Greenlit: The approach by the Legend of Zelda team is what The Pokemon Company needs

It's a hot take article! And it's not focused on Pokemon entirely??

Came to mind as I was watching the newest trailer/announcement on Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Firstly, Aonuma (produce of the LoZ series) straight up said they want more time to work on the much awaited BotW 2 game before revealing any more about that. Taking their time on the game! But to fill the gap, they let another studio develop another title on the LoZ/Warriors crossover/side series, directly related to BotW this time around.

My argument is that this should be an approach embraced more by TPC/TPCi. The main series titles have had a release every year or two, or DLC release for those now. There's hardly been breathing space, and clear evidence of rushed development and corner cutting. Meanwhile, while it was encouraging to see Snap 2 finally get announced - and the developers behind Pokken are doing this - more of this would be nice, as well as greater integration.

Easy games to point to as examples would be the Orre games, Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness. They are the closest to the main series titles in mechanics, but have had no inkling of returning since Genius Sonority essentially got gutted and put on mobile spinoff duty (Shuffle, Cafe Remix). A shame!

Anyways, article would be on the above topics. Happy to take input or ideas on talking points.

Listen the character designs for SwSh (human) were outsourced and they are generally a huge hit, TPC should not be afraid to outsource. They could outsource creation of 3D models and rigs and such. Also let's talk about how Genius Sonority made some great console games using the main series battle formula. Why don't they handle any remakes so Game Freak can take their time on new installments? I dunno just some ideas because this topic gives me Emotions! +1 for the topic but also +1 for the Feelings!

Yes, yes, yes. I really really want to see more takes on the Pokémon formula that's not necessarily a main-line game, and it provides a good excuse to experiment! I'm a bit upsetti that we haven't had a spin-off game uses the regular Pokémon mechanics since Colosseum (and is the reason I got into fangames). New settings! More interesting objectives! That's about what I can add to this conversation, and yes, I do think it's worth a topic.

A good topic to tackle! Taking their time to develop the mainline games properly and filling the resulting gap with fun spin-offs? This will not only ensure enough time for making a good game but also an engaged fandom. Except that pokemon dash did not work well. So more games like colosseum, snap, mystery dungeon will be desirable.

If the Aonuma method is followed, they could do something similar like adding to the already existing games with the perspectives of different characters (for example, gold and silver had Eusine, an interesting person who was after the legendary Suicune. They could make a game with him as protagonist).

Nothing will change as long as GF is on the games obviously lol.

Thanks for the input!

Rivvon said:

Listen the character designs for SwSh (human) were outsourced and they are generally a huge hit, TPC should not be afraid to outsource. They could outsource creation of 3D models and rigs and such. Also let's talk about how Genius Sonority made some great console games using the main series battle formula. Why don't they handle any remakes so Game Freak can take their time on new installments? I dunno just some ideas because this topic gives me Emotions! +1 for the topic but also +1 for the Feelings!

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Yes to Genius Sonority having proven themselves with spinoff titles that used the main mechanics. Certainly a point I'll raise here.

Ranko said:

Yes, yes, yes. I really really want to see more takes on the Pokémon formula that's not necessarily a main-line game, and it provides a good excuse to experiment! I'm a bit upsetti that we haven't had a spin-off game uses the regular Pokémon mechanics since Colosseum (and is the reason I got into fangames). New settings! More interesting objectives! That's about what I can add to this conversation, and yes, I do think it's worth a topic.

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Agreed - and experimentation is something the series could use more of too, outside of replacing one main battling gimmick with another.

Soaring Sid said:

A good topic to tackle! Taking their time to develop the mainline games properly and filling the resulting gap with fun spin-offs? This will not only ensure enough time for making a good game but also an engaged fandom. Except that pokemon dash did not work well. So more games like colosseum, snap, mystery dungeon will be desirable.

If the Aonuma method is followed, they could do something similar like adding to the already existing games with the perspectives of different characters (for example, gold and silver had Eusine, an interesting person who was after the legendary Suicune. They could make a game with him as protagonist).

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There's been hits and misses with the spinoffs I suppose, haha. Even PMD has to my understanding had its strong and weak entries.

And yes, seeing the perspective of others like Eusine would be cool. Looker would be an even better fit - a character who has been all over the world and various situations, and playing as/with a international policeman lends well to potentially fun adventures.

DragonKing48 said:

Nothing will change as long as GF is on the games obviously lol.

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One can dream. Also this partly comes down to TPC, not Game Freak who just make the main series games - other companies have and will make spinoff titles (Genius Sonority, Bandai Namco, etc.).

Hmmmm yes... companies other than GF handling Pokémon stuff, please.

Pokken, PMD are very good examples of what you can do with a good IP when you have 1.- available staff and resources and 2.- a degree of creative freedom.

You could even explore how do you think various companies big or small would handle "make me a Pokémon game" by focusing on specific aspects each company is known for in the vidya meta. Like, Pokémon 96 by Bethesda... what would the worldbuilding in that game be like? Camelot did grate work with Shining Force and Golden Sun... what would overworld exploration and character integration be like in Pokémon: Sunrise of Ideals? Heck, if that's what Konami wants let's give them the thought of what would Pokémon Galactic Deliverance: Pachinko Play would be like!

I know they would never do this, but I really want them to have a more "realistic" story line. What I mean by that is like pokemon dying, real consequences, people shown to have jobs, and the like. Pokemon I know was made for kids, but I think it would be a lot more interesting. That combined with a BOTW style would be a perfect game.