Thoughts on the Upcoming Pokemon Switch Game?

[Kage-Pikachu]

Please add gym leader rematches! I wonder what the reward would be for helping the captain of the St. Anne and the reward for finding the Gold Teeth in the Safari Zone.

Maybe we'll see the birth of Team Rainbow Rocket!

 

[.Aerodactyl.]

For those worried about exclusives, that's where making a Pokémon Go account will probably come in handy. Pokémon go doesn't have version exclusives, and since you can Port the Pokémon over to Let's Go and Pokémon go is free to play, it makes it doable without having to buy a whole new system. Plus, if you get the pokeball accessory thing, it can catch Pokémon while you're walking like in Go, so you don't have to keep your phone out all day looking for an ekans. You can also evolve Pokémon without trading

Building on what PirateKing said, I do think there will be a few surprises for us. Now, I don't expect them to be like, the battle frontier or anything, but I think it will be more side-like features that will be surprisingly fun, since this game is more casualized (doesn't look like it has EV's, etc.) I think the Co-Op mode is going to be the real big thing, and the following/riding Pokemon is going to be sentimental for veterans. I mean, I remember back in the days as kids...

"Oh, is that Pokémon, can I play?"
"Well, not really, I mean it's one player..."
"Can I try yours?"
"Well, these are my Pokémon and I kinda raised them, I don't want someone else leveling them, and then like, I can't battle these gyms again and was looking forward to it... Why don't you just watch over my shoulder or get your own?"

MEANWHILE, LET'S GO-

"Is that Pokémon, can I play?"
*Throws second joy con*
"Sure, jump in."

It's going to be a really great feature I think, especially for people to play Pokemon with casuals. My husband is not a Pokémon fan and we don't play a lot of games together cause we have totally different styles. But this, this we could play together. A leak released on April 1st that's been pretty accurate so far said there's an online hub, and I could see some neat online features being integrated for battling and trading. I hope, since they have all 152 Pokémon animated with riding features for the big ones, that we might even see some mini games like pokeathlon in HGSS. Wouldn't it be neat if there was like, a racing game?

 

[Kage-Pikachu]

Hehe, dude I like that little scenario you made up and it's very true, I was the last person in my class to get Red and Blue so I could only watch! The kids in my neighborhood were all over me when I finally got it though and I had lots of help since the Internet was a rarity back then.

I hope there's mini games too, it'd be great. And that was a smart idea bringing up Pokemon Go as a sub for getting both games. That's thinking outside the box.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

No I get it has local wifi but it was said it will have online. That the game was mistranslated and will have online but not paid online via the Nintendo services.

That is the issue with the press conferences. Things get lost in translation. I've gone from seeing no online to it being a thing just not paid to no online again.

If it doesn't get answered from GF soon I'm literally going to wait in line at E3 just to ask

I'm hoping we can trade with friends at least.

For those worried about exclusives, that's where making a Pokémon Go account will probably come in handy. Pokémon go doesn't have version exclusives, and since you can Port the Pokémon over to Let's Go and Pokémon go is free to play, it makes it doable without having to buy a whole new system. Plus, if you get the pokeball accessory thing, it can catch Pokémon while you're walking like in Go, so you don't have to keep your phone out all day looking for an ekans. You can also evolve Pokémon without trading

Building on what PirateKing said, I do think there will be a few surprises for us. Now, I don't expect them to be like, the battle frontier or anything, but I think it will be more side-like features that will be surprisingly fun, since this game is more casualized (doesn't look like it has EV's, etc.) I think the Co-Op mode is going to be the real big thing, and the following/riding Pokemon is going to be sentimental for veterans. I mean, I remember back in the days as kids...

"Oh, is that Pokémon, can I play?"
"Well, not really, I mean it's one player..."
"Can I try yours?"
"Well, these are my Pokémon and I kinda raised them, I don't want someone else leveling them, and then like, I can't battle these gyms again and was looking forward to it... Why don't you just watch over my shoulder or get your own?"

MEANWHILE, LET'S GO-

"Is that Pokémon, can I play?"
*Throws second joy con*
"Sure, jump in."

It's going to be a really great feature I think, especially for people to play Pokemon with casuals. My husband is not a Pokémon fan and we don't play a lot of games together cause we have totally different styles. But this, this we could play together. A leak released on April 1st that's been pretty accurate so far said there's an online hub, and I could see some neat online features being integrated for battling and trading. I hope, since they have all 152 Pokémon animated with riding features for the big ones, that we might even see some mini games like pokeathlon in HGSS. Wouldn't it be neat if there was like, a racing game?

Unless certain Pokemon are region exclusive in Go. Then it's a no go there. As for walking, I wouldn't do that with a Switch. The extra is nice, but... it depends on the price. $30 maybe. More than that, then most likely a pass unless it's a good sale.

 

[BCVM22]

I'm hoping we can trade with friends at least.

There's simply no way there isn't some brand of wireless multiplayer - Masuda said as much. "Of course you can trade with your friends."

The enduring question is simply whether it's local wireless only, or online. We've gotten multiple answers both ways.

$30 maybe. More than that, then most likely a pass unless it's a good sale.

