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Pokemon LGPE first impressions

Ducolamia

SAYYYY WHAT???
Not seeing the "it's not as easy as you think" message people are saying. I'm purposely keeping myself under leveled and catching the minimum amount of Pokémon and it's easier than I thought. I'm at Cinnabar and I haven't had a Pokémon knock me to below half health yet.

Dude, I thought I was overleveled in this game and it still kicked my ass. I haven't died but I've fainted a couple of times. How OP are you? My Pokemon we're a few levels over the gym leader and still had some KOs and this is coming from the person who decided to catch every Pokemon and grind as much as I could. My moveset isn't even bad either as well as my team make up.
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
Dude, I thought I was overleveled in this game and it still kicked my ass. I haven't died but I've fainted a couple of times. How OP are you? My Pokemon we're a few levels over the gym leader and still had some KOs and this is coming from the person who decided to catch every Pokemon and grind as much as I could. My moveset isn't even bad either as well as my team make up.
*shrug* Idk. I was expecting for the game to throw a curve ball and curbstomp me but it's yet to happen. I'm not using anything overpowered or relying on items either
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
*shrug* Idk. I was expecting for the game to throw a curve ball and curbstomp me but it's yet to happen. I'm not using anything overpowered or relying on items either

Are you catching a lot of pokemon?

Also, for the record, Pikachu/Eevee itself is extremely overpowered, so removing it from your party would be best if you don't want the game to be easy.
 

Zhydra

Master of Chaos!
Are you catching a lot of pokemon?

Also, for the record, Pikachu/Eevee itself is extremely overpowered, so removing it from your party would be best if you don't want the game to be easy.

Eevee more than Pikachu for that matter.

I get compensating for the two not evolving, but Eevee's exclusive move pool is just nuts. (Baddy Bad... is pretty strong and sets up a reflect.) I'm still going to use the starter, but I am going to make someone else the central star when I get the chance. For that challenge purpose, not having your main team in your party while you do the catching is ideal so you can keep your leveling at a low while you fill the Dex. I also heard the E.V training in this game is exactly like Gen 2 in that there isn't a limit... so that is a way to go crazy.
 

GAK Attack

Member
More impressions...

I bought the PokeBall Plus this afternoon and started it using it. It's interesting. It's much easier for catching Pokemon, but the controls functionality makes anything else a struggle at times. I wish there was a way to set it so I'm using the regular joy-con for everything and then auto-switch over to the PokeBall when I am in capture mode. Seems like that wouldn't be difficult to put in and manage. I'm getting the hang of using the PokeBall in the overworld and in battles though, and it's definitely worth buying imo (plus... Mew <3 ).

Just walked into Celadon, so still at 3 badges. Holy crap there's a TON that happens after Vermillion's Gym battle before you even get to next town's gym. Diglett Tunnel, route pre-Rock Tunnel, Rock Tunnel that goes on FOREVER, Lavender Town (which I spent way too much time in before I realized I wasn't supposed to find a way past the ghost right now), and the route/tunnel before Celadon. I love it.

I did a 20+ combo grind of Growlithe and that got my entire team leveled up enough to take on the next several gyms when I get to them, which of course they'll level up even more before I get to them. Definitely not hard to grind/train in this game, which is so nice. Never saw anything rare/interesting with my combo chain though, unfortunately.
 

UltimateNinja

Praying for the holy relics
So I almost made it to the fifth gym and here's my first impression (contain minor spoiler, nothing story relevant):

Gotta say I am suprised. I was a bit sceptical about these games, but they managed to entertain me quite a long time despite there not being wild Pokemon battles. Talking about them, let's cover that first.

I was and still am disliking that you can't battle Pokemon. That's just a stupid way to force players to catch every single of them to decently level up, because that's actually the fastest way to do so (yeah...my own Pokemon gain more experience in doing nothing than actually battling some Pokemon *facepalm*). Not only is it absolutely illogical, because weakening the Pokemon with your own was one important aspect of catching Pokemon.
Now I need to catch Pokemon I don't want to use only to get the EXP out from them and to unnecessary fill some space in that one PC box (which I also have to talk about later), only to get released immidiately after I catched that one Pokemon. Game Freak tried to bring the Go catching experience to the mainline games, but in Go you actually get those Pokemon specific Pokemon candies after sending your catched Pokemon to the professor. But here the only benefit from catching Pokemon is to level up your Pokemon you could do by simply DEFEATING the wild Pokemon in past games and for those stat boost candies which are also not a good way of leveling, since you can overpower Pokemon with them in a way the Pokemon gets absolutely broken. And that leads to one of my main problems of the games. Leveling up is too tedious.

