What Keeps You into Pokemon?

Playing the (fan) games, watching the anime, this forum & chat, writing a fan fic, watching videos of PokeTubers...
...and occupying my mind with subjects as psychiatry, law, etc. to theorize around and look at their world from other perspectives.

Pokemon is a unique series. Its gameplay elements are unlike any game out there. The characters are adorable, the gameplay is fun complete package

I'm not sure; I honestly don't like what the core Pokemon games have become, we've not seen a good spinoff since Explorers of Sky, and the anime is absolute garbage again. Maybe I have the vague hope still that the games will return to the kind of quality they had in Gen IV, or Game Freak will hire a writer who can write a proper story with actual character development in it if they MUST go down this NPC-focused route with the games going forward, but honestly that diminishes with each new game that turns out to be even worse than the one before it.

As RPGs Pokemon are so below average in their narrative that it's almost physically painful, but the gameplay is still just as good as it ever was. The franchise is the gaming personification of sadomasochism...ironic, that the newest titles are abbreviated as SM. It does toe that line, though. I've played far worse in my time, and that I'll know when I literally cannot take any more of this crap from the franchise. Sun/Moon pushed me to my absolute limit, so who knows. Maybe USUM will push me over that edge and I'll just never bother with them again.

Something has gotta give, and it's probably going to be me. I might occasionally indulge in a little gaming masochism, but the second it stops being rewarding I give up on it. I suppose the gameplay is still rewarding enough for me to overlook the pathetic excuse for "story" Gen V onwards has had...for now.

My enjoyment of the franchise is deeply rooted in it's consistent playability. Generally speaking, the main series of games are very often released at a good enough pace, and they are well developed enough content-wise normally. While I may not always like all of the content, I typically do enjoy the core gameplay itself.

The gameplay is, in my humble opinion probably the best part. Even when faceted with questionable design choices and potentially game busting new features, the core gameplay is still pretty faithful. I'm not gonna point any fingers at any specific generations, but I hope you know what I'm talking about here. Everyone has an opinion on a specific generation they feel dropped the ball the most.

Most attractive for me is how the game itself lends itself to a distinctive variety of playstyles; ranging from ridiculously difficult and strict styles of a nuzlocke and other locke types of play, to the wildly casual and easy standard methods of play which are most superior in their appeal and draw. Fans can play at any skill level, and will eventually prevail.

The plots range from best to worst, but as of Generation 7 I feel there was sufficient enough plot work in it, even if it was a little more grimdark and gritty than I like. Generation 5 and 6 felt forgettable in the way of plot, so it is an improvement. I deeply adored the attention to detail and mysticism built into Generation 2 and 3, and hope to see that level of attention return maybe in US/UM even though I am skeptical that it will, being released so soon after it's predecessors. Perhaps the 8th generation, we will see a return of the 4th generation's successes and see it's remake as well.

I grew up with it. It's something I've always liked. My interest in the games and anime comes and goes, but it's always there in the characters themselves.

colours said:

Also, as an aside... @Meyneth:

As an RPG, the quality of Pokemon games are debatable. If you're a hardcore RPG fan and have gotten the opportunity to play some really story-deep games with developed characters and focus on your as a player, then Poekmon games may seem fairly lacking in comparison. But I don't think story and super heavy character development are really the forefront of Pokemon to begin with. I don't remember character development and story being the forefront of the original games nor GSC, for that matter. It only became arguably important when Gen III was released and we were introduced to our first actual plot that story became a thing and it wasn't until probably BW that character development even became remotely relevant. It was Gen V onwards that story and character development kind of started to intertwine, to somewhat debatably successful degrees (you may argue that XY are poor games overall but their sales numbers don't really reflect that).

I think, over time, we're going to see more and more of a story driven narrative. It's been happening since BW and Game Freak doesn't intend to stop with that because that's actually what has been selling, so why would they change it?

Click to expand...

They're not, and this is why I haven't given up on the franchise just yet. As I said, the gameplay remains unchanged, which is what is probably keeping me buying the titles...I can't really complain aboout the gameplay, outside of features being taken out. But in older generations, the games were very player-focused - it was your story, and as such it didn't really matter whether the NPCs were prominent or not; they were secondary characters you just met from time-to-time. However, as the narrative has progressed, the player character has been sidelined in favour of NPCs, and absolutely none of them have been able to justify that; they're still secondary characters, only they've been thrust into a primary role and haven't been given the necesary depth to justify that.

The shift in focus in the narrative towards these NPCs should necessitate some genuine personality and development of that personality, and the games have not been delivering that. There is far more to character progression than just frequency of appearance, and that is the only thing that has changed since Gen V - the NPCs appear more often. That's it. I wouldn't classify myself a "hardcore" anything, but if I'm going to watch someone else's story - which is what Pokemon has been since Generation V - then I expect that story to be engaging, and I expect to have some feelings for the cast besides from indifference and/or irritation where it isn't intentional. Not the same plot every single time, with a lackluster cast who ultimately never go anywhere. The intent is there, but it is by no means fulfilled.

What has been selling has always been the same; I don't think you can really attribute increased sales to that shift in focus...although that said, nor can I say that hasn't been a deciding factor. It's hard to say, really. Unless you put stock in media opinion and the majority opinion of a fanbase where the minority is shouted down. I am of the opinion they should either revert back to a player-focused game, or ramp it up significantly to deliver a proper story-focused experience, because this half-arsed approach they've been taking is precisely why I feel myself drifting away from the franchise.

If they could actually tell a proper story or create a properly fleshed-out cast, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But they have yet to do that, in my opinion. I realise it's personal preference. But if I was just coming into this franchise, based on the narrative, I wouldn't give it the time of day. I've seen low budget RPGs from Kemco with better writing and characterisation.

