets should cost and there would be no controversies.
@Minch Nintendo stuff never gets cheaper in my country. The prices stays the same for several years, if you are lucky enough to find a Nintendo shelve in a store. Unless it's a 10yo second hand Barbie or other shovelware in a smaller gaming shop, that is.
Would buy to finally get those stickers, magnets and posters... You know these items Japan gets everytime with those games? Yeah, would be nice if the rest of the world had a chance to get them.
@HawkeyeWii If I recall correctly, you will need two DS/3DSes, and a copy of pokemon BW/B2W2 to transfer the pokes from gen IV to gen V. And then you can transfer them from gen V further using PokeBank.
@Desa If you enjoyed the game, then that's fine. Perhaps you focused on different things while you was plaing. For me, these games were medicore, to say the least, with various content cut out solely for the performance reasons. Not to mention other issues, which appeared during the gameplay, and the endgame & postgame... but I will stop here.
The thing is, if they didn't fix most, or at least some, of the stuff that hindered SuMo, then I can't see how USUM can be an improvement. Bonus content mentioned in the review doesn't sell me (unless it plays really really good) as the core seems to be stuck, and I would appreciate if the review was more insightful (while handling the spoilers carefuly, of course). For 10/10 game I would indeed expect that GF improved the gameplay over the originals. Perhaps even with Triple Battle return?
...Either way, I will experience the game this Friday.
@Desa
"If the game is enjoyable, playable, and has close to no performance issues (...), I don't see what the problem is."
SuMo had enourmous performance issues, actually. Hardly can call that "close to no".
Jerky camera is an issue of its own in these games... Mainly because they tried to compesate lack of the control of the camera. The game doesn't know if it's isometric, third person, top view or CB's boulder dash, and they let the camera fly around like crazy, and to cover the unrendered bits. That reminds me more of late 90's Playstation games than a 2016 release.
I sometimes get the preorders early. I mean, I don't think we have any official store here, or we didn't have, at least. But strictly keeping the release date has its bad side: getting the game few days late, while everyone is playing it around you. The shipping was simply set too late.
Aka - walking from city to city on the predefined path, and beating the heck out of the every trainer on the connecting routes v.2
Includes riding on Maintine (so you can travel slower), camera & gimmicks (so you won't notice the untouched issues the originals had), all legendary pokemon (otherwise you can't use them in competetive), and fanservice evil team bosses battles (for those who love fanfiction).
Exuse my sceptism. I'm getting the games, but I can't belive they are that good. I hope to be proven wrong, though.
Like someone stated in the comments, this sounds like a feature list. I can read that on the company's website.
I would like to know if they fixed the performance issues. After some really bad luck with 3DSes and customer service, we have to use old 3DS - and I heard that SuMo runs poorly on these. Also, if there are the same amount of cutscenes. And how large is the post game content - is it just on rail locations with Hoopa-like rings, or the content is indeed worthly to check out. That kinda stuff.
This movie makes me curious and I would like to watch it...
I wonder how it is, to go to a cinema and watch a pokemon movie. Haven't done that since 2000's because they stopped screening them entirely. I guess I will have to wait and scout till some kid channel kindly screen this in next few years... Or, I will just find the japanese version online - faster to get, and it comes without the dub, edits and cuts.
@GC-161 I remember there were groups of ppl sending their region exlusive stationeries. You could collect them... like stamps. It was a very enjoyful experience. And then it ended. Because Nintendo thought it's better to punish its whole userbase, rather than permaban those pervs. And after many, many years, we got a "replacement" loaded with microtransactions and DLC... And all this digital content you choose to buy... will have no use when they close the network anyway.
And now I'm interested. Hope the part with villains won't be just a quick fanservice, with the leaders served as cameos during the postgame, but will have an actually good reason behind all this stuff.
@sillygostly The saddest part of pokemon Z is that, that you got it as a pared down mini side plot in SuMo. Hence, I don't think Zygarde and Z version is relevant anymore.
@GoldenGamer88 Well, that's the limitation. The game can't handle the overworld AND the online at the same time.
Edit: that's the same reason they got rid of the stereoscopic 3D altogether. And tripple battles.
@GoldenGamer88 Yeah. Festival Plaza is most probably an effect of hardware limitation... Or rather not very well coded game... And unfortunately, it's like poor man's Join Avenue.