The leveling system is also flawed. Why there was no on/off switch for the whole party getting experience? All of them getting experience even Pokemon you don't want to because there isn't also an function to store your catched Pokemon to the box despite there being room in your party and you always having Pokemon in your party you don't care for if you not have six static team members you actually want to train, is also tedious.

Outside of the catching and experience point system, there are also some flaws in the actual game design. Abilities are gone, as well as more than 650 Pokemon from Gen 2-7. TM's are now limited to 60. which can also be criticized since that's only about the half of amount from newer gens. Also despite many Pokemon getting new moves they can get per level up (prime example is Beedrill learning now Outrage), many of them also lost a significant amount of them. Also something I can't understand.

Another minor flaw would be that 90% of the trainer only use a single Pokemon. I recently played Pokemon Blue and the trainer there used way more than only one.

Day/Night cycles are once again gone. The first time since Emerald (We're never gonna see a Kanto focused game with night time...).

Online-Multiplayer is a freaking joke. Trainer battles and trades with friends are possible locally or via the internet. Only friends! You can't do that with some randoms and that's weak. Especially now with Switch online where you have to pay for it. Wonder trades are gone, as well as the GTS. Even if there are only 152 available, that's still something I have to criticize. So as of now, if you don't have any friends playing these games, you can't do anything, not even evolving Haunter, Graveler etc. where in older games you could easily do with the GTS and two cartridges.

Now for some positive things:

Graphic wise these games are neat. There's still a ton of improvment and these games aren't exactly looking like a Pokemon game for the next gen HD console coming from a low resolution hardware as strong as the Game Cube. But I like the direction, especially the move animations and the HD pokemon 3D polygon models, which are more colourful and crisp looking than in the 3DS versions. The camera angle in those games which are about the height as the player character makes it also feel more realistic, not talking about the proportions of some Pokemon now being right (Onyx being three times bigger than the player instead of being as big as the player in the 3DS). Water could've been a bit better, as well as some shadings.

Sound is good. Every sounds as it should be. The soundtrack is godlike. Soooooooooooooooooo much better than FR/LG and it made me appreciate the Kanto OST more than I thought would. Pikachu now saying it's name (voice actor) just as it was in Yellow as well as Eevee having was cute and it sounds great.

Another plus: The teams of the gym leaders. In Yellow they were awful. Now the gym leader have even better teams than in Red and Blue and the first remakes. Brock was a bit better than in Yellow but a bit worse than in RB, Misty having not Staryu as her first Pokemon but another one is great (her team is two levels worse, but they both have superior movesets which makes the battle overall more difficult IMO), Lt. Surge ditching his one PIkachu for another new one he never used and his team being immsenly stronger leveled than Red and Blue and having more than only one Pokemon like in Yellow makes this team his best one he ever got in Kanto games and Erika's Vileplume is much higher leveled than in RB and Gloom not being her signature Pokemon. Thanks to the crappy EXP system I was never overleveled against the gym leader like I was in the past three generations, even with some extra training I took between gyms. I felt like Let's go Pikachu and Eevee finally got some difficulty back (or I couldn't understand how the exp gaining system works).

Pokemon appearing on the world is also great. For gen 8 however, I would minimize them a bit and mix them up with the classic way so nobody just could walk through the whole region without running into one.
Less Pokemon appearing on the overworld, Pokemon appearing not as often as in previous games in the usual way. That's what I would go for.

Character you wouldn't expect are appearing at some spots. And without spoiling, I won't say anything more about them.

Story is slightly enhanced and that in a good way. More events happening, some cutscenes really look really fine and it feels like there's more stuff going on.

---

That's it for now. I've already seem hate for these games and even if I can understand the critic towards some of the bad points of the game, I can't understand why people are giving LGPE some 4.7 up to 5.1 ratings. They tried something new this time, and while those new things aren't exactly some good things, the rest of the games which remained the same are still fun. I may feel the same way about the games, since the catching and leveling system is what somehow destroyed the games for me a bit. But that's no reason for me to rate it that badly. My opinion may change when I am done with the game, but I've already learned enough about the game mechanics and all I can say is that it isn't nearly that bad.
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
Also, for anyone wondering about ease, there is a lot of freedom in this game.

