With pokemon Black/White coming out, I was excited that they had a real chance to streamline the gampeplay, but from what I have been seeing, it's going to be Pokemon Platinum 1.1. I'm writing this as a long time fan of Pokemon (started with Red on the GB):
Pokemon has grown stale, and it is puzzling why the developers have refused to fix issues that have plagued the game in older generations, and keep certain other awful mechanics in the game. (Hear me out).
Issue 1. The game feels way too slow at times.
Do you dread walking through grass or going through a cave because you know that ever 2-5 steps you'll be stopped by an entirely useless battle?
Using repels shouldn't be the solution. Having to go buy repels in a store is a poor solution. Why should I have to go waste my money in the store, because the game recognizes a frustrating game mechanic. The repel only lasts for so long anyways. Plus, what if I want to fight certain pokemon but not others? For trainers who understand the mechanics on its deepest level, you'll know about EVs.
This leads to the next complaint. Getting into a battle takes way too long. I don't mind the lead up to a trainer battle, but to fight every single wild pokemon with the slow transition screen is a novelty that becomes extremely frustrating.
Why don't they have a mechanic that allows you to see what pokemon wants to engage. Then if you are willing, you click Yes. Or if you're at a higher level/speed, you can just skip the battle from the start. i.e. "A level 2 pidgey appears. Engage? Yes/No" Instead of forcing you through the battle animation then selecting Run.
Issue 2. The menus need improving, and why are there so many prompts.
This kind of adds to the last point. The menus are just so clunky. Is walking too slow? Go to the bike, but first you need to go to the menu. Scroll through, find the bike, click OK. Or add it to the speed button.. and even then, it asks you, "get on your bike?".
Switching pokemon in and out of the computer has been vastly improved since generation 1 days, so kudos to nintendo for fixing that.
Or how about all the prompts. Break rocks? Push boulder? Hit switch? Play slots? Surf?
It's nice that the game wants you to be sure, but I wish there was an option to disable all this hand holding. If I'm facing a boulder, and pushing A, there's a good chance I'd rather want to push it rather than not.
Issue 3. HMs and abilities.
When people have to carry around HM Slaves, you know that there is a problem. Not only that, but there are more than 4 HMs, so you can never even have a "perfect" hm slave. Why should you be forced to either A) play with only 5 fighters B) distribute moves you may not want among your 6 (i.e. gyrados is a physical water type, so giving him surf is stupid)
Instead, if the game wants to maintain this idea, why not just make certain pokemon have the ability innately -- i.e. all larger pokemon can do strength, all grass pokemon or pokemon with blades can cut. This doesn't occupy one of their 4 slots and can't be used in battle, but can be used to get through certain parts of the story.
As it stands, HM's get very annoying. I mean, for water parts, you have 3 HM's alone to worry about. Couple that with the fact that water is like grass/caves and you'll be constantly pestered by level 20 tentacools, and you have a frustrating part in the game not due to legit difficulty or gameplay.
Issue 4. Difficulty and monotony.
This is very subjective, but the game feels too easy. Trainers out in the field are a joke and most of their pokemon are killed by a hit or two. This makes the battles more of a chore and require little to no strategy. Even trainers in pokemon gyms are pushovers.
Occasionally, the game throws an interesting battle at you, but sometimes, even the "bosses" (gym leaders, rivals, boss villains) have an pathetic lineup of pokemon. I wish the game would throw in more difficult trainers (especially at key parts) that require some strategy beyond "get my best pokemon and/or hard counter to that type, and hit him with the best move I have".
Online, people have developed such interesting strategies, and stat-altering moves actually become very important. I wish there was more of this... if 6 pokemon are the max allowed, it is stupid to believe that only a handful of trainers, including a kid, use 6 guys. When some gym leaders have 4, 3, or even 2 pokemon, the battle is a huge disappointment.
Also monotony, why do 95% of all villains use the same damn pokemon. Same with bug trainers, same with swimmers, bird catchers, etc etc. It would be nice for a at least a few of these trainers to behave like normal people and have a well-balanced team.
For example, if you see a hiker, knowing that he'll have 2 geodudes, and an onix becomes very boring. Occasionally they'll have a wildcard: sandshrew or graveller. Is it so implausible to believe that someone else out in the world may ever have a legendary, or at least strong rare pokemon for you to fight.
Issue 5. Post-storyline and multiplayer training.
The Battle Frontier is fantastic, excellent idea by nintendo.
Here are some things I wish would be implemented though.
A) Breeding takes way too long, instead of breeding 1 egg at a time, why not have a farm or something later on where you can breed multiple pokemon.
B) Eggs take way too long to hatch.
C) Make IVs more easy to identify, breeding takes too long as is.
D) Leveling new pokemon is a chore -- it takes too long, and discourages experimentation. Which in turn discourages having a many different pokemon with which you can make different teams for different situations.
All of the above do nothing to add to gameplay, they are just grinds that arbitrarily extend the play time. And when you spend 5 minutes riding your bike at the fastest speed just to hatch one egg, only to be disappointed that it does not have the ability/nature you wanted, or 30 minutes later when you discover its IV values suck from plotting stats, then going online, this is not fun, it's just a frustrating grind.
