A ramble on side-content

[Squirtkipfan01]

i have had a thought recently, or more of a clarification of something that has bothered me the most about most modern mainline games.

The lack of side content

Things that help spice up replay value to give you more than battling, catching, and trading. And nowadays they have gone wayside. The past games tried with sidecontent starting with gen 2 and kept up with it all the way to its peak in Black and white 2. Making it all the more jarring when X and Y have nothing. Theres legends to catch, but every generation does that. You could, for an hour, look for hidden mega stones but that can quickly be completed. Theres just the campaign and nothing really else. A trend that unfortunately continues now.

Sun and moon, while having some new ideas in its main campaign, still lacks real side content. Ultra wasnt much better, adding the ultra worm hole minigame and nothing really else.

Sword and Shield is SLIGHTLY better due to its DLC giving it more staying power, but you quickly realize that after each expansions little story there is nothing added except the expeditions in the tundra.

Scarlet and Violet look to be continuing the trend, unless Gamefreak have an ace to shut me up.

And its sad, because its clear from the past that they COULD do interesting side content, but dont as most modern games sell well anyway due to a casual market who often dont care much(as far as i know). Almost scares me at the thought at Gen 5 remakes which could just end up completely butchered, the gen 4 remake didnt give me much hope. It just seems like a sad acceptance that most mainlines nowadays, unless your savy for competitive or dex completion, lack that replayability that used to be.

But boy do i have good news for you if you like BATTLE TOWERS/MASIONS/TREES

 

[Nah]

The lack of substantial content outside of the main plot is something that has long been a negative point for me as well. It's not even remotely new though, as this has always been a thing in the series. The first pair in a generation has always been lacking in content, there's a reason why 3rd versions and such have usually been considered superior to the base games. It's just more noticeable to people these days.

And like you said, they really could create something magnificent. But they don't....because capitalism.

 

[Squirtkipfan01]

The lack of substantial content outside of the main plot is something that has long been a negative point for me as well. It's not even remotely new though, as this has always been a thing in the series. The first pair in a generation has always been lacking in content, there's a reason why 3rd versions and such have usually been considered superior to the base games. It's just more noticeable to people these days.

And like you said, they really could create something magnificent. But they don't....because capitalism.

a sad acceptance indeed

 

[Sweet Serenity]

i have had a thought recently, or more of a clarification of something that has bothered me the most about most modern mainline games.

The lack of side content

Things that help spice up replay value to give you more than battling, catching, and trading. And nowadays they have gone wayside. The past games tried with sidecontent starting with gen 2 and kept up with it all the way to its peak in Black and white 2. Making it all the more jarring when X and Y have nothing. Theres legends to catch, but every generation does that. You could, for an hour, look for hidden mega stones but that can quickly be completed. Theres just the campaign and nothing really else. A trend that unfortunately continues now.

Sun and moon, while having some new ideas in its main campaign, still lacks real side content. Ultra wasnt much better, adding the ultra worm hole minigame and nothing really else.

Sword and Shield is SLIGHTLY better due to its DLC giving it more staying power, but you quickly realize that after each expansions little story there is nothing added except the expeditions in the tundra.

Scarlet and Violet look to be continuing the trend, unless Gamefreak have an ace to shut me up.

And its sad, because its clear from the past that they COULD do interesting side content, but dont as most modern games sell well anyway due to a casual market who often dont care much(as far as i know). Almost scares me at the thought at Gen 5 remakes which could just end up completely butchered, the gen 4 remake didnt give me much hope. It just seems like a sad acceptance that most mainlines nowadays, unless your savy for competitive or dex completion, lack that replayability that used to be.

But boy do i have good news for you if you like BATTLE TOWERS/MASIONS/TREES

Many of the Pokémon mainline games do have post-game side content. While you mention that Pokémon X and Y had no side content, they literally had an entire side quest involving Looker and the homeless girl, Emma. It was a fairly long story and quite emotionally moving. Pokémon Sun and Moon had another side quest with Looker that involved catching the Ultra Beasts. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, however, changed things up by including the Ultra Beasts in the Ultra Wormhole and adding a side quest about Team Rainbow Rocket and the leaders of the other villainous teams throughout the series taking over Festival Plaza. Pokémon Sword and Shield offered more than a mere post-game side quest: they offered two completely new DLC locations, each with their own story, and included more Pokémon in the games. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet seem to be the only modern mainline game without deep post-game side content, but we know that DLC is coming soon, which would likely put it in the same boat as Pokémon Sword and Shield. Modern Pokémon does indeed have post-game side content, but the issue here seems to be that you don't like it compared to the older Pokémon games. How about this: what kind of side post-game content are you looking for exactly? Use your imagination and provide some examples of post-game content that you would enjoy playing.

