3rd versions a thing of the past?

[Mackened]

I'm suspicious that 3rd versions of a set of games are a thing of the past. We had Yellow, Crystal, Emerald and Platinum, it was always assumed we'd get Grey, buy we got Black & White 2 instead. Now with the announcement of Alpha Ruby and Omega Sapphire, does this mean that there won't be a Z version? It seems that main series games are being released yearly now and they do not need a 3rd version to compensate. I'm cool with that, but we all like a 3rd version.

 

[LusoTrainer]

Technically, Blue was the 3rd version for Red/Green. Yellow was an anime spin-off.

 

[Khoshi]

So far, we've only had 1 Pokemon game that's broken the pattern. We don't know of Pokemon Z or whatever it'll be, but I can see what you're saying. I'm thinking that the 3rd versions aren't being discontinued, instead we get something like what happened with BW2. However, again we haven't seen or even heard of an XY 3rd ver., which means there's still a chance for one.

Who knows, Game Freak might pull a UNS3 and release a 3rd version after the Gen 3 remakes.

 

[Hiatus]

I wouldn't say third versions are a thing of past. They haven't made a third installment to Black and White last gen and went with sequels, because… well, they needed a change of pace. If you keep repeating the same formula over and over, it's going to get boring for you and the fans. Would they go towards the route again this time around with X and Y? Maybe yes, maybe no, but personally, I'd be fine with anything. =)

 

[Monophobia]

I'm still expecting a Z. I never even gave a thought to a Grey version for some reason. Hey, who knows, maybe we'll get an Emerald re-make? GameFreak is kind of unpredictable nowadays.

 

[Pendraflare]

Well, I know that there are people who would rather see a Pokémon Z than direct sequels to both games because they think Game Freak just wants money out of it. But I would rather see a continuation to the story in later generations like they did with BW2, since I was big for what they did with those.

For Gen III we got RS, then FRLG then Emerald, but for Gen IV we got DP then Platinum then HGSS. So this might be the same deal we got with Gen III, just a thought.

 

[Pepperton]

As much as Pokemon has remained consistent and followed trends with their games, Black and White strayed a bit from the norm by having two sequels. I was one of those 'Pokemon Gray' believers, so seeing B/W2 announced kind of took me by surprise, but I understand why they did it. Doesn't mean third versions are obsolete though! Especially with X and Y and the coincidental name of 'Zygarde'. :]

 

[Yato]

I can't really see third versions become obsolete. As people have pointed out already, BW2 broke the pattern by being actual sequels. (Though technically speaking, sequels were already done in the forms of GSC. Given, that the main plot took place in an entirely different region with new Pokemon and the like. Not to mention Crystal is a third version of Gold and Silver.) However, just because they have broken this pattern doesn't mean there'll continue to be sequels. Changing things up is a good way to keep people's interest in the games, so I can see GF going back to a third version at some point. Who knows, maybe they'll release "Delta Emerald". After all, if one assumes ORAS will have you fight only one evil organization much like in RS, they might make a third one so you can fight both again. Plus, it'd be something different for the remakes. (And given all the hype for ORAS, it may be a good way for GF to gain even more money.) Ditto on a third version of XY; there are plenty of things XY lacked that the third game could include and make so much better. (Plus, I can't really see them making a sequel to the two unless they have a new region.)

 

[Treecko]

I think that since the third legendary is named Zygrade and sort of has a Z shape, similar to the Xerneas and Yveltal having a X/Y shape, then the third version "Z" is more of a possiblity. Though I won't deny that doesn't mean a sequel could never happen. I think we will get another version eventually, but honestly with how Game Freak has been suprising lately, you can never tell.

 

[SaniOKh]

As much as I hate the idea of third versions coming back, I have to admit I can see it happen with X&Y because of their story. It goes without saying, this is all speculation on my part.

Let's see. Gen 1 and 2 didn't have any differences in stories between versions (being able to catch Ho-Oh first and Lugia later and vice-versa doesn't count, they weren't an actual part of the plot) , so third versions could easily be made without altering much of the plot.