@Tsurii Sliding puzzle for example. And apparently those are popular enough to produce standalone mobile puzzle games as well.
Could throw teleport/moving panels here as well. And moving some horizontal poles/fans in the right position to create a path.
I prefer those than: go from point A to an already marked point B (located like two steps in front of you) and click the "A button" to fight a pokemon (instead of a trainer who would yeld more Exp btw).
And this "puzzle" was repeated like two or three times in few separated challenges. Meaning that they were basically the same things. Not to mention a trial that doesn't exist yet in SuMo (Mina anyone?).
@dimi If you think that Pokemon looks good on 3DS, then think again. For a game that was made to run on 3DS, it looks bland and runs bad. Meanwhile, you have MH and MH Stories - looking colorful, lively and (gasp!) the camera is controlable (no hiding the unrendered parts!). And all in stereoscopic 3D!
What's funnier, Digimon - not native 3DS title, got a port that looks almost as good as the original. And it has stereoscopic 3D. So, how comes that a game designed specificaly for 3DS can't compare to a third party port?
Also @marnelljm it's not foolish of them. Unless you wanted to pay for an unfinished & barebones broken engine, kinda like early access equivalent on Switch. I assure you, GF is already working on the new game, and I bet my head that they have been working on it at least for a year now.
I have a strange feeling that these wormholes will be just many on-rail tracks with a legendary poke at the end of it. Kinda like expanded Hoopa rings... So you can get your gen 7 legit competetive legendaries.
And all the bonus thingies - Mantine and photos - a distraction. Just like flying on Lati@s: nice lookin' but it's much faster to just use Fly.
This is pokemon, so obviously I already preordered these games but... Seeing how terribly GF manages the games I'm really cautious about of these Ultra expansion packs.
I don't have Switch, but even I would prefer new games on the system - enough already of low-res textures and barely keeping the framerate.
@Minel_UK If you have Pokebank you can use 1 system. If you don't want to pay the fee for the bank, use the game on another system and trade the 'mons in the old-fashioned way.
@Yorumi Don't forget few random and unecessary areas that most probably won't have any use in the plot... Except maybe that ultra space thingy, but I just see it as another Distortion World.
@H1B1Esquire
I'm not sure what did you mean about that GTS part. If you could rephrase...
If double battles lag so much, then I doubt tripple/rotation will reapear soon.
There won't new revolutionizing battle style. It's the same game as in 2016. And I think it is still pretty much the same engine as in 2013.
Before they even start to think of adding cool stuff, they need more computing power and perhaps new/tweaked engine first. Basically, a new generation.
@MrGawain I don't think you can call a friend someone who won't understand and tolerate your hobbies and interests. Regardless if they are gaming or non-gaming people.
It is pretty useles; restricted, censored, limited, and all the info and help can be searched quicker, even with 3DS browser. Also, only the choosen games have their boards... which means you are out of the luck if you have lower/older version of the game.
I'm only *slighty suprised they won't try implementing it (or something similar) on Switch (because Nintendo and easy censorship), but I guess it flopped enough so they just try to forget about it.
It was however one of the rare ways to actually save a screenshot from 3DS in a legit way...
Edit: What will happen with the platinum coins for weekly signin? Disabled?
@JaxonH Starting from DSi, none of DS/3DS support pressure sensibility. What you meant is resistive screen.
The only systems that actually detected amount of pressure were NDS and DS Lite (it was badly implemented, hence I don't think there was any game that actually supported it... except homebrew).
3DS only needs a single input - no matter how strong or light you touch the screen. Hence, the screen protector has no infulence whatsoever. And actually, drawing on my NDS works just fine with the screen protector as well. If you use the touchscreen a lot, the touchscreen will be thankful for the protection.
If you don't want to cover your screens, use those tiny sponge things. Or if you want it to be less pernament - a sheet of paper between the screens will work as well.
"it's true, but even in territories where both models were readily available (in the early days, at least) the XL has performed better."
Not sure how is in the more Nintendo supported countries, but XL was always easier to find around than the non XL. Finding any accesories for the standard size is almost impossible.
XL It sold better only because it had more exposure. People couldn't find the smaller version, or didn't know about it.
