Do you think Game Freak should stop doing third games?

historically, third games have basically been mild improvements over the previous two iterations. some people call this a cash grab by Game Freak considering that, especially with the release of USUM, there hasn't really been too many changes that people felt were significant enough to warrant another $40 purchase of pretty much the same thing.

that said though, there is a case for keeping them on. the improvements, however mild an addition that they are, may very well still be quality of life improvements over the previous iterations of games, making an argument that third games can be enjoyable. dppt for example probably wouldn't be super enjoyable without the addition of platinum's battle frontier.

so how do you guys feel? do you think game freak should cease doing third installments from here on out?

Honestly, yes, especially if they aren't on the level of Platinum or Black2/White 2. I think that previous games have set the standard for third games and it's hard to do something well if you've already done it before. It's like they try pretty hard and just ultimately fall short with various missed opportunities.

I'm kind of torn on this. On one hand, X and Y felt like they definitely could've been expanded upon, and I would've gladly paid for a Z version or whatever they were planning.

On the other hand, while I think I've got a higher opinion on USUM than most people, I still felt there were so many missed opportunities, and so much more they could've expanded on.

Personally, I'd be happy if going forward we got B2/W2esque sequels. I think it's pretty clear that we aren't going back to single third games, but coming up with new stories using maps and assets you already have shouldn't be a big challenge, and I'd take new adventures in regions we've already been to over remakes any day.

Can we have all the features and improvements the third version has in the first two versions, please? Thank you.

I much rather have a sequel with more features than a third version with a slightly different story based on the same story beats, general idea, etc. B2W2 were/are way more interesting a set of games to me than USUM were just on this alone - I got a lot of new stuff to keep the fact I've been in the region before interesting (not least several new areas; certainly more than what USUM offered in the main story).

Sure, exploring ultra space is neat, but it's largely optional postgame.

I'm torn on this.

On one hand, I've not played either of them so I can't say for sure but the general opinion seems to be that USUM was a lazy cash grab. If that's the way '3rd games' are going I'd rather not bother.

On the other hand I was very happy with the 5th Gen sequels as the 'third game' offering and would love to see that happen again in the future, (Just not Kanto please haha)

I love X and Y but I can't deny that there is a hollowness to them that a '3rd game' really could have helped with. However I wouldn't have liked to have seen the games just repackaged with a new splash of paint in some areas and a hollow post-game. A Yellow/Crystal/Emerald/Platinum type 3rd game or B2W2 sequels would have been welcomed by me though.

At the end of the day this kind of thing has always been a cash grab. I guess I'd always be up for a 3rd game as long as it's a good cash-grab rather than a quick lazy one.

I feel like it'll probably be harder for Game Freak to justify third games on the Switch. I feel that there are many who are unlikely to pay $60 for what is largely the same amount of content plus a few added features here and there. I'd much rather they go the sequel route instead.

... Or maybe, y'know, as Marcin/bobandbill has pointed out, just give us two full-fledged games from the start. That would help, at least.

No... but only if they release one singular third game, rather than two sequels. As in, I would've preferred Pokemon Gray over Black and White 2. This is simply because if the idea is to expand upon the previous game, it doesn't make sense to still have a bunch of version exclusives, IMO.

Honestly with the transition to Switch and consoles I can see postgame content being provided in the form of DLC and/or season passes...or ideally free updates, but it's a cash cow just begging to be exploited so I seriously doubt anything significant would be given in a free update.

Third game content has been the equivalent of a DLC expansion in the pass and, given the costs involved, it seems more likely that they'll take advantage of the hardware they now have. Episodic story DLC like the Delta Episode would be easy to package into a season pass, for example.

Honestly I actually favour this idea - much as I dislike the notion of preordering DLC with season passes, generally speaking DLC is never more than half the price of the game you're buying - unless you're Koei Tecmo, then it's half again, but we are thankfully not dealing with that here - and that is MUCH more affordable. Value for money should be a priority, and an expansion to the game is better value for money, especially considering third games are little more than rehashes with additional features.

I mean.... There hasn't been a third version game since Platinum, which was almost 10 years ago. I don't think they would really bring them back. I feel like they're going to go with sequels/alternate universes from now on.

noa said:

I mean.... There hasn't been a third version game since Platinum, which was almost 10 years ago. I don't think they would really bring them back. I feel like they're going to go with sequels/alternate universes from now on.

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Curious, do you not count USUM as third games? :o

colours said:

Curious, do you not count USUM as third games? :o

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I always thought of BW2 and USUM as sequels rather than third games!

noa said:

I always thought of BW2 and USUM as sequels rather than third games!

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B2W2 very clearly is a sequel, but USUM? It's not following anything in SM as the story is basically a different universe's take on SM events where Lusamine is not so evil, there's the Ultra wormhole plot with some weirdos living in a dark world, etc.

Personally I would count it as third games myself, but it suffers too much from being too... samey to SM in many regards, and especially being too close to their previous games' release (one year) unlike say Emerald or Platinum (two years gap). The Stars rumour probably didn't help for other people too.

It's really annoying when you've paid full price for one of the original games and invested time into the save, and then a slightly enhanced, full price third version comes out.

But on the other hand third versions are always better games, and it's an excuse to have another playthrough with some new elements and usually better post-game, without having to lose your old save. You could even play through with a different team from last time to make the playthrough more unique.

Ideally the original versions would have everything we could want from a third version in the first place (although that might be impossible since you could ALWAYS add/improve something).

So in (non-)conclusion, I'm not sure either xD.

I'd rather see sequels, or maybe even a different perspective, such as taking control of a rival character.

Nah, the content should all packed in the first set without rushing it. Amd if they want to add new stuff, do it with free DLC, cause I'm not paying for horse armor levels of minor DLC.

Sequels are better, and add life to a region rather than seeing it again and doing the same thing basically. There are a lot of things Gamefreak could do to spice things up without relying on gimmicks or competitive pandering to keep the games fresh. Playing a character with an actual (well written) story and personality would be neat. Being a rival character would also add a new POV on things like ZeoStar said.

On the Switch? Yes!

While USUM had some neat new concepts, they weren't quite used to their full potential, and since the Switch, it's games and online service are noticeably pricier than usual, there is no longer any room for laziness, lest they wind up like Blizzard.

yes, if it is done right. emerald and platinum are examples of these right? imo, if it presents tons of minor feature upgrade and a bunch of story changes then I fully support a third game. but a second set of two games for almost the same story overall and gameplay? not worth it. usum could've been a third game but i understand that there was only two legendary mascots for the games. (i mean they could've fused solgaleo and lunala together and then made a third game but who am i to talk?)

I'm gonna start this off by saying I don't have much experience playing third/sequel games (only Emerald and Black 2).

Emerald and Platinum were both super hype when they were released (at least for me, cuz I was 9 when Emerald came out). Though I'd imagine I would have been equally hyped if they were sequels. So maybe for the majority of people they'll buy it regardless?

Another thing I wanted to note (partly in response to those who are saying that a sequel gives more life, etc.) is that third versions can also have the same effect on some people. I'm not disagreeing that sequels can add more depths to a region - I do agree, and it is exciting (most exciting is probably exploring Kanto in Johto games). Though my point is that, given familiarity with the base games, the third version can also produce a similar effect, at least for me. When I play through Emerald now, I appreciate all the differences it has with Ruby/Sapphire. It's an art form of its own to redo a game and add tiny differences as well as enhances features - it's beautiful.

Also I don't like Gen 5 that much, which is probably why I didn't enjoy BW or B2W2.