This went way longer than I originally thought, and I know the odds of Nintendo actually giving a damn are slim, or actually reading this even slimmer, but perhaps I will find comfort in sharing my experience with fellow gamers.
Pokemon has grown stale, and it is puzzling why the developers have refused to fix issues that have plagued the game in older generations, and keep certain other awful mechanics in the game. (Hear me out).
Issue 1. The game feels way too slow at times.
Do you dread walking through grass or going through a cave because you know that ever 2-5 steps you'll be stopped by an entirely useless battle?
Using repels shouldn't be the solution. Having to go buy repels in a store is a poor solution. Why should I have to go waste my money in the store, because the game recognizes a frustrating game mechanic. The repel only lasts for so long anyways. Plus, what if I want to fight certain pokemon but not others? For trainers who understand the mechanics on its deepest level, you'll know about EVs.
This leads to the next complaint. Getting into a battle takes way too long. I don't mind the lead up to a trainer battle, but to fight every single wild pokemon with the slow transition screen is a novelty that becomes extremely frustrating.
Why don't they have a mechanic that allows you to see what pokemon wants to engage. Then if you are willing, you click Yes. Or if you're at a higher level/speed, you can just skip the battle from the start. i.e. "A level 2 pidgey appears. Engage? Yes/No" Instead of forcing you through the battle animation then selecting Run.
Issue 2. The menus need improving, and why are there so many prompts.
This kind of adds to the last point. The menus are just so clunky. Is walking too slow? Go to the bike, but first you need to go to the menu. Scroll through, find the bike, click OK. Or add it to the speed button.. and even then, it asks you, "get on your bike?".
Switching pokemon in and out of the computer has been vastly improved since generation 1 days, so kudos to nintendo for fixing that.
Or how about all the prompts. Break rocks? Push boulder? Hit switch? Play slots? Surf?
It's nice that the game wants you to be sure, but I wish there was an option to disable all this hand holding. If I'm facing a boulder, and pushing A, there's a good chance I'd rather want to push it rather than not.
Issue 3. HMs and abilities.
When people have to carry around HM Slaves, you know that there is a problem. Not only that, but there are more than 4 HMs, so you can never even have a "perfect" hm slave. Why should you be forced to either A) play with only 5 fighters B) distribute moves you may not want among your 6 (i.e. gyrados is a physical water type, so giving him surf is stupid)
Instead, if the game wants to maintain this idea, why not just make certain pokemon have the ability innately -- i.e. all larger pokemon can do strength, all grass pokemon or pokemon with blades can cut. This doesn't occupy one of their 4 slots and can't be used in battle, but can be used to get through certain parts of the story.
As it stands, HM's get very annoying. I mean, for water parts, you have 3 HM's alone to worry about. Couple that with the fact that water is like grass/caves and you'll be constantly pestered by level 20 tentacools, and you have a frustrating part in the game not due to legit difficulty or gameplay.
Issue 4. Difficulty and monotony.
This is very subjective, but the game feels too easy. Trainers out in the field are a joke and most of their pokemon are killed by a hit or two. This makes the battles more of a chore and require little to no strategy. Even trainers in pokemon gyms are pushovers.
Occasionally, the game throws an interesting battle at you, but sometimes, even the "bosses" (gym leaders, rivals, boss villains) have an pathetic lineup of pokemon. I wish the game would throw in more difficult trainers (especially at key parts) that require some strategy beyond "get my best pokemon and/or hard counter to that type, and hit him with the best move I have".
Online, people have developed such interesting strategies, and stat-altering moves actually become very important. I wish there was more of this... if 6 pokemon are the max allowed, it is stupid to believe that only a handful of trainers, including a kid, use 6 guys. When some gym leaders have 4, 3, or even 2 pokemon, the battle is a huge disappointment.
Also monotony, why do 95% of all villains use the same damn pokemon. Same with bug trainers, same with swimmers, bird catchers, etc etc. It would be nice for a at least a few of these trainers to behave like normal people and have a well-balanced team.
For example, if you see a hiker, knowing that he'll have 2 geodudes, and an onix becomes very boring. Occasionally they'll have a wildcard: sandshrew or graveller. Is it so implausible to believe that someone else out in the world may ever have a legendary, or at least strong rare pokemon for you to fight.
Issue 5. Post-storyline and multiplayer training.
The Battle Frontier is fantastic, excellent idea by nintendo.
Here are some things I wish would be implemented though.
A) Breeding takes way too long, instead of breeding 1 egg at a time, why not have a farm or something later on where you can breed multiple pokemon.
B) Eggs take way too long to hatch.
C) Make IVs more easy to identify, breeding takes too long as is.
D) Leveling new pokemon is a chore -- it takes too long, and discourages experimentation. Which in turn discourages having a many different pokemon with which you can make different teams for different situations.
All of the above do nothing to add to gameplay, they are just grinds that arbitrarily extend the play time. And when you spend 5 minutes riding your bike at the fastest speed just to hatch one egg, only to be disappointed that it does not have the ability/nature you wanted, or 30 minutes later when you discover its IV values suck from plotting stats, then going online, this is not fun, it's just a frustrating grind.
This went way longer than I originally thought, and I know the odds of Nintendo actually giving a damn are slim, or actually reading this even slimmer, but perhaps I will find comfort in sharing my experience with fellow gamers.