Gotta find and buy few N3DS before the price go up... Just to have some spare repair parts, I guess.
@thesilverbrick Some people actually use the system to work, not to play. That gives the system a different niche to occupy. Different than Switch, hence still valid.
Any words from Europe? I mean that's the best 3DS version out there.
@Kaboom You will have to buy expensive unit from Ebay, I guess. I actually had to replace the battery in mine, and this was the solution... the other one was sending it to another country. I was "lucky" that our other N3DS broke few months ago - it served as the battery giver.
PS. Just wait when they close the internet features, shop including. Good luck keeping those digital games.
On the article: I don't understand the appeal of steel boxes. Well, maybe if they were looking nice and detailed, making them a nice decoration (aka, not pokemon steel boxes). Slaping an art on a steel box doesn't move me. The item is largely waste of a shelf space. I got one and I regret that. But at least it came with a cheap toy. And 50 potions is a joke. The games are so easy now, that you don't even need any potion in your backpack most of the time. Pokeballs would be slighty better. A small artbook, a figure, some stickers, maybe a keychain... an actual manual? That would be better than some nonexistent useless digital stuff and a box... which is also useless.
People complaining about having not enough info about the "new" games...
Here, have a made up summary
*The gameplay will be the same: go to town to town and defeat gym leaders (or whatever they will call them), and finish the game by beating E4. The post game will contain another boring fetch quests done for Looker. And maybe a Battle Tower equivalent.
*The story will be the same: you are a fresh 10 or so yo trying to beat the Gym leaders while journeying on the islands. All the other events serve for decorative purposes (or to add more fetch quests to make the gameplay longer and to trick you to think that it isn't linear). They will also throw something about dimensions/multiverses/Ultra Beasts, maybe add more flying tentacle ppl to cover the fact that they have no plot.
*The structure of the game will be the same, with some minor graphical enhancement like some petals falling etc: the game will struggle at multi battles, online mode will remain in this plaza because the game can't handle having an overworld and online features at the same time, the textures will still look dated, and the greatly restricted linear gameplay will stay. Oh, and no camera movement - the game simply cannot render so much stuff at the given time. No 3D as well.
*They will enhance minor features which doesn't improve the gameplay, and people quicky forgot about them: pokemon photography, more stuff at Amie-thing, greater Poke Pelago (aka your usual waiting smartphone app will be now in beta version), more tutorials, more stiff -uncanny valley like - cutscenes.
*On the positive side, they may actually update the pokedex, so more new regional monsters will roam around. And since they decided to release GS on VC, perhaps 2nd gen will get Alola forms too (seriously, the higly advertised Alola forms were a let down).
Hey, it will be still better than getting your Pokemon Z's unfinished plot shoved into SuMo ;P
@DragonEleven The difference is that, Kyurem keeps design intact, only borrowing from Resh/Zekr parts.
Here, Lunala & Solgaleo are almost unchanged, just boosted with Necrozma's parts. I tend to support the teory that states they are Ultra Lunala/Ultra Solgaleo.
Japanese people don't mind broccoli, so I guess this isn't as strange for them. In fact, the regular pepper is what they hate as much as we hate broccoli, especially the green pepper.
Cultural differences.
Comments 604
Re: Review: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl - A Middling Pair Of Remakes
Oh my, I lived to this moment to see a bad score on a core Pokemon game. Nice.
Re: Soapbox: Why Sword And Shield's Pokémon Purge Will Benefit Everyone
@graysoncharles But... That's exactly what I said the emulator does?
The 3DS models are just high-poly models which were crunched down in real time. Their pixelated textures is the result of purposely swapping them for the weaker 3DS's hardware. Outside the 3DS - the models have nice and smooth textures*.
People already saw that Let's GO uses the same models as XY did. (And these are also used in the GO app) https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/8nbcfk/pok%C3%A9mon_lets_go_uses_3ds_games_pok%C3%A9mon_models/
These are already running on a "HD engine".
*Edit: exluding Pokedex 3D. These feel like the most hi-poly -uncrunched- models you could get, with the greatest textures so far shown in any game (unless Let's GO improved the textures further).