The main series games and the community are what keeps me in. Every Pokemon game has this charm to me that other games don't. The games are released on a good pace so everyone can be on equal footing, and they contain solid content.

The community is a also a major factor, it's nice to play knowing you know others you can talk about the game with you. There's also so many things that can help you like the Trade Corner to obtain rare Pokemon and the Challenge area to put a fun twist on your playthroughs. It really adds a whole level of fun to your Pokemon experience.

I just love it. It was my childhood, and I can't just abandon it. There's just this unique charm the games have that keeps me playing.

If it wasn't for PC, I do question whether my interest for Pokemon would be as high as it is now, I'm kept interested in the franchise by the community and replayability of the games, which never seem to get old.

Meyneth said:

I'm not sure; I honestly don't like what the core Pokemon games have become, we've not seen a good spinoff since Explorers of Sky, and the anime is absolute garbage again. Maybe I have the vague hope still that the games will return to the kind of quality they had in Gen IV, or Game Freak will hire a writer who can write a proper story with actual character development in it if they MUST go down this NPC-focused route with the games going forward, but honestly that diminishes with each new game that turns out to be even worse than the one before it.

As RPGs Pokemon are so below average in their narrative that it's almost physically painful, but the gameplay is still just as good as it ever was. The franchise is the gaming personification of sadomasochism...ironic, that the newest titles are abbreviated as SM. It does toe that line, though. I've played far worse in my time, and that I'll know when I literally cannot take any more of this crap from the franchise. Sun/Moon pushed me to my absolute limit, so who knows. Maybe USUM will push me over that edge and I'll just never bother with them again.

Something has gotta give, and it's probably going to be me. I might occasionally indulge in a little gaming masochism, but the second it stops being rewarding I give up on it. I suppose the gameplay is still rewarding enough for me to overlook the pathetic excuse for "story" Gen V onwards has had...for now.

Click to expand...

To me the Anime has always been pathetic, just way too kiddy and the fact that Jessie and James are STILL in it. I think after 6 Episodes in the first Series I was done because of them. They were good, but villains never progressed and Giovanni was a wimp in it as opposed to the feeling I got from him in R/B/Y. In Gen 1 games it felt like I was fighting the Mafia of the pokemon world. The show? Just 2 incompetents and a lousey Meowth that never got the exp to evolve and become useful.

I mean you have a pic of Char Aznable for crying out loud. You know good anime, and you know that Pokemon is not one of them. I will say that the X/Y was good for the parts without Team Rocket in it. However they WERE in it and fouled it all up. Also Bonnie's high pitched voice was so annoying and made me cringe anytime she spoke.

Now as far as Story goes, I'm sorry but S/M were amazing for pokemon stories. I know, I know we got no selfish jerkface to hate on as a rival, and that element made Gen 1 and Gen 2 awesome. Team Skull were lame in some regards as we went from Gangsters (aka those of organized crime) to Gangstas (aka those who undermine their efforts by trying too hard and showing their affiliations for all to see so that they end up becoming huge targets). But I have to say that even though Team Skull was completely incompetent and huge teenage poser kids I really liked them for some reason. They were pretty funny. I wish Guzma was stronger though....oh well.

As far as rivals, Hau was terrible but I somehow liked him as a character. I think he reminds me of some of my friends from my early childhood in a lot of ways. I think we can all relate to him in real life in having our shortcomings and having to own up to them at the worst times. But like Hau we keep pushing forward for the sake of those we care about and never give up. I will say that Melemele Island was VERY ANNOYING because of Captain Ilima tbh. And all the talking. I think Captain Ilima is the only Trial Captain I actually hate with a passion. I actually liked the rest of them overall. As far as X/Y goes I will say I completely hated Team Flare. They all looked stupid, their music was atrociously annoying, and their leader had a stupid motive that made NO SENSE.

I still love the anime and the games, I've been with it since the beginning.

The Pokemon franchise has just kinda "clicked" with me for so long that it's difficult to think of why i've stuck with it for so long. I guess I'm just fascinated with the world of Pokemon. It's a world like our own but it's populated by weird and interesting magical creatures. And you get to be FRIENDS with such magical creatures. It's just such a cool and interesting concept to me.

Why I've stuck with the core series so long is that Game Freak has never disappointed me enough to make me quit buying the core series games cold turkey. I mean, the last spin-off title I bought was Gates to Infinity and that was a massive disappointment, but I still love the core series and enjoyed both ORAS and SM despite their flaws. Apparently a lot of people think they're bad games, but I just don't see it. It's true that a core game hasn't come out that has met all of my standards since B2W2, but I'm holding out to hope that USUM will be those games that meet my standards.

I also have a habit of replaying old games and hacks when I get bored.

However, and I think this is an unpopular opinion, but I am absolutely terrified with what will happen with this "core series Pokemon Switch title" on the horizon. I'm just not a big fan of Pokemon moving to the console and probably won't end up shoveling out $300+ for either the game or a Switch unless they manage to really "wow" me.

There's nothing in particular pushing me away.

I just really like Pok?mon

especially sinnoh

yeah lol

A reason why I still stick around is because Pokemon has so many intriguing things about it. The games always leave some unsolved mysteries after the main story, and there's so many interesting characters and Pokemon alike.

i think i'll always be into pokemon since i've been there almost from the start and i grew up with it. frequent new games that add new features and spin-offs are mainly what keep me interested though.

First of all, my favorite Pokemons.
The various characters with the characteristics. And the way of playing is fun(I have no gift to control games, so thinking is better way to play for me). I see how Gamefreak tries to make balance, and I think it's good too.

The post is rather lenghty...