The entire region opens up fairly quickly. You can technically travel to every city in the game before getting your third badge. None of the Secret Techniques are bound to badges like HMs were, so the moment you get one, you're good to go. Of course, every story mission is fixed in its leveling, as they are designed to be done in a certain order, much like the Divine Beasts in Breath of the Wild. However, the third badge will place your level cap at 40, so if you want complete freedom to explore the region, get that badge first, and then you're good to go.

I did a lot of traveling just so I could have my Ice team before taking on the fourth gym. Hell, I did a lot of traveling just so I could have Alolan Ninetales before taking on the third gym.
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
Are you catching a lot of pokemon?

Also, for the record, Pikachu/Eevee itself is extremely overpowered, so removing it from your party would be best if you don't want the game to be easy.
No I'm catching the bare minimum for rewards like the traditional Kanto starters. I've already deposited partner Pikachu for a regular Pikachu in the beginning to make it more "regular"
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
No I'm catching the bare minimum for rewards like the traditional Kanto starters. I've already deposited partner Pikachu for a regular Pikachu in the beginning to make it more "regular"

Then I don't know what to tell ya', man. Sorry.


Another minor flaw would be that 90% of the trainer only use a single Pokemon. I recently played Pokemon Blue and the trainer there used way more than only one.

I actually quite enjoyed that.

One of my least favorite things about all Pokémon games is being continuously stopped by some random pompous trainer who thinks they're going to win and I already know they won't. Limiting the NPC trainer teams to one or two 'mons made it easier for me to get around.

That's it for now. I've already seem hate for these games and even if I can understand the critic towards some of the bad points of the game, I can't understand why people are giving LGPE some 4.7 up to 5.1 ratings. They tried something new this time, and while those new things aren't exactly some good things, the rest of the games which remained the same are still fun. I may feel the same way about the games, since the catching and leveling system is what somehow destroyed the games for me a bit. But that's no reason for me to rate it that badly. My opinion may change when I am done with the game, but I've already learned enough about the game mechanics and all I can say is that it isn't nearly that bad.

Most of your criticisms can be explained with just one note of information: The game was designed for children.

This is why most of the changes don't bother me. I know they weren't meant for me, so whenever I'm about to go "wtf...?", I stop and remind myself who this game was made for. Knowing the gameplay and mechanics were designed with a younger audience in mind allows me to accept the game as it is and enjoy myself. Honestly, I think if people simply did that one thing, accept that the game was made for kids, they would enjoy themselves a lot more.

Truly, older players complaining about Let's GO being too easy/simple would be like a parent complaining that Mortal Kombat has too much blood (and they actually did that).
 
D

Deleted member 384931

Guest
Are you catching a lot of pokemon?

Also, for the record, Pikachu/Eevee itself is extremely overpowered, so removing it from your party would be best if you don't want the game to be easy.
It is too OP
 

oshawott7

cat burgler
As expected, I'm really enjoying these games. They're not nearly as easy as I thought they would be, multiple of my Pokemon have fainted numerous times. Maybe it's because my team is not balanced whatsoever but it's refreshing to have sort of a challenge.

My biggest complaint would have to be the catch rate. It's absurdly hard to catch Pokemon, and I'm not talking about aiming at them, I'm talking about getting 10 Excellent throws on a Farfetch'd with an Ultra Ball and it still won't go in. It's very upsetting to me that this aspect that could be really fun is nothing but annoying most of the time. I'm also constantly running out of berries and balls because it's so hard to catch everything! Even a Pidgey with a green ring and an Ultra Ball seems to have a high chance of not being caught. If it was more like GO, I would have a blast catching as many Pokemon as possible.
 

VoltTacklingPika

Well-Known Member
I got my fourth badge recently. Seems like a good time to share some impressions.