Re: Soapbox: Why Sword And Shield's Pokémon Purge Will Benefit Everyone
@graysoncharles They are pretty hi-poly though (SD and HD doesn't matter that much, it's the engine and processing power that's important, not the screen resolution). I think they are great for HD games (I'd say they look as "same-ish" as Digimon models in the Next Order). Have you seen them on higher settings on an emulator? Search for it on YT (talking about emulation is often redacted here).
I would think that it's the opposite - they had to tone down the models for the other games, especially for 3DS. And this is what happens on 3DS actually - low-res textures etc.
Their assets are great for what they are being made - using them in all upcoming titles.
Re: Soapbox: Why Sword And Shield's Pokémon Purge Will Benefit Everyone
@graysoncharles "The Let's Go games are a prime example of blatantly reusing models from the 3ds games..."
There is nothing wrong with reusing the assets if the assets are working great. But to the point.
The models you are refering to are models initially made for a Wii game (where they first appeared), actually. They were all made with reusing in mind though - that is their purpose - to be assets to be reused (that's A LOT of models after all!). The same models work just fine in fullest detail on 3DS (with hi-res textures), as well as on various mobile phones (Pokemon GO), and on Switch
Re: Soapbox: Why Sword And Shield's Pokémon Purge Will Benefit Everyone
So, I'm hearing the news, and I have been linked to this article so many times, that... Well, hello and welcome, I'm back to comment.
Let's sums things up.
Making games is really hard. And there are obviously deadlines as well. Balancing the meta game and competetive play is also hard, with ... well almost infinite numbers of combinations you can get with all the 'mons, their items, their forms etc (think about testing all of this!). I sure can understand that. And the fact that so many 'mons may become too much to handle on a single game someday. Yes, it's all true. As for me, I don't mind that much the pokemon cull. And they (TPC/GF) probably know what they are doing: old fans will buy the games anyway (twice), while the newcommers don't care about the previous mons that much. And the casual player doesn't have to be bothered with "catching 'em all". We may as well forget about the whole thing in the next few years, where it will become the new standard - who knows - it happens all the time. To the devs it looks like a path full of benefits! But let's see what GF's did in the retrospective:
1. To correct: GF doesn't make 3D pkmn models. Creatures does. In fact, GF has never done a 3D pkmn game up until XY. The first confirmed appearance of the modern models are in 2009 (until then they used N64 models too). By 2012 we are certain that they had all mons up to gen 5 done in 3D - fully animated. These models were used in Wii/mobile GO games too.
2. GF has never been that quite good at programming (coding) in their pkmn games (starting from their first pkmn games up to today's). Most probably they have a lot of legacy code to deal up with, and to patch up (ORAS & SuMo are excellent examples of culled graphics and shortcuts to make the games work). And now it... "leaks" I guess.
3. Yet, the poor performance of 6th & 7th gen may be explained if we assume these were simply... "ports" from an engine dedicated to Switch. Assuming that, they had to be cut down to fit the dated 3DS hardware. Then, why does the gen 8 look so bland? (I know, footage is not final, and I hope it will improve). If taking away mons makes the game to look and play better, then this isn't all clear now.
4. Balance issues was always handled by tiers, and bans. They know, from the very beginning of the series (Dratini with Dragon Rage in Petit Cup), that some mons may be overpowered. After the cull, people will find new powerful mons, which will dominate the meta - nothing will change. If anything, culling is only a begining (or just one step) of the solution of the problem (the 'mons need base states changes along with the availability of moves etc).
5. Long story short: these games are the same at their core base since 1997. Just easier, under different names, and where the same activities are called differently. The same old game, but with more sparkles sprinkled over it. It is rarely, very rarely as of a few past years, where something added to the games is either long-term influencing or holds up to the next generation. Fans are starting to noticing this now. ...Bad timing?
From a developer perspective: it looks like the core Pokemon games are victims of its own success. As if- the series doesn't know where to go. Doesn't know whom it should appeal to. It appears to be lost. The series doesn't want to take brave steps either (especially after the gen 5 backlash), and instead it serves us the same formula. Et cetera. You can't satisfy everyone. If you try to do that - you will end up with mediocrity at best. That's a hard issue to deal with.
