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T!M June 18th, 2013 7:01 AM

Are Pokémon Games Hard?
 
Do you think any or all of the Pokémon games were hard or challenging. Or do you constantly breeze through each installation? What's your opinion on the difficulty on any or all of the games?

THREAD NOTE: I mean the base difficulty. So this is excluding the use of Easy or Challenging modes in B/W2.


Note: Oh crap! I meant to post this in Pokémon general gaming. Would a mod be so kind as to move it? Thanks in advance.

Amore June 18th, 2013 8:27 AM

Well, certain aspects are. Obviously for most of the games you can grind, EV etc. and make it really easy. But Battle Frontier, particularly in Pokémon Emerald, is still pretty tough. Especially Battle Factory, I think that's possibly the hardest feature in all of the games.

Powerserge June 18th, 2013 8:31 AM

Pokemon games have always been the easiest RPG titles that I have ever played. I've never had any difficulties with any of them, even at a young age. Now that tends to change when you get into the competitive environment, but that's true of all things, even tic-tac-toe.

Ephemeral Euphoria June 18th, 2013 8:54 AM

It all depends on how you manage the levels of your team if you ask me.

TheYellowPixel June 18th, 2013 10:47 AM

For me personally, it is not that hard. But for a younger kid playing pokemon casually, then pretty challenging. If it weren't for the gym leaders, pokemon would be a breeze.

JamesTehGamer9896 June 18th, 2013 2:14 PM

The only one I would deem challenging is the original red and blue and that's only in the earlier aspects when you are starting up

Pichu2Pikachu2Raichu June 18th, 2013 3:42 PM

Ruby was hard but Emerald is more challenging.

Leaf Green is TOO EASY!

Yellow is just perfect.

I have not played games over GEN 3 so I can't say for the rest.

Ckbruin June 18th, 2013 4:21 PM

When I started playing this franchise it was a little difficult, but as I played more the games became easier and easier. I think that the games are designed to be a challenge to younger audiences.* And once you get the hang of how the mechanics of Pokemon work, it becomes a breeze to play through, almost.

*This does not include the optional Battle Frontier, Subway, etc. in Gens 3, 4, and 5, where it is considerably harder to win battles.

SaciDePatinete June 18th, 2013 4:37 PM

I haven't got past the first few gyms in B/W, can't say much about gen V, or battle frontier, but for the other games, I think it lacks a bit in the terms of a proper challenge, though given the mechanics, I don't think much can be done about that. Probably why people started to create their own personal rules to play the game. For example, there was a time I played allowing me to have a single main type of pokémon in my team.

SnowpointQuincy June 18th, 2013 4:48 PM

The hardest Gyms are usually the first Gyms. Because there are only so many trainers and so many EXP point you could have earned. The challenge is maintained when pokemon fight at the same level.

The Most notorious fights I know about are Whitney's Miltank and Lenora from BW. Both are very early in the game. And both normal type.

Pokemon should have a level cap system. You can't level past 10 without the first badge. And the first gym is designed to be challenging at lv10. The same with the other gyms, except at higher levels.

BW made it real easy to find water pokemon before the ground gym and other such match-ups. While this was true in Gen1, you did have to go out of your way to find these things. (Like Diglet's Cave and Lt. Surge. It's been awhile, but I don't think you must go to Diglet Cave before the gym.)

SaciDePatinete June 18th, 2013 4:59 PM

Oh yeah... that damn Milktank was tough... it just reminded me.

The level cap idea is a really good one. I think I'll do something like that on my Nuzlocke run XD

Aslan June 19th, 2013 3:12 AM

When I first started out at quite a young age and didn't know anything about type advantages/HM moves being undeletable and all of the other important information one should know, the game was rather challenging. I also pretty much caught and tried to raise everything I saw but found that rather difficult. However, once you actually get the hang of the game, learn a bit more and grind a tiny bit, the games become unbelievably easy to cruise through. There were only a few things that stumped me such as the Battle Frontier Tycoons etc., but other than that once you know the basic info to the franchise, the games are quite easy.

FSNW5yiFrXVXqv June 19th, 2013 3:22 AM

Whitney's RollTank wiped me out 2 or 3 times when i was a kid... and i think that's the only gym I've had problems with.