 

[Squirtkipfan01]

Many of the Pokémon mainline games do have post-game side content. While you mention that Pokémon X and Y had no side content, they literally had an entire side quest involving Looker and the homeless girl, Emma. It was a fairly long story and quite emotionally moving. Pokémon Sun and Moon had another side quest with Looker that involved catching the Ultra Beasts. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, however, changed things up by including the Ultra Beasts in the Ultra Wormhole and adding a side quest about Team Rainbow Rocket and the leaders of the other villainous teams throughout the series taking over Festival Plaza. Pokémon Sword and Shield offered more than a mere post-game side quest: they offered two completely new DLC locations, each with their own story, and included more Pokémon in the games. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet seem to be the only modern mainline game without deep post-game side content, but we know that DLC is coming soon, which would likely put it in the same boat as Pokémon Sword and Shield. Modern Pokémon does indeed have post-game side content, but the issue here seems to be that you don't like it compared to the older Pokémon games. How about this: what kind of side post-game content are you looking for exactly? Use your imagination and provide some examples of post-game content that you would enjoy playing.

im talking more pokeathalon or pokestar studios, things that are not part of the usual battle, catch, trade loop of pokemon. Things that can keep you coming BACK to the games. All those things you mention once you do them, thats it. Both looker stories, the rainbow rocket, isle of armor and crown tundra have a STORY, but once that story is done there is nothing. You would only really come back if your competitive savy, dex completing, or shiny hunting, which still follows the battle, trade, catch standard. Alot of people look fondly of Black and white 2 because it had RECURRING content, as well as different from the standard. Also i mentioned the Ultra worm hole already

 

[Sweet Serenity]

im talking more pokeathalon or pokestar studios, things that are not part of the usual battle, catch, trade loop of pokemon. Things that can keep you coming BACK to the games. All those things you mention once you do them, thats it. Both looker stories, the rainbow rocket, isle of armor and crown tundra have a STORY, but once that story is done there is nothing. You would only really come back if your competitive savy, dex completing, or shiny hunting, which still follows the battle, trade, catch standard. Alot of people look fondly of Black and white 2 because it had RECURRING content, as well as different from the standard. Also i mentioned the Ultra worm hole already

So basically, you want something like minigames?

 

[Squirtkipfan01]

So basically, you want something like minigames?

i miss them dearly, kept me coming back
now most games are a one and done for me personally unless theres DLC

 

[Palamon]

God, yeah, I hate how modern Pokemon games basically have nothing else to do besides like raids and stuff.

Please give us mini games, or something.

 

[Corveone]

Side content and post-game are somewhat different things.

Side content/activities isn't something I particularly enjoyed much in this franchise. Casino? Contests? Pokéstar? Pokéathlon? most of the time I'd just skip all that stuff entirely, and when I did ever touch those things it was most likely for rewards rather than playing them for fun.

 

[Squirtkipfan01]

Side content and post-game are somewhat different things.

Side content/activities isn't something I particularly enjoyed much in this franchise. Casino? Contests? Pokéstar? Pokéathlon? most of the time I'd just skip all that stuff entirely, and when I did ever touch those things it was most likely for rewards rather than playing them for fun.

i often went thinking i hate post games when its really the minigame type stuff i miss, which is usually accessible whenever. And whether you liked them or not, i feel having them added to the charm of games as well as giving an aspect of pokemon that anyone could enjoy. I do not personally like contests, but id rather have them exist at all. And is having nothing any better? Personally no

 

[Sweet Serenity]

i miss them dearly, kept me coming back
now most games are a one and done for me personally unless theres DLC

With me, as long as I have my competitive battles, I'm good. I can understand why players might not agree with that, and I understand your concerns, but that's just me. Not going to lie though: I do wish there was more than just competitive sometimes. Minigames would be a great addition to the games. Like, I've always said that they ought to replace the Game Corner with a place where you can play minigames with your Pokémon. Me personally, I would love an option, whether post-game or not, where players can "battle, play, and explore" with their Pokémon. By that, I mean, for the "battle" option, I want a place where you can battle with your Pokémon similar to Pokémon Stadium, as in, something like a more advanced Battle Tower with more battle options. For the "play" option, I want a feature where you can play minigames with your Pokémon and bond with them more. For the "explore" option, I want a mode where you can go on certain adventures with your Pokémon. For instance, remember Poké Pelago in the Generation 7 games? They had an option where you could send your Pokémon to look for treasure. It can also be something similar to Grand Underground too, but with Pokémon instead of trainers. I would love a mode where you can send your Pokémon on different adventures similar to that, but you're actually able to play with them, and based on how well you do, you can earn some rare rewards.

 

[Zeostar]

Strong disagree with Ultra Sun/Moon not adding much else.

There is a massive plethora of side content to find. Some are time sensitive and may involve more thorough exploration (such as the haunted school side quest) Or returning to a previous area (such as the Eevee Quest). Others being more out in the open, like the Mantine Surfing.

Gen 7 are often the most misunderstood set of games.