6. Lack of communication (at least with the Western fans, dunno about Japan). Development of pkmn games is really secretive, and very little info comes up even after releasing the games. The fans are often clueless what's next (except, you know, getting the same game at its base). I think a dialogue would be better for anouncing an info like this, along with more transparency about what's happening behind the scenes. Less people would be shocked or suprised, and the could understand why a such decision has been made. In other words: a better PR would prevent most of the outrage.
In the end, it is not suprising to see a situation like this (the only suprise is that we are just seeing it now). I can understand the reasons behind the cull. The anouncement was delivered not very well though. And the fans can't see the gameplay improvements which supposedly happened thanks to the cull. That's the issue here. The trade-off is not visible. (Hopefully) yet. (Just in case: I wish GF the best and I hope for the franchise to stay strong).
Re: Hands On: The Future Of Gaming Is Cardboard, Thanks To Nintendo Labo
@Meowpheel True. But not sure if more of 1-2-Switch style games are worth those 70-80 bucks. I can play plenty of these, without spending 2 hours to set up, on my DS & 3DS tbh. And heck, 1-2-Switch is already an overpiced hardware demo, no exuse. 40 bucks is what the sets should cost and there would be no controversies.
Re: Hands On: The Future Of Gaming Is Cardboard, Thanks To Nintendo Labo
@Minch Nintendo stuff never gets cheaper in my country. The prices stays the same for several years, if you are lucky enough to find a Nintendo shelve in a store. Unless it's a 10yo second hand Barbie or other shovelware in a smaller gaming shop, that is.
Re: Pokémon Crystal Is Coming To 3DS Early Next Year
@Syntaxkita There's no Ampharos in Crystal. Therefore, Crystal can't be the best version
Re: Pokémon Crystal Is Coming To 3DS Early Next Year
Would buy to finally get those stickers, magnets and posters...
You know these items Japan gets everytime with those games?
Yeah, would be nice if the rest of the world had a chance to get them.
Region lock sucks.
Re: Naughty Hackers Have Homebrew Running On Switch Now
@cfgk24 Dunno mate. I like some homebrew games. Give'em a chance to develop some, this thing isn't only for pirating, you know.
Re: Review: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)
@HawkeyeWii If I recall correctly, you will need two DS/3DSes, and a copy of pokemon BW/B2W2 to transfer the pokes from gen IV to gen V. And then you can transfer them from gen V further using PokeBank.
Re: Review: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)
@Malpais Oh? And the game isn't a neverending tutorial, and a trial of hand-holding anymore?
(Edit: I think I may overdosed my salt here, oh boi)
Re: Review: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)
@Desa If you enjoyed the game, then that's fine. Perhaps you focused on different things while you was plaing. For me, these games were medicore, to say the least, with various content cut out solely for the performance reasons. Not to mention other issues, which appeared during the gameplay, and the endgame & postgame... but I will stop here.
The thing is, if they didn't fix most, or at least some, of the stuff that hindered SuMo, then I can't see how USUM can be an improvement. Bonus content mentioned in the review doesn't sell me (unless it plays really really good) as the core seems to be stuck, and I would appreciate if the review was more insightful (while handling the spoilers carefuly, of course). For 10/10 game I would indeed expect that GF improved the gameplay over the originals. Perhaps even with Triple Battle return?
...Either way, I will experience the game this Friday.
Re: Review: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)
@Desa
"If the game is enjoyable, playable, and has close to no performance issues (...), I don't see what the problem is."
SuMo had enourmous performance issues, actually. Hardly can call that "close to no".
Jerky camera is an issue of its own in these games... Mainly because they tried to compesate lack of the control of the camera. The game doesn't know if it's isometric, third person, top view or CB's boulder dash, and they let the camera fly around like crazy, and to cover the unrendered bits. That reminds me more of late 90's Playstation games than a 2016 release.
Re: Nintendo Of Europe Isn't Happy About Broken Street Dates
I sometimes get the preorders early. I mean, I don't think we have any official store here, or we didn't have, at least.
But strictly keeping the release date has its bad side: getting the game few days late, while everyone is playing it around you. The shipping was simply set too late.
Re: Review: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)
@Desa @leostacks Btw, SuMo also got 10/10, yet these games do have performance issues in battles.