They're all just ridiculously easy now. Even battle frontier was a breeze. Being luck-based on say, the battle pyramid(or was it pike), did not make it harder either... just luck-based.

jamespkmntrainer1 June 19th, 2013 7:34 AM

They are hard if you haven't added any Action Replay codes if your playing the rom versions on your PC or laptop.

Tetrakeet June 19th, 2013 7:58 AM

I've not played ALL the games mind you, only Blue and Black. I don't use Legendaries, either. It would just be way way too easy that way! I think Blue was harder than Black though, probably because I was a newbie and never knew about weaknesses. They were both easy for me in general though. A good grind can make it even easier. Since there is a fight in every piece of grass/stone just about, the grind happens whether I liked it to or not. ^ ^; (A tough game of this genre is called Shin Megami Tensei.)

The AI is terrible from what I've seen, and most wild Pokemon are very bad at making decisions. Many times they spam moves like "Leer" over and over, but never attack. I've had many moments where one attack could have finished me off so many times, but they never decided to give the finishing blow.

The Gym Leaders in Black were so easy that I was able to win every single fight just by using Lilligant. Apart from the Ace Trainers I never felt challenged in Black. I barely remember Blue anymore, but I do remember my Gyarados beating down everything in his sight. xD

I think Pokemon was made to be easy so everyone of all ages could enjoy it though (obviously, yes?). It was made to require skill when it comes to the competitive battles though. Humans are A LOT more challenging than Pokemon AI. :)

SubVirus June 19th, 2013 9:04 AM

i feel Pokemon games are getting more complicated in very minor aspects. The transition from Red to Silver for me took a long time because at that time i never researched anything and just played the game as it were handed to me. The transition from Gen 2 to 4 in my honest opinion wasn't that hard but i struggled getting used to all the changes in gen 5.
Did these changes make things a little harder? Maybe just a little. But they also made things easier at the same time as long as you payed attention to the new set of rules.

BrandoSheriff June 19th, 2013 9:38 AM

With more changes, the games steadily get more challenging, but never too hard.

IMO, any Pokemon game is only as hard as you make it. You could grind to make your experience better, or not to give yourself a challenge. It's usually the post-game battle facilities that provide the difficulty, like the Battle Frontier or the Orre Colosseum. Any other time, it's what you do in the game that decides how hard your experience will be.

FSNW5yiFrXVXqv June 19th, 2013 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tetrakeet (Post 7706016)
I think Pokemon was made to be easy so everyone of all ages could enjoy it though (obviously, yes?). It was made to require skill when it comes to the competitive battles though. Humans are A LOT more challenging than Pokemon AI. http://www.pokecommunity.com/images/templates/smilies/cerulean/1.%20smile.gif

Exactly my thoughts.

The metagame and the newly-implemented difficulty levels/modes exist, so we couldn't ask for more or less. Challenge mode would need some improvement, though. The AI is still easy to get around with... and increasing pokemon levels really does little.

I like the post-game stuff, too (Battle frontier, the long-lost Pokemon Contests, and the likes). Not that they're terribly easy, or terribly hard. But some new set of rules and limitations are always a welcome treat for those who'd wanna spice up their game.

lmcde22 June 19th, 2013 5:28 PM

For older players, Pokemon is fairly easy but i remember playing emerald as a kid and bieng totally challenged by every gym leader. I kind of miss it. But theres nothign like that feeling you get when you find out something new that helps you get better. Like type advantages i didn't kknow about years ago and more recently, discovering EV training and cross-breeding. Those kind of things just ad a little bit more challenge to the game and i love that.

Brendino June 19th, 2013 5:59 PM

Pokemon's obviously not designed to be a walk in the park, but still easy enough for first timers to pick up the game and not get frustrated from the difficulty, and then never playing the game again. And because it's still aimed at a younger audience, many of us who have been playing for years could basically play the game in our sleep.

I do love that they've added more challenges in game, though, like the Battle Frontier, PWT, etc. That way, it keeps older players of the game interested due to the added challenge, but it isn't mandatory for those who aren't quite as skilled at the game.

HaiImNate June 19th, 2013 7:13 PM

I though that all of the Pokemon games were super easy. I thought that Black 2 was a bit challenging though.

disciplish June 19th, 2013 7:25 PM

I personally think that the difficulty depends on three things:

1) Your knowledge of the system. While the veteran player could easily breeze through the installments knowing weaknesses, reistances, etc., a new player will have no idea what they're doing, and will probably find it difficult- or at least more difficult.