This is a full price game, not that there would have been any reason to expect differently.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

There's simply no way there isn't some brand of wireless multiplayer - Masuda said as much. "Of course you can trade with your friends."

The enduring question is simply whether it's local wireless only, or online. We've gotten multiple answers both ways.



This is a full price game, not that there would have been any reason to expect differently.

Exactly. And if it's just the former, I'd be screwed.

I was talking about Poke Ball Plus, not the games themselves.

 

[shoz999]

Just putting it out there... but who else thought of Wind Waker HD when they saw the huge and smooth graphical improvements and art-style for Pokemon Let's Go?

 

[.Aerodactyl.]

To be honest, I suspect most of us won't get this game and I don't really feel that it was made for me as the target audience. I think it will still have stuff I will enjoy, but I don't think it's made for me to get super competitive about it, with IV breeding, hidden abilities, etc. Like, it's designed to be casual. I feel like it's going to be a non-pressured game. I feel like the trading and even pokedex completion is actually going to be fairly simple. Yes, I know most of us don't have two switches to trade between, but this seems to be marketed as a simpler Pokémon, I can't imagine them making this overly exclusive and difficult.

I think there's reasons to consider it, and if you already have a switch and enjoy Pokémon games it's probaby worth it, but I don't think this is going to be a "buy a switch for it" game. I really wouldn't fault people for not enjoying the style or not being interested at all. Like, I was planning on getting a switch eventually anyway, but I don't feel the need to get this on launch day even if I am excited. It looks like a fun casual game I can co-op with the husband and sort of replay gen 1 on better graphics. It will be a great time filler until gen 8, and I also have Pokémon Quest to look forward to in June on mobile as a time filler to that. So I think it will surprise me, but I don't have like, my hopes and dreams pinned on it because it's not really a Pokemon game made for veterans and hard core players.

 

[Dragalge]

I’m OK with the graphics being basically HD SM/USUM but I still can’t stand the chibi models (the female PC less so than Red’s). I loved the models used in SM/USUM a lot and this seems like a step back imo. Better than XY’s but not by much. With that said, I do like the new female PC’s look more than Leaf’s. Always personally found her design a snoozefest.

Also hope there’s more to the co-op than making the battles more stupidly easy to beat. Just that and running around isn’t going to cut it imo lol

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

To be honest, I suspect most of us won't get this game and I don't really feel that it was made for me as the target audience. I think it will still have stuff I will enjoy, but I don't think it's made for me to get super competitive about it, with IV breeding, hidden abilities, etc. Like, it's designed to be casual. I feel like it's going to be a non-pressured game. I feel like the trading and even pokedex completion is actually going to be fairly simple. Yes, I know most of us don't have two switches to trade between, but this seems to be marketed as a simpler Pokémon, I can't imagine them making this overly exclusive and difficult.

I think there's reasons to consider it, and if you already have a switch and enjoy Pokémon games it's probaby worth it, but I don't think this is going to be a "buy a switch for it" game. I really wouldn't fault people for not enjoying the style or not being interested at all. Like, I was planning on getting a switch eventually anyway, but I don't feel the need to get this on launch day even if I am excited. It looks like a fun casual game I can co-op with the husband and sort of replay gen 1 on better graphics. It will be a great time filler until gen 8, and I also have Pokémon Quest to look forward to in June on mobile as a time filler to that. So I think it will surprise me, but I don't have like, my hopes and dreams pinned on it because it's not really a Pokemon game made for veterans and hard core players.

Well said.

Hoping to try to play it with a friend of mine who doesn't mind Pokemon but never really played it.

 

[Kage-Pikachu]

Anyone live in San Antonio, Texas who would like to meet up and play? (Public setting of course, lol, not trying to get killed, not that anyone of you would do that (looks left and right?))

 

[Sαpphire]

Well isn't this the surprise? Certainly not the direction that I think just about anyone was expecting.

And on that note, I quite like it and will be picking it up immediately upon release - actually, I'll be preordering it. For a long time now, I've been wondering what it might be like to strip things down - go back to Kanto, maybe even restrict species again. It's not necessarily something I specifically wanted but I'd been wondering, and I think this actually seems like a really good idea. By focusing on replicating the original experience, and then modernizing it a bit to keep in line with the pretty massive success of Pokemon Go, I think they're showing willingness to experiment, play with the formula. The more narrow scope of this game and its approach have me hopeful that they'll get me excited to play Pokemon again.

The confusion as to whether these are "main series" or "core" entries should say enough about them, really. I'm quite glad we're getting something at least a little bit outside the box, and something that looks brilliant at that. It almost looks like an upgraded Gen 6 visual style, actually - maybe it is? Anyway, I like that these aren't easy to classify and aren't clearly in one category or the other just yet. A truly new experience is always welcome.

I really, really like, though, that we're modernizing - visually, anyway - the oldest region. Kanto is significant, and holds a special place in the series, and that's going to be evident in this game's commercial success, if it's not already evident just because they're making it.