Re: Review: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)
Aka - walking from city to city on the predefined path, and beating the heck out of the every trainer on the connecting routes v.2
Includes riding on Maintine (so you can travel slower), camera & gimmicks (so you won't notice the untouched issues the originals had), all legendary pokemon (otherwise you can't use them in competetive), and fanservice evil team bosses battles (for those who love fanfiction).
Exuse my sceptism. I'm getting the games, but I can't belive they are that good. I hope to be proven wrong, though.
Re: Review: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)
Like someone stated in the comments, this sounds like a feature list. I can read that on the company's website.
I would like to know if they fixed the performance issues. After some really bad luck with 3DSes and customer service, we have to use old 3DS - and I heard that SuMo runs poorly on these. Also, if there are the same amount of cutscenes. And how large is the post game content - is it just on rail locations with Hoopa-like rings, or the content is indeed worthly to check out. That kinda stuff.
Re: Movie Review: Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You!
@SM4SHshorts Thanks, yet the movie isn't available in my region.
Re: Movie Review: Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You!
This movie makes me curious and I would like to watch it...
I wonder how it is, to go to a cinema and watch a pokemon movie. Haven't done that since 2000's because they stopped screening them entirely.
I guess I will have to wait and scout till some kid channel kindly screen this in next few years... Or, I will just find the japanese version online - faster to get, and it comes without the dub, edits and cuts.
Re: Random: Say Goodbye To Miiverse With This Touching Tribute
@GC-161 I remember there were groups of ppl sending their region exlusive stationeries. You could collect them... like stamps. It was a very enjoyful experience.
And then it ended. Because Nintendo thought it's better to punish its whole userbase, rather than permaban those pervs. And after many, many years, we got a "replacement" loaded with microtransactions and DLC...
And all this digital content you choose to buy... will have no use when they close the network anyway.
Re: The Villainous Giovanni Returns In Pokémon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon
And now I'm interested. Hope the part with villains won't be just a quick fanservice, with the leaders served as cameos during the postgame, but will have an actually good reason behind all this stuff.
Re: Game Freak Says Its Younger Devs Have Created Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
@sillygostly The saddest part of pokemon Z is that, that you got it as a pared down mini side plot in SuMo. Hence, I don't think Zygarde and Z version is relevant anymore.
Re: Game Freak Says Its Younger Devs Have Created Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
@GoldenGamer88 Well, that's the limitation. The game can't handle the overworld AND the online at the same time.
Edit: that's the same reason they got rid of the stereoscopic 3D altogether. And tripple battles.
Re: Game Freak Says Its Younger Devs Have Created Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
@GoldenGamer88 Yeah. Festival Plaza is most probably an effect of hardware limitation... Or rather not very well coded game... And unfortunately, it's like poor man's Join Avenue.
Re: Game Freak Says Its Younger Devs Have Created Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
@Tsurii Sliding puzzle for example. And apparently those are popular enough to produce standalone mobile puzzle games as well.
Could throw teleport/moving panels here as well. And moving some horizontal poles/fans in the right position to create a path.
I prefer those than: go from point A to an already marked point B (located like two steps in front of you) and click the "A button" to fight a pokemon (instead of a trainer who would yeld more Exp btw).
And this "puzzle" was repeated like two or three times in few separated challenges. Meaning that they were basically the same things. Not to mention a trial that doesn't exist yet in SuMo (Mina anyone?).
Re: Game Freak Says Its Younger Devs Have Created Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
@GoldenGamer88 Those challenges are just gyms but revamped with worse puzzles in them.
Re: Exclusive: Game Freak Explains Why We Should All Play Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
@dimi If you think that Pokemon looks good on 3DS, then think again. For a game that was made to run on 3DS, it looks bland and runs bad. Meanwhile, you have MH and MH Stories - looking colorful, lively and (gasp!) the camera is controlable (no hiding the unrendered parts!). And all in stereoscopic 3D!
What's funnier, Digimon - not native 3DS title, got a port that looks almost as good as the original. And it has stereoscopic 3D. So, how comes that a game designed specificaly for 3DS can't compare to a third party port?
Also @marnelljm it's not foolish of them. Unless you wanted to pay for an unfinished & barebones broken engine, kinda like early access equivalent on Switch. I assure you, GF is already working on the new game, and I bet my head that they have been working on it at least for a year now.
