Poll: The Battle Frontier

[ThePerfectionist]

Disclaimer: If you don't like Pokemon, shut up and go away. We don't need your kind here.

Something I've had a very vocal opinion on (if you get me started on Pokemon, that is) is the Battle Frontier and the way it has changed as the Pokemon games have moved on. Ever since its inception, it's been a place for trainers to test their Pokemon, and by the end of the game, it's really about the only challenge left.

For those of you that don't remember, the Emerald one had seven stations:
Battle Tower: The classic sets of seven battles in a row. This one's been around forever
Battle Pyramid: A difficult trek up a trainer and Pokemon-infested pyramid
Battle Dome: A tournament style set of matches
Battle Pike: A place of luck, chance, and random events
Battle Factory: A series of battles using rental Pokemon
Battle Arena: Three-turn battles where you get judged on the way you battle
Battle Palace: A test of knowing your Pokemon, as you cannot choose their attacks

The newer version has five:
Battle Tower: Same as above
Battle Hall: Take one Pokemon as far as it can go against progressively stronger opponents.
Battle Factory: As above
Battle Castle: No auto-healing, but you earn points which you can spend to get items and health
Battle Arcade: A place of luck, where a game board decides the conditions for each battle

I absolutely loved the Frontier as it was introduced in Emerald, and I think the changes they made in D/P/Pt are for the worse.

For one thing, they reduced the number by two, removing some of the variety
For two, while admittedly the Battle Dome was a waste of time, the Arcade is just a dumbed-down version of the Pike, since anyone with a brain and half-decent hand-eye coordination can defeat the 'luck' aspect entirely.

The Tower and Factory were staples, sure, but while the Castle and Hall are creative, I still liked the Pike, Pyramid, and Arena better. The events in Emerald all made you have to think a little bit differently than normal in battle, or at least add an aspect to it. I feel that was somewhat stifled in the new version.

What about you, Pokemon fans? What version did you like better and why?

 

[Marter]

I've only played the Emerald one, but I didn't really enjoy it, except for the Battle Tower. Gimmicky things don't sit all that well with me when it comes to Pokemon battles.

 

[Hikaru CF]

I loved the Emerald Battle Frontier, despite the fact I was really shit at it (I only ever got the silver symbols for Pike and Pyramid and most of those challenges are luck anyway). I never got Platinum but I have Heart Gold and when I found out it had a Battle Frontier I instantly pictured an enhanced version of Emerald's Frontier but of course, I was wrong because it simply isn't anywhere near as good as Emerald's.

I mean, the Factory and the Tower are the same but with all the 4th Gen pokemon so that was an improvement but the rest are just as the OP says, dumbed down. Castle isn't too bad and can be quite challenging after a few rounds but Arcade is a poor attempt at remaking Pike with real Luck being replaced with good reactions. But the worst facility by a mile is the Battle Hall. It's tediously long and for a Post-game area, it's criminally easy especially if you have a Pokemon with a wide variety of move types to handle many types of Pokemon, which just makes it boring.

Personally, I would have been very happy if the Frontier on Platinum/HG/SS was identical to Emerald because Emerald's frontier was the kind of thing that would have me playing the game many hours after I finished the main story, but maybe the new Frontier will grow on me, seeing as it's unlikely I'll buy the 5th Gen of Pokemon so HG will probably be my last Pokemon game.

Jesus, I didn't think I'd end up writing that much about Pokemon xD. Thanks if you read it all.

 

[Chamale]

Heartgold/Soulsilver has an amazing Battle Frontier. Emerald's had flaws, though it did have more variety. By cutting variety, the new Battle Frontier has achieved perfection. I'm still stuck at 10 badges after 70 hours because I've spent so much time in the Battle Frontier.

 

[Berserker119]

I really really liked the frontier in emerald and was one of my favorite things about the game. I was excited to hear about it in the new games, but it wasn't as good. I actually spent over one hundred and fifty hours playing it in emerald, so maybe it'll just take some getting used to.

 

[gigastrike]

I didn't even know that these things existed. I've been to the battle frontier in Diamond, but I don't remember any of those challanges.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

Personally, i will always love the good 'ol battle tower the most.
A chance to test your pokemon prowess in a controlled and fair(ish) environment.
With increasing difficulty.
And Prizes!

So my favourite would be Crystal: the first time i was introduced to that wonderful place.

 

[xAnarchysAngelx]

my fav. would be Crystal for the GameBoy Color

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Platinum. The Hall and Castle clinch it. The Arcade can fuck off.

The Factory is my favorite in both, though.

The Battle Frontier and Tower are the main reasons that new Pokemon games are better than the old ones.

The Tower in Crystal sucked, though. It's didn't scale if you were above 50, iirc.