2)How you train/your methods while you play. This is a worthwhile example; for example, Emerald was easy for me in the beginning, in fact all the way to the champion, because I pummeled through it with Blaziken and Rayquaza. But obviously, when it came to the Battle Frontier, I was a total screwup. In B2/W2, which is the more notable example, it was more difficult for me to fully storm through the game but I eventually made it with my team. and now my team is the most badass thing on six slots. Or at least, it is in game.

3)The competitve aspect. Whether you're going competitive or not definitely changes the level of difficulty, no matter what, and... well, I suck at that kind of stuff. Nuff' said.

---

Now, the way I play, I find it pretty easy. But that's just me.

Sabrewulf238 June 20th, 2013 4:16 AM

I don't think they're that hard....but on the other hand it's not so easy that it becomes boring. I think there's a nice balance. Although I feel like the 5th gen games were a bit easier than the 3rd and 4th gens. I didn't get to try the challenge mode because you get it after you completed the storyline...which was a bit silly.

I think it becomes a bit easier for me because I know all the type strengths and weaknesses inside out and I make sure my team has a good variety of types in it.

moon June 20th, 2013 4:20 AM

I do think they are very easy. If you grind and capture the "right" pokémon, you'll have a breeze finishing the game. It's not often I've run out of money to buy potions or helpful items.

However, you can adjust your difficulty setting by capturing less powerful pokémon or pokémon who are more difficult to raise. That's why pokémon is so diverse - it's a different playthrough with every team.

Hikamaru June 20th, 2013 4:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red's Hawt Chibi Pelippers (Post 7707420)
I do think they are very easy. If you grind and capture the "right" pokémon, you'll have a breeze finishing the game. It's not often I've run out of money to buy potions or helpful items.

However, you can adjust your difficulty setting by capturing less powerful pokémon or pokémon who are more difficult to raise. That's why pokémon is so diverse - it's a different playthrough with every team.

Basically what Rika said. The games can necessarily be made easier by capturing strong overpowered Pokemon. Also, while veterans may have an easier time due to experience playing the games, a new player would think otherwise. While there have been new challenges added in later games, there's a reason why Pokemon games can be played any way, and that's why PC's Challenges forum exists, to give experienced players a new twist to playing. Also, competitive play can determine as a factor.

But I guess the main reason is because of the fact Pokemon is targeted towards children. It's a reason as to why the franchise is so successful. The games aren't necessarily hard, it's basically the player's thoughts that determine it. I'm actually quite skilled right now than back when I first played Ruby.

ProfGrove June 20th, 2013 4:41 AM

No, not really, they seem easy unless battling a human.

bashau July 12th, 2013 11:00 PM

it almost always depends on what starter you choose

.:batto:. July 13th, 2013 1:26 AM

I've never had a problem with pokemon regarding difficulty really. besides whitneys miltank, or brock in pokemon yellow. as i know most matchups and i like training my pokemon. the only thing that has ever really given me trouble would be finding HM's or a certain item. but google has always helped me. :)

Therizinosaurus July 13th, 2013 2:54 AM

the mainstream games aren't hard, but the spinoffs can be ridiculous. especially the gen 3 games. colosseum was harsh, and i replayed mystery dungeon blue a few months ago, took me like six or seven times to defeat moltres.

Meaii July 13th, 2013 4:10 AM

The mainstream games can be easy or hard, depending on the way you play it. Say, you hack 6 LV. 100 Arceus into the game at the very beginning, that's easy. If you just catch really powerful Pokémon who don't need much training for levels and you grind for a few days, that's easy. However, if you use an Audino, Magikarp and Stunfisk, that's a lot harder and a lot funner then completely destroying the game.

But then comes the Spinoff games, Pokémon Colosseum which was harshly tough, the two Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team games, it took me a long time to get to the high enough standards for many of the main bosses (Explorers and Darkness, Time and Sky were quite easy and I sweeped each one in about 15 hours of playing, which is probably ridiculously long but Rescue Team took me at least 50+ hours).

Sirfetch’d July 13th, 2013 10:40 AM

Challenging yes, but I wouldn't say they are hard. Maybe this is just because I have played them for so long and have a great understanding of the games.

