The Safari Zone

[Perriechu]

The Safari Zone, a place in nearly every Pokemon game where you can go and catch Pokemon to your hearts content, for a small cost and you can't use your own items or Pokemon. Some of the Pokemon in the Safari Zone are exclusive to only that place, like:

- Kangaskhan
- Scyther
- Pinsir
- Dragonair
- Dratini

(Just examples from FR/LG note that this thread is for all Safari Zone's and not just Gen I/III)

You could also find a nice set of items there such as Surf, Max Potions and some TM's.

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone?
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent?
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV?
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone?

Add your own too. :3c

 

[PlatinumDude]

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone?: Kind of. Not weakening the Pokemon before catching it isn't a good thing because some of the Pokemon have low catch rates; they can break out of the Safari Balls easily and flee after that.
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent?: Never played G/S/C.
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV?: Not really. The mud spots were annoying to get out of.
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone?: That, I enjoyed, primarily because the 500 step limit was removed and I can put in new areas.

 

[Eagledelt]

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone? I do. It's good to catch Pokemon in a different way. You don't actually fight and you're more based in luck. Can be frustating, yes, but it's also nice.
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent? Nop, always hoped that the Safari Zone openned in Fuschia City... But it never did :(
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV? Yes, was also fun, with the Daily Pokemon thing.
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone? YES! Loved it!

 

[Maruno]

I like the Safari Zone, because it's something a bit different after hours of battles. It also provides a bit of an excuse for having exotic or rare Pokémon wandering around.

The Great Marsh itself was just another Safari Zone, albeit with a different setting. The deep mud spots were just a puzzle element to it, like needing Surf to access all areas of Kanto's Safari Zone, and shouldn't define it. The only thing new was the randomising of some Pokémon, which is a good thing (particularly as the binoculars show you which Pokémon are available).

I haven't used the Johto Safari Zone, but I think the area jigsaw thing is a horrible idea. These are huge chunks of land, and you're just moving them around on a whim? No thanks. While I do like the idea of having a water area or a desert area or a rocky area, I really don't like the mix-n-match feature. Just put them all in the same (huge) map, or a few separate maps with shuttles running between them. The blocks thing (putting random objects in places to attract certain species) is also stupid, if only because they're really random objects. The PokéBlock feeder was fine enough, but could still be expanded on slightly. I think the only change in HGSS I liked was the removal of the limited steps.



For all the changes made to the Safari areas, nothing has been done to the battles themselves. I would have thought that bait (which you throw during battle) could be expanded upon, at least - Hoenn did do this a bit, but that improvement disappeared silently. What I imagine is that there are several kinds of bait, and you can only carry a limited number of it so you'd need to go back to the entrance every so often to restock. Basic bait is free, but other kinds cost a small amount of money.

Maybe even have a few more items usable during a Safari battle, such as the Pokéflute (lowers flee rate) or watering can (makes species weak to water more easy to capture).

Maybe overhaul the Safari battle mechanics to include more than two variables (ease of capture and likelihood of fleeing) - perhaps include evasion too.

 

[Beaute]

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone? I'm not too crazy over the Safari Zone, I go every once in awhile, because there really aren't that MANY pokemon to offer. Plus, the rare ones are hard to find :/
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent? I never played Gen II games, unless you count SoulSilver...
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV? The Great Marsh was nice, it was different from the rest of the region, and it had some exotic pokemon, I go every once in awhile..or whenever I have my gba games slotted.
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone? I only rented SS for a few days, so I never made it to the Safari Zone :/

 

[BraveVesperia]

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone? Kinda, it makes me easier to catch certain Pokemon and not needing to battle them but its OK for me if its implemented or not.
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent? I haven't played any Gen II games before.
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV? Yes
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone? I haven;t played that yet.

 

[Kenshin5]

Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone?
Yes it's a good gimmick as Battle Tower is to Emerald or Bug Catching Contest to GSC. It adds a different dimension to catching and allows the person to catch many people relitively cheaply and in a rapid succession depending what you are going after.

Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent?
Well Kanto was already a shell of itself at the point so I really wasn't surprised. I thought well at least we have the Bug Catching Contest, but I still would have liked Safari Zone.

Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV?
It was alright, and essentially the equivalent of the Safari Zone just in a different region.

Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone?
I never really bother missing with Safari Zone there as of yet so I really can't speak to that.

 

[miltankRancher]

Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone?

Yup, definitely. It was always one of the feature I look for every time a generation comes out. I loved the luck, the time limit (or step), and the very fulfilling experience you catch a Tauros, Chansey, or Scyther in the FRLG Safari Zone.
Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent?

No. I thought when I did something ingame, like defeat the Pokemon League for the second time, the Warden would come back and reopen the Safari Zone or something. But it didn't happen. OH, sad childhood. :(

Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV?

No, just no. The mud spots were annoying. Its hard to navigate, and very few precious Pokemon (Skorupi and Croagunk) I would not bother to enter it a second time.

Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone?

I like rearranging the Zone, especially if I need a Pokemon, and the step limit is nearly over. :))

 

[Pokemon Trainer Touko]

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone? I like it but I rarely go there
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent? Haven't played the older gens o.o
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV? They were the same I think o3o
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone? idk

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone? Like the Battle Frontier, it's a good concept hampered by very poor execution. Capturing anything in those places is an exercise in luck, frustration, and eventually rage. Bait and rocks cannot effectively capture Pokemon.
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent? It saved me a lot of time and frustration, so yes.
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV? Not really. Only advantage of the mud is it did help you stay in place when hunting for something without using up steps. Otherwise I hated slogging through the stuff.
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone? I never could be bothered to try it.

 

[Hikamaru]

- Do you like the idea of the Safari Zone?: Kind of. Not weakening the Pokemon before catching it isn't a good thing because some of the Pokemon have low catch rates; they can break out of the Safari Balls easily and flee after that.
- Did you prefer Gen II when the Safari Zone was absent?: Never played G/S/C.
- Did you like the 'Great Marsh' equivalent in Gen IV?: Not really. The mud spots were annoying to get out of.
- Did you like the twist that was put into the HG/SS remakes' Safari Zone?: That, I enjoyed, primarily because the 500 step limit was removed and I can put in new areas.

I agree with him, some Pokemon are sooooooo hard to catch!!!

Especially catching Yanma in the Great Marsh in Platinum, every time I encountered one, they kept breaking out of my Safari Balls and they flee easily.

I decided to give up on catching Yanma in the Great Marsh (I really wanted a Yanma) so I traded one from SoulSilver so I don't have to catch Yanma in the Great Marsh ever again.

I liked Johto's new Safari Zone in HG/SS, adding different areas so you can catch different Pokemon.