Re: Exclusive: Game Freak Explains Why We Should All Play Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
@Yorumi Well, there's one positive side of this: you aren't alone in your statement.
Re: Exclusive: Game Freak Explains Why We Should All Play Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
I have a strange feeling that these wormholes will be just many on-rail tracks with a legendary poke at the end of it. Kinda like expanded Hoopa rings... So you can get your gen 7 legit competetive legendaries.
And all the bonus thingies - Mantine and photos - a distraction. Just like flying on Lati@s: nice lookin' but it's much faster to just use Fly.
This is pokemon, so obviously I already preordered these games but... Seeing how terribly GF manages the games I'm really cautious about of these Ultra expansion packs.
I don't have Switch, but even I would prefer new games on the system - enough already of low-res textures and barely keeping the framerate.
Re: Video: Pokémon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon's New Trailer Features Outrageous Surfing, Dudes
@Minel_UK If you have Pokebank you can use 1 system. If you don't want to pay the fee for the bank, use the game on another system and trade the 'mons in the old-fashioned way.
Re: Here, Have A Generous Helping Of Pokémon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon News
@Yorumi Don't forget few random and unecessary areas that most probably won't have any use in the plot...
Except maybe that ultra space thingy, but I just see it as another Distortion World.
Re: Here, Have A Generous Helping Of Pokémon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon News
@H1B1Esquire
I'm not sure what did you mean about that GTS part. If you could rephrase...
If double battles lag so much, then I doubt tripple/rotation will reapear soon.
There won't new revolutionizing battle style. It's the same game as in 2016. And I think it is still pretty much the same engine as in 2013.
Before they even start to think of adding cool stuff, they need more computing power and perhaps new/tweaked engine first. Basically, a new generation.
Re: Here, Have A Generous Helping Of Pokémon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon News
@H1B1Esquire PSS & triple battles won't do in gen 7. Too resource heavy for the game (the game would turn unplayabe... unless you enjoy 5 fps).
Re: Here, Have A Generous Helping Of Pokémon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon News
Necrozma instead of Sol/Lun? Then I was proven wrong. Good.
Re: Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You Gets New Teaser, With Giveaways Also Confirmed
@AlexSora89 What's worse, Japan players could get every of these Pikachus
Re: Video: Catch Up With the Nintendo Switch Nindies Showcase and PAX West Trailers
Lots of things to watch, gotta save some time for that later.
Re: Clever Hack Brings Hyrule Warriors to the NES
I'm suprised there aren't any of those "hackers are child-stabbing clowns" comments on this article.
Re: The Plug Will Finally Be Pulled On Miiverse In November
@MrGawain I don't think you can call a friend someone who won't understand and tolerate your hobbies and interests. Regardless if they are gaming or non-gaming people.
Re: The Plug Will Finally Be Pulled On Miiverse In November
It is pretty useles; restricted, censored, limited, and all the info and help can be searched quicker, even with 3DS browser. Also, only the choosen games have their boards... which means you are out of the luck if you have lower/older version of the game.
I'm only *slighty suprised they won't try implementing it (or something similar) on Switch (because Nintendo and easy censorship), but I guess it flopped enough so they just try to forget about it.
It was however one of the rare ways to actually save a screenshot from 3DS in a legit way...
Edit: What will happen with the platinum coins for weekly signin? Disabled?
Re: Etrian Odyssey V Launch Edition Will Come With An Art Book And Music CD
Is Europe is confirmed?
Re: Editorial: In Praise of the Smaller New Nintendo 3DS - The Best 3DS*
@JaxonH Starting from DSi, none of DS/3DS support pressure sensibility. What you meant is resistive screen.
The only systems that actually detected amount of pressure were NDS and DS Lite (it was badly implemented, hence I don't think there was any game that actually supported it... except homebrew).
3DS only needs a single input - no matter how strong or light you touch the screen. Hence, the screen protector has no infulence whatsoever. And actually, drawing on my NDS works just fine with the screen protector as well. If you use the touchscreen a lot, the touchscreen will be thankful for the protection.
If you don't want to cover your screens, use those tiny sponge things. Or if you want it to be less pernament - a sheet of paper between the screens will work as well.
Re: Editorial: In Praise of the Smaller New Nintendo 3DS - The Best 3DS*
@JaxonH Hint: use screen protectors.
