The NEW GAME Dilemma

[BAFielder]

Ok, so I think I have a problem. I've always known myself to be a perfectionist, but I have this problem with not just Pokemon but other videogames as well. I will consistantly start new games at the slightest provacation. My starter learned/didn't learn the wrong/right move, I lost a Gym battle I should of had in the bag thanks to Retaliate, I focus on a One PKMN run and get angry when I have to catch others to advance, I totally cheat out my save and get bored,ect. The List goes on and on!

When I think about the time I've sunk into this, I realize I could have bought every Pokemon game and FULLY completed them in the time wasted.

Anyone have a solution for what I'm classifying as a mental illness?

In all seriousness though, please help me...

[Trainer Matt]

I don't like to restart, I get a little too attached to those pixels following me around. I'd feel bad if I wiped the game away!

[sunshinesan]

Originally Posted by BAFielder

Ok, so I think I have a problem. I've always known myself to be a perfectionist, but I have this problem with not just Pokemon but other videogames as well. I will consistantly start new games at the slightest provacation. My starter learned/didn't learn the wrong/right move, I lost a Gym battle I should of had in the bag thanks to Retaliate, I focus on a One PKMN run and get angry when I have to catch others to advance, I totally cheat out my save and get bored,ect. The List goes on and on!

When I think about the time I've sunk into this, I realize I could have bought every Pokemon game and FULLY completed them in the time wasted.

Anyone have a solution for what I'm classifying as a mental illness?

In all seriousness though, please help me...

You should play Fire Emblem, it develops said mental illness.

[SnowpointQuincy]

I play a single game file for 500+ hours and then can't reset it. Even if I transfer all of the good pokemon to another game, I can't erase a file with that much time on it. Especially if the journey stared date was the date of release.

I have to buy both versions of the game (at different times) just to start a new adventure once in a while.

My White has 300+ hours, and I have finished 3 different games in Black.

[morrison]

I usually start after I get bored. So I have done all the gyms , and caught all the pokes, done all the side quests, and if I feel like playing it again, I reset it. No way I am going to reset it because of a move not learned(move tutor) or similar trivial things.Most I clocked on a game was my soul silver game where i had about 370 h. count 320 for pokeathlong alone lol. (I had 100 poke athlon champions)

I don't do save quits either , I feel that if I lost against someone , i still got exp out of it unless they whitewashed me, so why should i start again against the same guy with weaker pokemon than I have atm.

[PlatinumDude]

I restarted Diamond 4 times out of boredom, but now I don't restart my games anymore because I have a lot of breeding projects I want to keep in my old games that I don't want to get rid of.

[BAFielder]

Originally Posted by sunshinesan

You should play Fire Emblem, it develops said mental illness.

I think thats where I got it from.

[Hikari10]

I never restart the game, cos then I would lose all the Pokemon I was training hard.

[Syltti]

Pokemon White and White 2 will never be restarted. That's what Pokemon Black and Black 2 are for.

[MrTripStack]

I normally never restart my games, unless it's an older game and I was able to somehow transfer any valuable Pokémon/items to another game. I wouldn't wanna lose anything important, after all!

[Snork]

Simple, buy multiple games
For example, I bought Black finished it and got into breeding and EV training etc.
Bougth white version and I can just easily transfer pokemon from white to black if I wish to restard

[True Honey]

Whether or not I decided to restart a game usually depends on how far I have made it into the game or how many hours I have spent up to that point. Though since my first Pokemon game I've developed this habit where if I lose to a gym leader, elite four, trainer etc up until end game. I will reset the entire game and I have never failed to do this. It comes from a need for my game record to be perfect.

[Sydian]

This is why I buy all the games, and even have extra copies of some. I love playing through the games over and over, but I'm also a huge packrat. Solution? Have a storage game and a playthrough game that you can start over and over. I know not everyone has the funds to do that though (I always make sure I have the money though because I'm a freak lol) but it's a good solution I've found. I'm not a perfectionist though. I mean, I like to find all the items and do all the sidequests in Pokemon games, as well as battle all the trainers and not run from wild Pokemon, however I wouldn't go as far as to restart just because I lost a gym battle or something. Consider saving before major battles, I suppose. lol That's what my brother does.

[Yellow Silver Nostalgia]

The first time I got a Pokemon game, I didn't even consider starting a new game until about 2 years later. How I kept myself entertained, I have no idea (because I really didn't stop playing it in all that time).

I also named myself Ash and my rival Gary, not because I wanted to, but because I thought it was a quiz you had to pass before you started playing.

I also got lost in the majority of caves.

Now though, I get bored very easily, especially because I've used most of the Pokemon and most of the moves already. There's nothing new for me to discover. I typically get all the gym badges and then don't see much point trekking up victory road, because I've already built the team I want.

[Rainy Garden of Fire]

For me, I never ever restart a game, because...well, I've finished the game, so why bother and do it all over again? Except if I were to get another copy, that's a different thing.

[Autaven]

I only ever restart a game if I leave it for a really long time, like months, and when I pick it back up again I have no idea what I was doing/stage I was at. That is unless the game is completed and I'm just filling my National Dex.

Otherwise - I never restart a game! I get a bit too attached to the Pokemon.

[Valvatorez]

I restart Pokemon games in general whenever I feel like playing them again. Although before I do that I'll get everything I want to keep off of the file and onto another one. My copy of Diamond is my current fourth gen storage game, for example; if I want to restart Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver, all the Pokemon on there I want to keep go over to Diamond, then I reset it.

I've never restarted a Pokemon game midway through though, not unless I started it earlier and haven't picked it up for months and months. Choices aren't particularly hard to undo in Pokemon now: if it learns the wrong move, go see the Move Tutor or Move Deleter. If you don't evolve it, there's always the next level. I don't EV train, so that's not an issue for me either.

[chella182]

Originally Posted by Trainer Matt

I don't like to restart, I get a little too attached to those pixels following me around. I'd feel bad if I wiped the game away!

This is me. Even if my team's dreadful, I just can't bring myself to start a new game and delete the old data. The only time I've ever done it in the past was on Blue. And if you count ROMs, 'cause I don't seem to get as attached to the Pokémon on those.

[trapincher]

I've restarted my games repeatedly. It's mostly because I can't stand my character name. (lol) And restart the whole thing to change my name.

[BAFielder]

I'm happy with the responses that you all gave. It has helped me come up with more than a few solutions. Also, considering this was my first thread outside the newbie zone... I am very pleased with the turn out. I'll be thinking of another question that plagues me or pokemon, and we'll see your reactions and solutions to it.

[SNOR(es)LAX]

The only time I pressed start a new game is when I buy a new game.

[imevil]

I usually have a few games I never ever restart, but I like to restart a few with a totaly new team.

[glitchguy]

I really don't like to restart the games unless i really really screwed something up.

[Aeon]

I rarely start a new game. The only times I do is if I feel complete with the current save game I have and I don't care what I lose in the process.

[PiemanFiddy]

I know it sounds weird, but I like restarting fairly often every now and then.

I'll beat the game with a basic team, and restart with a completely different team. I usually switch around the Natures/Abilities and the movesets a bit.. as well as the types I use.

When I get down to my last playthrough, I tend to find EVERYTHING, max levels on my pokemon, and attempt to finish the National Dex. Of course i'm not at that point yet, since I'm in the process of doing a challenge run. These things come and go, and it's always nice to know if you could've done your playthrough differently.