The games pokemon needs to make a comeback
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and it just seems that pokemon has lost it's touch with its fans. Where's the innovation that the series began with? Where are the games like Pokemon Snap that were more than just cheap remakes on an existing formula? I love all the pokemon games because there's nothing else like them out there, but my patience is wearing a little thin with the utter lack of true creativity in recent games.
So here are three games that Game Freak needs to make if Pokemon is to ever return to its former glory as a world phenomenon.
I'll start with the easiest one first, Pokemon Snap. With the upcoming release of the Wii U, and the current 3DS, there has never been a better chance to revisit this amazing classic. The N64 was the period of Nintendo's greatest gaming innovation in my opinion, and Pokemon Snap was one of the best titles on the system. And that's saying a lot for a game which only lets the user 'capture' pokemon on virtual camera film. The original game created the small illusion of a living breathing pokemon world with comparably breathtaking visuals for it's time and some truly ingenious puzzles and secrets. And I'll never understand exactly how the photos were graded, but the process was fast, fun, and effective. Bringing Pokemon Snap up to the current generation of technology would be an amazing feat with 649 pokemon to animate and program, not even considering the environments and gameplay, but the result would be an experience unparalleled by any other. This is a game true fans have been waiting for for years.
Second is a real pokemon ranch. The Pokemon ranch for the wii was both an interesting experience, and a major let down for me. I can understand the limitations of the wii's hardware, but having only half a package was actually worse than not having it at all. The pokemon are miniature versions of themselves and have only limited AI. The illusion that the pokemon you see are actually alive breaks when they all follow the same patterns, all 1000 of them. The ranch serves no other purpose than to look pretty and store pokemon in a toy box. It could have at least acted like the pokemon day care center and given those pokemon experience. With the promised power of the Wii U, the ranch could be an entirely separate experience from the main series. Every pokemon could be programmed with its own unique personality, the visuals completely overhauled, and many more features added, such as being able to quickly train your pokemon, practice battles among your own pokemon, actually see other people's ranches instead of the stupid computer mii's and interact with them. And I'm only using the term 'ranch' because that what the original was called, but what I really want is my own 3D secret base, like in ruby and saphire and diamond and pearl, that can be customized and built exactly how I want it while still being able to store as many pokemon as I want in it. The new Black and White version of this is a gimmicky joke by comparison to what it could be. There is so much potential in the idea of a pokemon ranch. It reminds me of the episode where we get to see what Prof. Oak did in his spare time taking care of the pokemon left by trainers at his lab. That's what a pokemon ranch should look and feel like.
And finally, a Pokemon MMO, this is the big one. I agree with this statment on the thread "Do you think Pokemon has gone far enough", "I guarantee you that Nintendo could rival Blizzard in the money making department if they made a MMO." Pokemon is the ultimate example of what an MMO could be, hundreds of enemies, an extended an elaborate mythos, an obsession with collecting things, a completely user defined experience, and a tournament worthy combat system. But to be an MMO, pokemon has to go beyond the bounds of ordinary MMO's like WOW, because Pokemon is an inherently different type of game. One of the most dissapointing things to me with the current pokemon battle system, is that you can't win with any pokemon. It's a game of numbers and rock paper scissors with a few tricks thrown in just to be random and level the playing field. This has to be set aside and completely rebuilt for an MMO. I particularly love how Pokemon fight in the Super Smash Bros series. It actually takes skill rather than calculations to win. Each pokemon feels like its own unique charachter with special attacks, different styles, weights, and speed. Very little is left to chance and it feels much more like I'm actually playing the Pokemon and fighting with real talent because of experience rather than numbers. In a Pokemon MMO, players could still capture and train all the pokemon, but the battles would be more like a 3D super smash bros, more like the battles in the TV series that really would take skill, experience, a deeper understanding of each pokemon's unique charachteristics. There would be no limitation on what moves a pokemon could learn and know becuase each pokemon would only know the moves it could realistically learn. A Pokemon's strength would no longer be attributed based on its level, but on the trainer's experience in battle with other pokemon, and the pokemon's experience and training. Evolution and would no longer occur based upon an arbitrary level limit, but on the training and experince of the pokemon, how hard the battles were, how tough the opponent, and the extensiveness of the training. The outcome of the battle would not affect the experience gained, but rather the actions within the battle. I look especially to the original TV series when thinking about how a Pokemon MMO could be. A vast world filled with friends, foes, and adventure. The world that was built for the TV screen is so much more engaging than what has played out in the games, and that could be brought to life in an MMO. Obviously, the graphics would no longer be in 2 dimensions, but in 3, in a true pokemon World, rather than one region. To make the process of creating such a massive project easier, each region could be created as an expansion pack to the last, allowing Game Freak to make money and reintroduce the older pokemon regions to a newer audience. Rather than having an elite four or battle tower, or any RPG version of that, the champions could be determined based on tournaments as seen in the TV series. The tournaments could be divided into subdivisions for each game region and real world region, and of course the master league for all players who prove themselves in the lower tournaments. Team battles, multi battles, etc, all match types could be represented in tournaments and online rankings. I personally love Starcraft's matchmaking system and it would be a great system for this. The Pokemon Contests could be an entirely separate competition and could actually be judged and voted on by real people. Contests would act as minigames like they are in the series but would really test the pokemon and trainer's abilities and skill outside of battle. As for Gyms, I think they should operate as a form of guilds seen in other games, places that specialize in specific areas of pokemon battles and which test new trainer's abilities and which are operated and run by players. In fact, there should little to no NPC's in the game other than the pokemon. The police would obviously be the game staff, pokemon centers could be run by AI and support staff and could also be centers of information and help for new players, pokemarts could be run entirely through AI and menus, and the big shopping mall stores could be run by game staff and menus and would actually sell in game merchandise, both through game currency and real money. Port cities could sell region expansions in the form of passports or ship tickets. Pokemon and items could be traded or sold through player markets in game. There are so many more features to add to this list of what a Pokemon MMO could become.
I plan on being a game developer, and if I ever get the chance to make a pokemon MMO, this is a short explanation of my vision for such a game.
If you take the time to read my rambling, thank you.