Palkia July 13th, 2013 10:43 AM

The main series games have always been designed to be introductory game to the RPG genre, so they do have to have a lower challenge level to compensate for inexperienced players (and other big words)

The spinoff titles are hit-and-miss on this. Some are much easier than main series (Rumble, Poképark), roughly the same (Ranger 2 and 3, Snap) and a few are quite difficult (Mystery Dungeon, Conquest).

Arlo July 13th, 2013 2:08 PM

It depends on how you play them, but as a general rule, no, they're not hard.

If you brute force your way through with an overleveled starter and a bunch of legendaries, they're as easy as riding a tricycle. It's probably not a coincidence that that's exactly how many children play the games.

If you go through with a bunch of generally underleveled ordinary pokemon, they can be fairly challenging. You have to pay a lot more attention to movesets and type matchups and use better battling strategy in order to win consistently. But even with that, if you learn enough about the strategies, the games aren't really hard - just more challenging than otherwise.

Kanzler July 13th, 2013 2:23 PM

Haha, not the most challenging. And not the most fun really, after all the times I've played through. I do it mainly for the story now.

Spinosaurus July 13th, 2013 4:18 PM

Pokemon games, to me, are some of the easiest games of all time. The only time I recall having trouble in a Pokemon game was vs Gary for the first time ever.

And yes, that does include Nuzlocke challenge and competitive battling. They're not hard to do/understand. Especially competitive battling, you just have to be smart. It's sort of a pesuedo-chess, only without all the depth.

Shrew July 13th, 2013 4:53 PM

I feel as though I have to put my own restraints/rules to the game to make it challenging. I feel as though ti's getting easier, with things like nurse trainers on the routes healing as opposed to having to be prepared with potions in advanced.

I wish hard mode keys could be instantly activated through the first playthrough. Earning them in BW2 did nothing for me, as I don't enjoy purchasing multiple cartridges to play the same thing.

I think Battle Facilities are at just the perfect difficulty.

TheKurtzinator July 13th, 2013 7:41 PM

It depends really on what you decide to do within your game. I know people who have played through the game doing Nuzlock challenges and Non-regular teams (No fire, water or grass Pokemon). If you play the game normally, it will be difficult at first but its pretty easy once you learn the system.

The Battle Facilities and Competitive Battling are two different ballgames, both of which I'm decent, but not great. Which is kinda nice being challenged in a relatively easy game.

Kyrul July 13th, 2013 8:00 PM

When I was younger some battles I found challenging, but overall; no. It's a fairly simple game. I think pokemon falls under the "Easy to learn, hard to master" category.

Whyvile July 14th, 2013 1:56 PM

I will say this.

The games usually start out fairly challenging, have a ridiculously easy mid-game...

and then suddenly Gary, Lance, Steven, Cyrus, Giratina, Cynthia, N, Ghetsis, Iris, or some other guy proceeds to make sure you suffer.

Gogofreak July 26th, 2013 7:44 PM

I played Emerald first, and Leaf Green second. Emerald took me around 60 hours to complete. On the other hand, Leaf Green took me under 30 hours to complete.

The Grubby Pup July 26th, 2013 8:52 PM

F*ck nah! lol

Uhh...

...I mean, at certain points in da game, I guess. I remember being horribly underleveled when getting ready to face da pokemon league on R/B/Y...I was wiped out several times by Gary. :p

And in R/S/E with their bullsh*tty gym leaders. >.< Prolly da hardest Pokemon game up to date. Wattson, Flannery and Norman can all suck it! lol

Darkwing Ducklett July 26th, 2013 9:30 PM

Pokemon is a series where any problem can be overcome by knowing what type is good against another, and by level grinding. To me, that isn't the sign of a hard game. I struggled with the first two generations of games even with type advantages - Misty's Starmie still gives me nightmares, and I don't even want to think about how hard I found Erika's Victreebel - but from that point onward I've never really had any problems at all with them.

But, if you're getting beaten, you either need to grind a few more levels, or switch. I think the only hard thing about Pokemon is having the patience to grind so that you can easily overcome anything it throws at you...especially when you've got a bunch of Level 50s and are about to tackle the Elite Four.

garchomp47 July 27th, 2013 8:07 AM

don t hard at allbut many hacks are to hard.
for exemple flora sky.

Iceshadow3317 July 27th, 2013 8:36 AM

I made the games very hard when I first started them by only training one pokemon..... In Crystal that started to change and they became very easy.

