Constructive criticism and dialogue is great. "I hate this game [before playing it]" is not constructive criticism.
One thing I wanted was new Mega Evolutions for some of my underrated favourites (eg Cacturne and Golduck) but we didn't get any new ones, getting Alolan forms instead. While they are an interesting concept they were executed poorly compared to what they could have done. Apart from being exclusively Kanto Pokemon, most of the Alolan forms we got are very disappointing with merely a new type or minimal changes to the original while the better one got completely new types and drastic redesigns. They could have done so much with them but missed the opportunity. Alolan Muk could have been made of lava and been a fire type which would have been really cool but instead all we got was a green one with stones and horrible colours mixed in and a disappointing type. Then there's the Ultra Beasts which I think are the dumbest idea so far and the designs for them are horrible and don't fit in with Pokemon at all IMO.
To be fair, most of these criticisms fall very far on the subjective side. We had some strong hints really early on that new Megas, especially for less popular species, weren't going to be a thing if they focused on the new mechanic that became Z-Moves. Alolan forms had a lot more potential, yes, but also consider that they have to balance redesigns of classic Pokemon with appealing to fans who have always been here and might object to what they perceive as revision of their favorite generation.
You mean to tell me that Pokémon, the game where tiny bushes block your way and can only be cut down using one particular move, is once again breaking the laws of logic and science?
Shocker.
I think he has a point though - don't you? When Pokemon breaks the laws of science or physics, it typically does so in a way that is easily, concisely explained and that doesn't shatter the concept of suspension of disbelief. If the fact that two normal forms breeding yields an Alolan variant isn't very well explained, it not only harms suspension of disbelief, but violates established in-universe precedent for exactly how to defy logic, you know? It's a relatively minor thing for most players, but he's right that it doesn't make sense.
But the thing is, people making the early criticism have not played the game yet.
Putting all of a game's "shortcomings" flat on a table like that will undoubtedly create some disappointments and disagreements amongst a fanbase. What I find unfair is that some people are already so quick at qualifying this game a failure without actually playing the game and living with the new mechanics to replace the old ones.
I don't mind the criticism, but like future.newyorker, I think it's a bit too early for that (at least the ones as harsh as 'I will skip this game') . People will likely get used to the changes and find ways to make the new mechanics convenient or work around the absence of previous ones.
I would tend to agree here. Whatever one's reaction to the things leakers and dataminers are saying, I don't think that skipping the game or concluding it's just bad is really the way to go before actually playing through and experiencing everything. Pokemon is made to be changed with every generation, and they haven't had a single dud game yet - I can't help but think that even in making these controversial decisions, they still put a lot of hard work into the games and thought about every action. Given that these are likely based on the XYORAS engine, removing some of these things had to be very intentional.
I'm not in favor of a few of the changes made, but I haven't seen anything that would make me think these won't be some of the best pokemon games yet. Then again things like extensive postgame or complex battle facilities (I never even did a lot in most of the Battle Frontier facilities) have never been that important to me, I look for fun gameplay, beautiful graphics, and additions/changes that improve various pokemon and battles in general. Sun and Moon seems to have a ton of that.
I also agree with this; not all the things here seem all that great to me, but a LOT of what we have with the story, designs, gameplay, characters, etc. seems wildly encouraging. They have everything I look for and more in the actual plot, so I'm excited - and since it looks like they're longer and tougher I'm double excited! The post-game doesn't seem bad at all, and the lack of a Battle Frontier style postgame challenge is just something we should probably get used to; since 2011 with Black and White, we've only gotten one battle facility per game, with the sole exception of also having the PWT in B2W2. That this one seems simple with a cameo gimmick actually doesn't seem that bad to me. I like the gimmick!
The game is very clearly rushed to release as XY and ORAS, but I think the latter takes much more place, with the whole alchemy theme and multiverse theme going out of proportion, and the whole speculation about UBs being/taking the form of humans thing.
I do want to nitpick a little bit here - I really don't think these games seem rushed. They've probably been in development longer than any other games we've had since Diamond and Pearl, since this is the first two-year gap we've had for the main series since then (besides Platinum, which is just their third version).