Now, starting from Gen 3, version mascots became an integral part of the story, and third versions were scripted with one rule in mind: to not make one version of the original pair look closer to the official canon than the other, if you know what I mean. So:

• In Ruby, Team Magma learns about Groudon and tries to wake it up; Team Aqua, assisted by the player, tries to stop them before they do. Kyogre is completely absent from the plot.
• In Sapphire, Team Aqua learns about Kyogre and tries to wake it up; Team Magma, assisted by the player, tries to stop them before they do. Groudon is completely absent from the plot.
• In Emerald, both teams learn about their respective Pokémon, each team tries to wake up its Pokémon before the other team does. The player has to stop them both.

And ditto for Gen 4:

• In Diamond, Cyrus plans on using Dialga to remake the world. Palkia is only mentioned, but otherwise absent.
• In Pearl, Cyrus plans on using Palkia to remake the world. Dialga is only mentioned, but otherwise absent.
• In Platinum, Cyrus plans on using both Dialga and Palkia to remake the world.

But come Gen 5, and... we have a problem: the entire plot revolves around the player having one of Reshiram/Zekrom and N having the other! There was no way to combine both stories into one, without discrediting either the Black version or the White version, and maintaining the Black VS White theme (so, no Kyurem VS Reshiram and Zekrom) . But since GF wanted to still make something in Gen 5, they made sequels.

Gen 6 went back to a more basic story where, again, the version mascot is used by the main villain, and its counterpart is a no-show, just like in Gen 4, so both versions of the story become once again easy to combine into one. This is what I can see happen in Gen 6 (spoiler tag just in case) :

Spoiler:

• In X, Lysandre uses Xerneas to power up the ultimate weapon. Xerneas is implied to have the power to give Team Flare the immortality they seek. Yveltal is completely absent.
• In Y, Lysandre uses Yveltal to power up the ultimate weapon. Yveltal is implied to have the power to eliminate everyone on the planet who isn't part of Team Flare. Xerneas is completely absent.
• In the hypothetical Z, Lysandre could use both Xerneas and Yveltal to power up the ultimate weapon, with the intent of using Yveltal's power of destruction for mass genocide, while keeping himself and his minions safe with Xerneas' power of immortality.

 

[Blake Belladonna]

I don't think we should count out the return of third versions just yet. Though I'm indifferent to whether there'll be 3rd versions or not. I think they only discontinued to have a change of formula and to explore the idea of having game sequels, which is a welcoming deviation.

 

[Altairis]

Honestly, I think they just broke the pattern for BW2 since it should be relatively easy for them to program 2 games (as the changes are pretty minor) and people will most likely buy both, or at least have the option to.

We really can't tell for sure. Who knows they won't make a Pokemon Z? Zygarde is definitely part of the Kalos trio, yet it played no part in the story at all, so it's possible that it could be featured in the 3rd version. Remember, XY only came out last year! They're releasing ORAS this year, so no time for a 3rd version yet :) Maybe they'll make a sequel instead! There's really no proof for that, though, just me hoping. :P

 

[Blu·Ray]

I am definitely glad that ORAS are coming out before an eventual Z. Ruby and Sapphire were originally pretty flawed in terms of storyline and technical features, but Game Freak took a lot of time making FireRed and LeafGreen, and they used this time to improve Ruby and Sapphire tremendously. A third version of X and Y should be a new Emerald, in that it improves the storyline and technologies. They could definitely use some improvement on the storyline front.

 

[Jolteon Dan]

Platinum came out before Heart Gold/Soul Silver, but Emerald came out after Fire Red/Leaf Green.

I certainly wouldn't rule out Pokemon Z just because the remake games were announced. What I'm more concerned about is the Pokemon Stadium/Oore games being a thing of the past. Now that there's over 700 pokemon, these formats would be harder than before, but I'd love to see the Wii U make a new RPG or Stadium-like game happen!

 

[ShivaDF]

I'm fairly certain that ORAS won't get an Emerald remake, so what I'm worried about is that the storyline will just be Ruby and Sapphire, where you just face one evil team at a time. That would be so much worse than the Emerald story, in my opinion. I'm not certain, but I think the Corocoro scans support this.

But I wouldn't rule out a Pokemon Z, either. It would sort of be like Pokemon Platinum, right? With Zygarde in place of Giratina? Because Giratina got shafted in Diamond and Pearl.

 

[Trogd0r917]

I hope they're not a thing of the past. As much as Black 2 and White 2 were better than Black and White I would have preferred Grey instead because I don't like having to pick between two versions.

Here's an idea: Make third version that's also a sequel at the same time!