pkmin3033
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Thinking about it, I doubt there is going to be much of a change in perceived difficulty this time around. The problem is perception of difficulty =/= actual difficulty, especially with Pokemon and RPGs like it. Something does not have to be time-consuming in order to be difficult; in fact, the two have absolutely nothing to do with one another, especially not in a game with a level-up system. You want to know why you didn't find XY and ORAS difficult? Because you levelled up ridiculously quickly. You want to know why you didn't find, say, Black and White, particularly easy? Because it took forever to level up after a point. If you'd have levelled up to the same level in those earlier titles as you did in XY and ORAS, though, you would have found it equally easy. That it would have taken you longer to get there doesn't make it more difficult. Pokemon has a type system, but at its core it has always relied heavily upon the levelling system, and therein lies why it is never difficult: all you need to do is be at a higher level than your opponent in-game.
This is why I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed when Sun and Moon are released and probably have the same level-up mechanics: removing the EXP Share of Gen VI and going back to previous gens just means you'll spend more time on levelling, it won't make the game any harder, and Masuda has expressed concern over people not having the time or the energy to spend a huge amount of time on grinding. Whether or not he's right or wrong in that assessment is irrelevant.
In a way I can actually see his point, and I think the EXP Share of Gen VI is actually a way to cater to older players, albeit in a warped fashion. Those of us who can remember playing the original generation when they were first released are in our early or mid-twenties. Our lives have changed pretty dramatically; we have jobs, or we're in full-time education that is a lot more demanding, and we have life commitments and responsibilities we didn't have when we were younger. A lot of us DON'T have the time to spend playing Pokemon for hours, methodically training our team up in painfully slow increments, just to challenge that next Gym. Should we be excluded because of this?
I've said it before, but I'll say it again anyway: the EXP Share of Gen VI is a good thing. It gives newer players a way to get past the game's challenges by levelling up quickly, and it means older players who don't have as much time to play Pokemon titles can play through the game's story and enjoy the experience without having to put those hours in. It's pretty considerate. Those looking for a challenge, or who want to spend more time on the game and feel like they're being challenged, can just switch it off.
Sun and Moon also won't be more challenging by default because of Pokemon's target audience. This is something a lot of people seem to forget: just because the games are enjoyable to them, does not mean that they're designed specifically with them in mind. The original audience of Pokemon may have gotten older, but Pokemon's target audience - everyone - has remained the same. You can't expect a newer player, or a younger player, to be as good as you are. I realise a lot of people aren't asking for that specifically, but that's the thing of it: it amounts to the same thing. Asking for the game to be made more difficult by default, or having the EXP Share removed, is the same as demanding that Pokemon mature with you, which would change its target audience and exclude a fairly large portion of kids who play the games.
Even adding a difficulty mode a la Challenge Mode of B2W2 amounts to the same thing - it's artificial difficulty that provides no real challenge, because you can power your way through it by grinding. It's utterly pointless. I think any challenge in Sun and Moon, as always, is going to come from the player challenges. Don't get me wrong here, it'd be great if Game Freak included some options that made the game genuinely more difficult - like a badge-based level cap, diminished returns in EXP (similar to Black and White, although to the point that you'd get no EXP once you hit a certain point, making grinding impossible), frighteningly intelligent AI and Gym Leader level scaling (or reduction for player team levels to match the Gym Leader), but I don't see any of those happening, 20th Anniversary or not.
We've proven that we can create our own challenges out of Pokemon titles through Nuzlockes and what have you. We can take care of ourselves. What's the problem here? Pokemon lets you play however you want; just because it doesn't acknowledge you directly with a difficulty mode catered specifically to you does not make it any worse. If you're finding it too easy, then challenge yourself. The game doesn't pick your team for you, it doesn't force you to over level; it doesn't make you do anything. Play how YOU want to. Just because it's set up for players who want/need an easier time of it doesn't mean that you can't adjust your play style so that it's set up for you, too.
Just some food for thought.
This is why I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed when Sun and Moon are released and probably have the same level-up mechanics: removing the EXP Share of Gen VI and going back to previous gens just means you'll spend more time on levelling, it won't make the game any harder, and Masuda has expressed concern over people not having the time or the energy to spend a huge amount of time on grinding. Whether or not he's right or wrong in that assessment is irrelevant.
In a way I can actually see his point, and I think the EXP Share of Gen VI is actually a way to cater to older players, albeit in a warped fashion. Those of us who can remember playing the original generation when they were first released are in our early or mid-twenties. Our lives have changed pretty dramatically; we have jobs, or we're in full-time education that is a lot more demanding, and we have life commitments and responsibilities we didn't have when we were younger. A lot of us DON'T have the time to spend playing Pokemon for hours, methodically training our team up in painfully slow increments, just to challenge that next Gym. Should we be excluded because of this?
I've said it before, but I'll say it again anyway: the EXP Share of Gen VI is a good thing. It gives newer players a way to get past the game's challenges by levelling up quickly, and it means older players who don't have as much time to play Pokemon titles can play through the game's story and enjoy the experience without having to put those hours in. It's pretty considerate. Those looking for a challenge, or who want to spend more time on the game and feel like they're being challenged, can just switch it off.
Sun and Moon also won't be more challenging by default because of Pokemon's target audience. This is something a lot of people seem to forget: just because the games are enjoyable to them, does not mean that they're designed specifically with them in mind. The original audience of Pokemon may have gotten older, but Pokemon's target audience - everyone - has remained the same. You can't expect a newer player, or a younger player, to be as good as you are. I realise a lot of people aren't asking for that specifically, but that's the thing of it: it amounts to the same thing. Asking for the game to be made more difficult by default, or having the EXP Share removed, is the same as demanding that Pokemon mature with you, which would change its target audience and exclude a fairly large portion of kids who play the games.
Even adding a difficulty mode a la Challenge Mode of B2W2 amounts to the same thing - it's artificial difficulty that provides no real challenge, because you can power your way through it by grinding. It's utterly pointless. I think any challenge in Sun and Moon, as always, is going to come from the player challenges. Don't get me wrong here, it'd be great if Game Freak included some options that made the game genuinely more difficult - like a badge-based level cap, diminished returns in EXP (similar to Black and White, although to the point that you'd get no EXP once you hit a certain point, making grinding impossible), frighteningly intelligent AI and Gym Leader level scaling (or reduction for player team levels to match the Gym Leader), but I don't see any of those happening, 20th Anniversary or not.
We've proven that we can create our own challenges out of Pokemon titles through Nuzlockes and what have you. We can take care of ourselves. What's the problem here? Pokemon lets you play however you want; just because it doesn't acknowledge you directly with a difficulty mode catered specifically to you does not make it any worse. If you're finding it too easy, then challenge yourself. The game doesn't pick your team for you, it doesn't force you to over level; it doesn't make you do anything. Play how YOU want to. Just because it's set up for players who want/need an easier time of it doesn't mean that you can't adjust your play style so that it's set up for you, too.
Just some food for thought.
