The protagonists seem fine to me. They're obviously erring on the side of fairly young kids again, but I'm not surprised, given the demographic they're targeting. I like the relative simplicity of the designs, and while I hope there's some customization available (which is in Go, so it seems reasonable), I would be ok using these base designs as-is. I've disliked the designs for the past couple of generations, so if anything, I would say it's an improvement.
Something about the male protagonist's waist looks weird to me, though. I'm fine with the design overall, it just keeps catching my eye for some reason.
Okay I just need to ask this question; how many of you actually think this is a game worth playing if you are a true fan? I mean I like the way it looks and stuff, but I don't know if its worth paying like how many ever dollarsit costs and I definitely am not going ot buy a switch because of this. It just seems to be targetting a demographic which probably doesn't own a switch, and it seems too simple. All in all, a glorified Pokemon Go DLC pack. The entire ordeal seems like a gimmick to me. This is just my opinion, and just out of curiosity, I was wondering how many of you guys agree with me on this one? (P.S does anyone else think Gamefreak is dumbing the games down extremely? And this is coming from a guy who didn't know how to breed for parents I.V's until a couple of years ago)
I can't decide how to feel about this. I'm a fan, and I think I'll play the games (I would end up being curious about them if I skipped, and I do like Kanto, even if the mechanics seem dumbed down), but I already own a Switch, so there isn't much of a barrier to entry for me. I suspect the nostalgia trip will be fun, but I'll ultimately come away dissatisfied with the experience, and I doubt I'll get as much use out of them as I do out of most of my other Pokemon games. They do seem a lot simpler, and I worry that the mechanics will see boring and overly simplified. I've felt a little burnt out on Pokemon all generation (I've mostly played Gold again rather than S/M, and USUM are still in shrink-wrap), and these aren't really helping rekindle the Pokemon spark, unfortunately. That said, I've enjoyed a bunch of spinoffs, so we'll see how it goes. I'll probably feel better about the entire situation once I see how the 2019 games turn out, and hopefully see a return to form (with less tutorializing or hand-holding than in recent entries).
It does seem like a gimmicky idea, and I think that's a lot of the point. It's designed to appeal to Go players and young kids. Some of the interviews seem to be billing it as a way for adults who played Pokemon as kids to connect with their own children, and as a childless adult who still likes the main series, that aspect doesn't do much for me. (Do most young kids own smartphones to play Go these days? I didn't own a smartphone until college...) I can't figure out whether the games are going to tap into a huge market and sell wonderfully, or if they'll suffer because many of the people who played Go did so because it was (a) free and (b) on a device they already owned and kept with them all the time.
So I guess at the end of the day, I think it's worth playing these games because they're part of Pokemon's history, and as a fan, I want the full Pokemon experience, but no, I don't think they'll be satisfying from a competitive or mechanistically deep point of view. Hopefully, I'll be proven wrong about the simplicity, and there will be more to the games than meets the eye in the first trailer. But so far, I see them more as an interactive walk down memory lane (re-exploring Kanto without challenge) than as a normal Pokemon experience, but as a nostalgia addict, I'm hoping that aspect will be enough to make them worth playing.
