Is it just me, or are third versions kind of silly?

[Vulpes bicaudata]

The only third version I've ever bought is Yellow. To be honest, I'd rather the developers put more work into the paired versions than making a slightly-different version that makes you play through the same game again.

Thoughts?

 

[shookie]

It isn't always that they were just lazy and skipped over a bunch of stuff to get the games out onto the market RITE NAO. They also don't always make third games for the sake of more moola (though that's not a bad thing).

Yellow, for example, was created to resemble the anime. That's pretty obvious.

Crystal included new features like being able to choose the gender of your trainer, Pokémon sprite animations, the Battle Tower, and some other stuff. A lot of people complained that this wasn't enough to set it apart from G/S.

Emerald also brought back sprite animations. Magma and Aqua had a much bigger part in the storyline as well. New zones were added, there were attack/breeding changes, the Battle Frontier was updated, you could rebattle gym leaders, rare legendaries, contests, etc.

IMO Platinum is the best example of why exactly they make third games. D/P came out on a new system, something they were unfamiliar with when it came to making Pokémon games. In Diamond and Pearl the animations were very slow and choppy, which they fixed in Platinum. They changed small details within the storyline and gameplay with the introduction of Giratina. New Pokémon were added to the Sinnoh 'dex which changed how you built your team. Again, the Battle Frontier was updated, and they added more Wi-Fi compatibility than what was offered in Diamond and Pearl.

Really, the developers sort of go in blindfolded when releasing a new generation, especially if they're on systems that are new to them. They really don't know how the games will be received until they release them, and then they hear the feedback from customers and make adjustments accordingly. The Wi-Fi compatibility was a huge thing with the Nintendo DS, but in Diamond and Pearl the only feature with it was the GTS (besides trading). At the time that was a big deal but it's like...you can do so much more with it. So they allowed Wi-Fi through the Battle Frontier, poffin making, Wi-Fi clubs, sharing battle videos/Pokémon collections, and so on.

 

[Vulpes bicaudata]

Well, I'd kind of rather they fixed that stuff in the next generation.

 

[Sydian]

Even with a new generation coming out on a familiar console, there will still be stuff that needs to be fixed from Black and White when moving on to the third game. Gamers will find something wrong with BW. It's just how it works. I've been avoiding as many spoilers as possible, but I understand that the battle style seems to be changing and...triple battles? Yeah, gamers will find something to dislike about it that they will probably fix in the third game.

 

[shookie]

The adage "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" seems to come up all the time when talking about Pokémon. What they have when they release Black and White will reflect what they think works for the game. In the same sense, what they had when they released G/S, R/S and D/P was "perfect" to them in terms of gameplay, storyline, Pokémon available, content, and so on. Nothing's broken to them so they don't see any need to fix it. Then they release the game to the public and hear "The surfing is too slow" or "Wait so did Team Magma even have anything to do with this game?" and go back and fix it accordingly.

 

[Hibernator]

now i feel like skipping B&W and get the 3rd version of it

 

[Giratina ♀]

Well, I don't think they're necessary per se, but they are certainly a good thing. Sometimes it takes a few years for developers to realize that they botched something up in a major way, or that there's new software coming out that would really make the game look great, or that there's no way to get fifty of the Pokémon without having a GameCube-GBA adapter, or that yes - the plot actually was a flop. I think of the third versions as a way to re-imagine the games that are now a few years older, hopefully with a more competent gaming experience now that the Game Freak guys know what they're supposed to be doing.

 

[superpika237]

I dunno, the only thing that was ever a REAL improvement for the third version of a game was the moving sprites introduced in Crystal.

 

[PokeTrader]

Yes, I agree. Although the third games in a series make for a nice addition because of all of the new things they bring, such as the new legends in Platinum.

I agree with you on the making the first ones better, but then they wouldn't make as much money. I think it's a marketing/money-making thing.

 

[DarkAlucard]

Well, in all the gen's i've bought the trisome (specially in G/S/C that was my favorite gen).
Some of my friends tought that i'm insane for buying the three games but i do this for a reason:
In the first version that i buy, i played as myself and make a great and balanced team, also i use this version always to make changes, breed pokes and EV'd too.
In the secon version i play as my girlfriend and make a team with new and weird pokemon only for fun and to discover the new pokes that the version has.
When the developers release the third game, i buy it for the move tutors (that always change in the third's games) and this is the version that play and delete a lot, so that's my study cartridge.
I try to make a diferent history with everyone of my games, and pokemon isn't the exception. It seams that the developers always upgrade the game in the third one but i really enjoy all of the games.
However i really hope that someday we can have a great pokemon game, without a paired version, that have all what the videogamers want (keep dreaming fool XD)

 

[rockman0]

It's a proven market strategy. I mean, just look at how many people buy all three. Also, it gives them a chance to fix things that fans complain about. There's actually a notable difference in the third version. You're getting a similar experience, but it's somewhat different. I actually enjoy third versions.

 

[Vulpes bicaudata]

Well, considering that the games are online now, why not just release a patch for the paired versions that fixes people's complaints? They could still charge for it, of course.

 

[Ruin Maniac]

I like the third version of each pokemon game. For example, my favourite third version type is Emerald, where they give magma and Aqua a much bigger role in the game, and make up for Ruby and Saphire's fail.

And, like shookie said about D/P, they were totally unfamiar with the platform they were creating it no, which lead to shoddy animations and slow battle scenes. Platinum sorted these problems, and made the game better than it was.

 

[Arty]

Well, considering that the games are online now, why not just release a patch for the paired versions that fixes people's complaints? They could still charge for it, of course.

It would be just as easy to release the games again seeing as not everyone has DSI's or access to internet services like wi-fi. And just like Shookie said they don't realize the games need improvement until they release them to the public and get feedback from their costumers. Also if you don't like the 3rd versions then don't buy them.