This is a good way to truly kick off the Switch era for the franchise, and I can't wait to play. Heck, I even downloaded Go again to get ready for this! I don't like the sentiment floating around that it's too different or not right in some way; it's not as if they're making the whole series this way, and we didn't expect anything this significant until next year - and they've already announced that a "normal" main series entry is coming next year anyway. Honestly, I just hope this game is fun, sells phenomenally well thanks to being related to Go, being more or less main series, and being focused on Kanto and the original 151, and I hope even more Let's Go titles result from that success if the game is good.

 

[BlackButterfree]

I’m OK with the graphics being basically HD SM/USUM but I still can’t stand the chibi models (the female PC less so than Red’s). I loved the models used in SM/USUM a lot and this seems like a step back imo. Better than XY’s but not by much. With that said, I do like the new female PC’s look more than Leaf’s. Always personally found her design a snoozefest.

Also hope there’s more to the co-op than making the battles more stupidly easy to beat. Just that and running around isn’t going to cut it imo lol

If you assume the male protag is a redesigned Red, why do you assume the female isn't simply a redesigned Leaf? They could've given her a ponytail and a new shirt. lol



Anyways, I just sat down for the past 90 minutes (wow) and took a good, hard look at the Kanto crop. Cross-Gen, Alolan, Mega and of course, the 151. All in all, about 230-240 individual Pokémon.

My results horrified me; Dark, Ghost, Steel, Ice, Fairy, Dragon and Fighting all have staggeringly low numbers (not counting forms or unevolved Pokémon, roughly 1-3 each), while Normal, Water and Poison dominate the pack.

 

[Kage-Pikachu]

Well it's been a long time since I've used Primeape so I'll be able to use some "obsolete" Pokemon for a bit (like Mr Mime and Jynx)

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

Please add gym leader rematches! I wonder what the reward would be for helping the captain of the St. Anne and the reward for finding the Gold Teeth in the Safari Zone.

Maybe we'll see the birth of Team Rainbow Rocket!

I doubt this game will have much of a connection to other gens lore-wise, but I could always be wrong.

I would definitely love to have gym leader rematches, though. I would love to rematch the gyms themselves.

 

[Sαpphire]

Here's a thought - what does everyone think as far as the difficulty of these games?

The Bug Catcher shown in the video, Cale, only has one Lv. 9 Venonat in whatever version of the game they're showcasing; in other generations, he's had a four-Pokemon team, composed of Weedle and Caterpie and their evolutions, at either Lv. 9 or Lv. 10. He's a little bit of a special case, though, in that he's a Nugget Bridge trainer. Do we think that the game is simply in an incomplete state and this is just for purposes of the video, or are we looking at a Kalos-like level of ease here?

Related, I really wonder what the Elite Four are going to be like this time around. They seem to have included everything from the S.S. Anne to Team Rocket to Mewtwo and the Unknown Dungeon, so I'm really hopeful we still have elements like Blue, the Elite Four, and more. I'd say hoping for the Sevii Islands is a stretch, but that too if they want!

 

[Mega Altaria]

Here's a thought - what does everyone think as far as the difficulty of these games?

I doubt these games will be very difficult on a consistent basis because of the target audience being kids. But otherwise I do expect slight increases in difficulty as the player progresses.

 

[Cerex]

So I've had some time to reflect on the game, and honestly I think once I came to terms that this isn't Gen 8 and just a Pokemon for the Switch it was much easier to like it. Even though it is a remake of a core game, I'm mentally grouping this game in with other games like Conquest, Ranger, Mystery Dungeon, and so forth: it is something different to do. I'm not even a competitive player, but the switch to the Go capture mechanic is really upsetting to me.

I do hope the Pokemon existing in the overworld is a feature that will stick around into the actual core game come 2019 though. As well as the ability to add genuine multiplayer.

The saddest part for me is that with the reversion back to just Gen 1, and for some reason the Alolan forms of those Pokemon, there are a lot of features introduced since then that will be absent from this game. Is Mega Evolution going to be in the game? I mean, that feature dramatically change usability of many Gen I Pokemon--I'm looking at you Beedrill. Also, what about the evolutions of Gen I Pokemon introduced subsequently after like Crobat, Rhyperior, Magmortar, etc.

It's easy for me to make sense of this from a purely economic decision, Gen I is the generation most consumers are familiar with, most people don't know Magmar gets an awesome evolution several years later and that Dragonite is not the only Dragon Pokemon in the game, so catering to that is easier. However, given that they have spent the subsequent 20 years building the game universe to lock it away and pretend the other 700+ Pokemon do not exist (at least at the time of launch) is really strange to me.

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

(see above)

I agree, and it is somewhat odd.

However, I am hoping the game follows the very smart decision of Pokémon GO and retain the Gen 2+ changes regarding types and moves. If Fairy type remains in Let's GO, the game won't be nearly as detached for me. If the game has post-Gen 1 moves, it will be far more appealing.

I mean, we all know the serious amount of flaws that exist in Gen 1. Game Freak cannot be putting those back in Let's GO.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I hope Pokemon Go isn’t a huge part of this game. I don’t have a smartphone and I don’t really need one. I’m not spending $200 on a phone that I’m not really going to use that much just for this game.