What I like so far:
  • They clearly put a lot of effort toward giving the starters personality. Eevee is already adorable, but now it has several different mannerisms that make it feel more alive than it ever has been. I was surprised when I went into the play mode and was handed a gift, and I hear from others that you can catch them playing pranks on you. It feels like a natural step-up from the care mode from Sun and Moon, and I'd love to see this feature adapted for all the Pokemon for Gen 8.
  • While the layout of Kanto is the same as ever, the graphical overhaul, the vivid colours and the arranged soundtrack breath new life into the region.
  • Wild encounters, or the lack of them I suppose. While this has its cons (as I'll explain later), I do like that I can walk through Mt. Moon without being assaulted by Zubat, and I eagerly await travelling the seas without being interrupted by Tentacool every 10 seconds. The ability to avoid undesired encounters is a boon. While some of the surprise element is gone, it's not gone completely, as Pokemon still pop-in on the map. I was still surprised to find Chansey in Mt. Moon and Kangaskhan in Rock Tunnel, for example. Random encounters in the olders games would always eventually feel like interruptions rather than opportunities, so I'm pleased that I can get on with the game if I want to.
  • Coach Trainers and Ace Trainers can put up a decent fight. I also like how Gamblers (note: not Gamers) have high level Pokemon and only use OHKO moves. That adds some more variety to the trainer battles and is something I hope they do more of in Gen 8.
  • The outfits for the player character and his partner Pokemon are cute, though I wish the PC had more options available to him/her outside of the sets you're given.
  • Presentation-wise, the fact the game can transition smoothly from gameplay to cutscene is a big improvement on Sun and Moon.
  • Ride Pokemon. While limited to certain types of Pokemon (which makes sense), it's a feature that's been requested for a long time and is a natural inclusion in a game like this. I have an Arcanine in my team that I literally only keep around for transport.
  • Having the Pokemon Box on the go was a smart move, given how much you need to use it. I'd love it even more if it was its own option in the menu instead of being in the bag (it's only one extra button press, but an unnecessary one all the same). The ability to manage my team and reserves on the go is super convenient and something that needs to stay.
  • The game doesn't hold your hand as much as I first feared. When I saw that you needed a grass or water type to even challenge Brock, I worried that every gym was going to be like that, but that proved unfounded. Misty's gym requires you have to a level 15 or higher Pokemon, but that's arbitrary; chances are you'll already have one by default and wouldn't challenge her anyway if you didn't. Lt. Surge's gym had no such requirements, while Erika's only needed you to have a "cute" Pokemon. Apart from that, the game lets you get on with it at your own pace. It directs you where to go for the story, but the map feels surprisingly open once you get the Secret Powers, since they're no longer tied to certain badges.

What I don't like so far:
  • The motion controls are inconsistent, to put it mildly. I've lost count of the number of times I've moved the Joycon straight down, only to see the ball veer off to the side. The lack of precision really shows when you try to capture moving Pokemon. That's when it starts feeling like a lucky dip. The ball could go in the direction I sent in, but it's more likely going to miss completely.
  • The capture mechanics are a mixed bag. As mentioned before, capturing can feel arbitrarily difficult at times. The new system suffers from a lack of feedback to the player on WHY the capture has failed. When you had to battle a Pokemon, you knew that if a capture failed, you had to either reduce it's HP more, inflict a status or use a different ball. If all that failed, then you knew the Pokemon was just hard to catch, and that lends a sense of reward when you do catch it. Now, though, if a capture fails there's not a lot you can do to improve your chances other than to use berries. But even then, the Pokemon can still break free several times (usually on the third wobble). Nor does landing an "Excellent" catch seem to make much difference. This makes a core component of the game feel more of a chore than it needed to be.
  • On a related note, I dislike that I have to catch multiple of the same Pokemon to grind EXP. Yes, you can trade the spares for candy, but that has the unfortunate effect of making the Pokemon feel utterly disposable, which surely goes against the game's core message. Most players would only ever catch one of each Pokemon, pick the ones they liked and roll with that team, and that was always consistent with the message these games like to preach (that we share a special bond with our team and work together to overcome challenges). Moreover, your Pokemon now gain EXP without participating in battles or even appearing on screen, which doesn't make much sense. It's convenient, I guess, but removes that sense of "training". There are pros to removing random battles, but this is undoubtedly the biggest drawback for me.
  • The starters are OP. In fact, this game's difficulty hinges on whether you use Pikachu/Eevee or not. On one hand, I expected that they'd be boosted so they can be usable throughout the game. On the other hand, I didn't expect them to have boosted stats, perfect IVs and access to exclusive moves that trivialise the game. By the third badge, my Eevee knew Bouncy Bubble, Buzzy Buzz, Sizzly Slide and Dig - that's three's 90 power moves and one 80 power move - and could trounce anyone it came across. It could cover 10 different types, most of which are common early game. This was before I discovered the even more ridiculous Dark/Psychic moves. There's compensating for the fact Eevee can't evolve, and then there's making it so strong you wouldn't want to evolve it anyway. And here's the thing: while I could just not use it, I want to be able to use my starter. I shouldn't be forced into a choice of using it or not if I want more challenge.
  • The removal of abilities. I just don't understand it. If the goal was to make the battling easier to understand, then why did they leave in natures and IVs? All they've accomplished is stripping a layer out of the game for seemingly little reward. Abilities aren't hard to understand. They make the Pokemon more unique and add a little more complexity to the battle system. While the battle system functions fine without them, it's just not the same. We've had this feature since Gen 3 - that's nearly 15 years ago! A new generation of fans has learned and handled them just fine, so this idea that they're somehow too complex for casual/new players to grasp is really misguided.
 