The game can become a nightmare depending on the player. However, there is a few hard things such as the Battle Frontier and possibly the Battle Subway in 5th Gen. I have only gotten 1 or 2 Frontier Symbols and that was in Emerald. However, I did beat most of the Battle Subway. I think the only part I never beat was Elite Doubles.

FSNW5yiFrXVXqv July 27th, 2013 8:46 AM

I think Pokemon's main series, while still keeping it's casual feel during the story, has already stretched out farther than the "younger crowd" alone. Initially, it did start with just some simple battling system with cute little critters exchanging hits... until the mechanics and metagame grew and turned post-game suitable for the older and mature audience. The fact that stuff like PWT and Battle Frontier exist in the latest installments is proof of that. It's a children's game no longer!

Whenever I look at Pokemon Yellow, I couldn't deny on how kiddy and simple it is. But looking at Gen V, there's a large difference to the point that I already put it alongside titles I find as "RPGs w/ challenge" (w/c really doesn't matter if post-game or pre-credits) instead of the more common "mainstream spoon-feeding RPGs" that we get most of the time.

I'm now more of a "hardcore" RPG nut (as compared to what I was 10 or so years ago) and this is definitely some change I've appreciated as the franchise (and myself) grew. I'm simply glad that I'm still enjoying a childhood game, not because of nostalgia, but because of how it's current titles still fit my tastes.

KorpiklaaniVodka July 27th, 2013 8:50 AM

No, they are very easy. There are some hard hacks however, like Blaze Black 2.

Oshamaru July 27th, 2013 8:58 AM

Most of the game has ridiculously easy parts. I think they should let us change difficulty in XY. But NOT with a key system. They should have the difficulty since the beggining

The Local Joke July 27th, 2013 11:42 AM

I have never found Pokemon to be difficult. The closest thing to difficulty was the fight with Ghetsis in B/W. That was just ridiculous, so I had to go out and get about 10 levels ahead to stand a chance. It's all about being tedious to train, not difficulty in fighting.

Nil Nuane July 27th, 2013 11:56 AM

Ingame yeah, is ridiculously easy if you know what you're doing. Expert players have to impose restrictions on themselves to make the game bearably challenging. But the battle frontiers are decently challenging, especially the battle factory which I still cannot the gold symbol to this day.

Sheep July 28th, 2013 10:20 AM

I personally think most of 'em are easier than lots of other games I've played. Black 2 and White 2 ramped up the difficult by quite a lot, though, so they're exceptions to that. Hopefully the future Pokemon games will be the same difficulty because I really enjoyed that. o/

Imperator161 July 29th, 2013 7:34 PM

On the whole, I've always found the "main" games pretty easy. I recall struggling some when I first played through Red, mainly because of my difficulty getting through caves/dungeons. Indeed, I remember restarting my game because I wasn't sure how to get through Mt. Moon. I also recall attempting to Struggle myself to death to get out of the Seafoam Islands (I eventually stumbled across an exit, but with an overleveled Blastoise that only knew offensive moves, all of which OHKO'd any enemy I encountered, I couldn't come up with a faster way to knock myself out). In retrospect, though, the games were only difficult at first because I was young and didn't really know what I was doing.

At some point, several years after I first played Red, I went back and replayed the game. It was interesting to note that it took me about ten to fifteen minutes (while half-asleep) to clear a dungeon (Victory Road) that I had become stuck on for months when I first played through.

The newer games seem easier to me than I recall the older ones feeling when I first played them, but that's likely a product of my increased experience and abilities. Even if the games have shifted from being moderately challenging for, say, an eight year old to being equivalently challenging for a ten year old, I've grown a lot more than that in my fourteen years of playing Pokémon. Frankly, given that Pokémon games are likely geared towards a relatively young audience, I think it's a good thing that I don't find them challenging anymore (particularly in comparison to games I've played that are geared towards an older demographic). Many posters on this forum are likely in a similar position, and hence, the majority of us probably find the games easy. If this forum were made up of eight year olds who had never played more challenging games, we would likely see a different distribution of opinions on this topic.

Cerberus87 July 29th, 2013 10:26 PM

Difficulty means levels. In terms of strategy, Platinum was the hardest Pokémon game I've played. But I'm sure BW2 in Challenge mode are harder because of the additional strategic element.


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