Revisiting old regions?

[Iamgoingto]

Hi, new poster here.

Made an account to discuss this topic (I have no friends to talk to).

I was thinking about the latest games Sun and Moon and their respective region Alola. After beating Sun a while back in November, I thought about how good the region and its story was in comparison to older regions especially the ones that most people tend to dislike outside of nostalgia (Kanto/Johto).

That's why remakes are out of the question for most, and I agree that remakes would not be good as the old regions are outdated to a lot of the younger generations. But why do we have to make a new region with a new set of Pokemon or remake old ones with new mechanics/updated graphics? We already have established regions, so what's wrong with revisiting them outside of remakes?

This sounds dumb probably but by using old regions in new ways, its a way of returning in a new interesting manner not solely on nostalgia. FRLG/HGSS/ORAS all were the new regions with new graphics but they were the essentially the same as before. GameFreak could make a game about a old region, but expand on it with new lore, new characters, new plot, new areas and even new Pokemon. Kind of like Black 2/White 2 except there it would be way more expanded on. It could potentially make old regions like Johto or Kanto as colorful and unique as the Alola region. It's just a idea though.

This is also why I don't want a Sinnoh remake, the region would be overshadowed by Alola even if it's updated. Remakes aren't helping old regions, it relies too heavily on nostalgia. Also I chose the 2nd gen section because I love GSC, and the topic especially applies to Johto (in my opinion is the least developed region of them all and got overshadowed by newer refined ones and Kanto, the remakes did little to help it.)

 

[BlazingCobaltX]

I like the idea you're suggesting. I feel like GameFreak can take a step back after SM and not rush for a new generation in three years; from what I hear the current games are pretty big. Something like revisiting the older regions in new games would be a good alternative.

 

[Iamgoingto]

Yes, the Alola region has a decent plot with lots to do in there. GameFreak seems to be trying to introduce smaller amounts of Pokemon per generation now, they're probably afraid of introducing too much that it becomes difficult to handle.

 

[Rivvon]

But why do we have to make a new region with a new set of Pokemon or remake old ones with new mechanics/updated graphics? We already have established regions, so what's wrong with revisiting them outside of remakes?
...
GameFreak could make a game about a old region, but expand on it with new lore, new characters, new plot, new areas and even new Pokemon. Kind of like Black 2/White 2 except there it would be way more expanded on. It could potentially make old regions like Johto or Kanto as colorful and unique as the Alola region.

I think the reason for this is two-fold. One is, why bother putting so much effort into revamping a region to the point where it's practically a new region at that point... when you could just make an all-new region? I personally wouldn't be against it, but looking at it from the developer's point-of-view, it's probably not the best idea. Two is, fans of the original region may not like the changes brought about, so it's a fine-line they'd be walking. Not to mention that, even games like gens 1 and 2 with their simpler plots, some people do appreciate that. Some people just genuinely want to see older games brought into the current generation.

There may also be the issue of, where do you draw the line? What I mean is, it's easy enough to say "Let's revisit an all-new Kanto with an all-new story and all-new characters!" but will they ever do that for another region? How do they decide which region to revisit and revamp? It seems much easier to just say, "Sinnoh is the next region up for remakes. Let's give them remakes."

This is also why I don't want a Sinnoh remake, the region would be overshadowed by Alola even if it's updated. Remakes aren't helping old regions, it relies too heavily on nostalgia.

This is just something I don't really agree with. If they gave DPP the same cinematic treatment as SM, and rewrote a few characters like Cynthia or Barry, the way ORAS revamped Steven and Wally, I'm sure tons of people would appreciate it. I'd argue that ORAS was, in general, more well-received than XY due to a mix of nostalgia and the improved characters from the original, so I feel DPP remakes would be received similarly. Not to mention if said remakes had a Platinum post-game, well, I'm sure SM would be the ones overshadowed at that point.

Also I chose the 2nd gen section because I love GSC, and the topic especially applies to Johto (in my opinion is the least developed region of them all and got overshadowed by newer refined ones and Kanto, the remakes did little to help it.)

I disagree completely here. Johto remained largely the same in HGSS, in terms of overall layout, but just the addition of unique architecture and a more autumnal feel really made it stand out. Now, Johto is the region that feels "the most Japanese" compared to the others, even though Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh are all also based on Japanese regions. I'd argue the main reason why Johto feels "overshadowed" is because it always shares its games with Kanto, and Kanto is always given special treatment in any gen that isn't gen 5. I'd also argue that even if Johto were given this "all-new game" treatment, it would still be overshadowed by Kanto if Kanto were (almost inevitably) included in said game.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I think revisiting older regions that have been redesigned/modernized and are given a new storyline with new characters is a really cool idea. But as someone who is eagerly awaiting DPP remakes (and, in the far? not-too-distant? future, gen 5 remakes) I can't really say I want all-new games in older regions any more than I want remakes. HGSS showed that you can remake a region to give it more of a unique flair, and add lots of features that make it an extremely enjoyable and memorable experience. ORAS showed that you can remake a game and tweak the story and characters in ways that make them stand out more than ever before. Those points, coupled with the fact that I can't imagine why Game Freak would go through the trouble of "re-imagining" a region when they could just reuse the old region or make an all-new one, make me perfectly content with the remakes we receive.

 

[PokemonSam]

I appreciate that they brought in a lot of the old storyline into the game - it resonates better with my childhood, since I'm one of those people that play pokemon for nostalgia rather than the game mechanics.

 

[Lunar]

I'm all for this, I love the nostalgia of the older regions, but I feel revamping them by adding several new areas and a new story would be amazing. The region could be similar yet different at the same time and it's not like places like Kanto just stop existing in the Pokemon world because the player hasn't been there in ages; I definitely feel that with new characters and old, there could be new amazing stories to tell in the older regions.