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
I just looked at how tall the huge size variations of Pokémon could be and I’m impressed by Alolan Exeggcutor. It is now officially the tallest Pokémon you can get beating Wailord by almost three feet!
 

Muffin Man

Well-Known Member
Since you can access your box at all times, I wonder if a good way to up the difficulty would be to just raise a bigger team. Like, constantly switch out between a team of 15-20 of your favorites.
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
And that never excuses poor game design. The critical movie community agrees the same for their medium so...

Also isn’t Pokémon always designed for children primarily hmm

"Poor game design" is incredibly subjective (or to be honest, a lie) in this case.

None of your complaints actually denote objective flaws in the game, but merely things you don't like. Just because you're not satisfied with the end result, doesn't mean the game was poorly made.

As for your question, no. Pokémon games have always been made with kids in the peripheral - keeping an E rating means less legal problems and more sales across the board - but the actual fanbase has always been the target, regardless of age. Let's GO marks the first time a main series Pokémon game was designed specifically for children.
 

Phillies

Well-Known Member
Since you can access your box at all times, I wonder if a good way to up the difficulty would be to just raise a bigger team. Like, constantly switch out between a team of 15-20 of your favorites.

That's what I do. I raise them 5 levels and then switch out. It keeps the game challenging because by the end of the game you are about 5 - 10 levels below everyone else.
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
I'm pretty much done with the game save for a few Master Trainers and rematches.

Pros:
+Fantastic presentation
+Making the starter viable even if it meant making them overpowered
+
Changing the horrid rosters from the original games
+Inclusion of Alolan Forms
+The rival feels like an actual character
+The OST
+The Pokémon models look lively

Cons:
-Inclusion of Go capture method
-Gym requirements being unnecessarily tedious
-Stripped the game of Abilities and held items
-Lack of cross generation evolutions
-Laughable difficulty that makes XY look like a challenge
-Bare bones post game
-Terrible promotion
-Motion controls are extremely iffy

The game was, as I predicted, very mediocre. I'd put it above the first 2 generations but FRLG still feels like the definitive Kanto experience.

Overall rating: 5.5/10

Looking forward to Gen 8 because you can only get better from here!

PS: We should use this as a learning experience to stop trying to force people to see something your way. You know who you are :rolleyes:
 
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Zoruagible

Lover of underrated characters
I don't like how painfully easy it is, and people whined about SM and USM being too handholdy.....

There are some features I like however that I hope stick.
1. Catchable starters; They aren't legendary Pokemon! Just let us catch them in the wild. I'm sure everyone's that watched the anime has wanted this.
2. Pokemon following you and you seeing the wild Pokemon. It's such a time savoir, especially if gen 8 does that thing SM did where the actual new Pokemon have 5% chance of appearing.... I play the new games to use new Pokemon, not spend a hour searching for them! I can just breed and use Bank but that's doing things the easy way, I like using Pokemon that I catch myself!
3. Gym rematches! Praise the gods above, I thought this feature was dead after DPP! I hope this returns, I really really do. The Elite Four should NOT be the only way to get EXP postgame!

And I loved Leaf's portrayal. I hope we see her and Blue again, Red.... no, just stop.... him showing up is pure fanservice. He's a blank canvass and boring. Blue and Green are fun characters with actual personality.

**** list:
1. Motion controls; Ugh.....
2. Endgame. After XY's Looker Plot, Episode Delta, Ultra Beasts, and Team Rainbow Rocket it is quite depressing having a "What now?" feeling after you've won, I get it's to appeal towards the gen wunners but at least FRLG had the Sevii Isles :/
3. "You must own Pokemon with an advantage!" "Hey, here's a way to beat Brock and Misty without even trying!"
4. Not-Gary; Can gen 8 please give us a Silver/Hugh/Gladion character as the main rival?
5. No Espeon, Umbreon, Crobat, Steelix...... you get the idea

Overall, this is probably the least amount of fun I've had with a new game since XY. At least XY didn't limit your fun and you had access to all the available 700 Pokemon at the time barring the unreleased events
 

Pokemon Power

Well-Known Member
I know that most people here don't like the fact that Pokemon from later generations aren't in this. But I have a feeling that Nintendo and Game Freak are saving them for a future update to the game. I get it, they said they wouldn't do paid DLC, but they didn't say anything about free DLC.
 
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