Re: The Smaller New Nintendo 3DS is Discontinued Globally - An Era Ends
"it's true, but even in territories where both models were readily available (in the early days, at least) the XL has performed better."
Not sure how is in the more Nintendo supported countries, but XL was always easier to find around than the non XL. Finding any accesories for the standard size is almost impossible.
XL It sold better only because it had more exposure. People couldn't find the smaller version, or didn't know about it.
Gotta find and buy few N3DS before the price go up... Just to have some spare repair parts, I guess.
Re: Nintendo Says the Japanese New 3DS Discontinuation Doesn’t Affect Nintendo of America Territories
@thesilverbrick Some people actually use the system to work, not to play.
That gives the system a different niche to occupy. Different than Switch, hence still valid.
Re: Nintendo Says the Japanese New 3DS Discontinuation Doesn’t Affect Nintendo of America Territories
Any words from Europe? I mean that's the best 3DS version out there.
@Kaboom You will have to buy expensive unit from Ebay, I guess. I actually had to replace the battery in mine, and this was the solution... the other one was sending it to another country. I was "lucky" that our other N3DS broke few months ago - it served as the battery giver.
PS. Just wait when they close the internet features, shop including. Good luck keeping those digital games.
Re: Video: Please Don't Get Too Excited About That Mysterious Pokemon "Teaser"
"Nanikaga okoru?"
Re: Nintendo Unveils Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Dual Pack and Fan Editions
On the article:
I don't understand the appeal of steel boxes. Well, maybe if they were looking nice and detailed, making them a nice decoration (aka, not pokemon steel boxes). Slaping an art on a steel box doesn't move me. The item is largely waste of a shelf space. I got one and I regret that. But at least it came with a cheap toy.
And 50 potions is a joke. The games are so easy now, that you don't even need any potion in your backpack most of the time. Pokeballs would be slighty better.
A small artbook, a figure, some stickers, maybe a keychain... an actual manual? That would be better than some nonexistent useless digital stuff and a box... which is also useless.
Re: Nintendo Unveils Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Dual Pack and Fan Editions
People complaining about having not enough info about the "new" games...
Here, have a made up summary
*The gameplay will be the same: go to town to town and defeat gym leaders (or whatever they will call them), and finish the game by beating E4. The post game will contain another boring fetch quests done for Looker. And maybe a Battle Tower equivalent.
*The story will be the same: you are a fresh 10 or so yo trying to beat the Gym leaders while journeying on the islands. All the other events serve for decorative purposes (or to add more fetch quests to make the gameplay longer and to trick you to think that it isn't linear). They will also throw something about dimensions/multiverses/Ultra Beasts, maybe add more flying tentacle ppl to cover the fact that they have no plot.
*The structure of the game will be the same, with some minor graphical enhancement like some petals falling etc: the game will struggle at multi battles, online mode will remain in this plaza because the game can't handle having an overworld and online features at the same time, the textures will still look dated, and the greatly restricted linear gameplay will stay. Oh, and no camera movement - the game simply cannot render so much stuff at the given time. No 3D as well.
*They will enhance minor features which doesn't improve the gameplay, and people quicky forgot about them: pokemon photography, more stuff at Amie-thing, greater Poke Pelago (aka your usual waiting smartphone app will be now in beta version), more tutorials, more stiff -uncanny valley like - cutscenes.
*On the positive side, they may actually update the pokedex, so more new regional monsters will roam around. And since they decided to release GS on VC, perhaps 2nd gen will get Alola forms too (seriously, the higly advertised Alola forms were a let down).
Hey, it will be still better than getting your Pokemon Z's unfinished plot shoved into SuMo ;P
@DragonEleven The difference is that, Kyurem keeps design intact, only borrowing from Resh/Zekr parts.
Here, Lunala & Solgaleo are almost unchanged, just boosted with Necrozma's parts. I tend to support the teory that states they are Ultra Lunala/Ultra Solgaleo.
Re: Random: McDonald's Japan Thinks You Might Like A Broccoli-Flavoured Pokémon McFlurry
Japanese people don't mind broccoli, so I guess this isn't as strange for them. In fact, the regular pepper is what they hate as much as we hate broccoli, especially the green pepper.
Cultural differences.