Pokemon Sun & Moon

From what I have read, it's geared towards newer players to the series rather than old fogeys who are in it for the challenge of raising dudes. There is a part of me that's a bit bummed, since I don't think these games have had any meaningful challenge since Diamond and Pearl. I'll probably end up with a copy of this game, leaning towards Sun personally.

My interest in Pokemon has definitely waned over the past few years. I still love the series, but I just don't have the same passionate drive I had before. I'm sure I'll end up picking the game up, probably at launch, since it's been a tradition of mine since the DS days. Leanings towards Moon personally.

Also, JR, you didn't think Black and White 1 weren't challenging? I thought those were some of the more difficult ones in the series, due to the incredibly high evolution levels of the Unova pokemon and gym leaders. X&Y were total push overs though, I completely agree with you on that.

Game Freak doesn't get how to implement difficulty in their Pokemon games.

Black &White 2 had difficulty settings that lowered/raised trainer Pokemon levels and diminished/improved their AI, but it was done very poorly: it used Unova Link and IR ports from games that were already completed just to unlock, and you would lose the difficulty options before resetting your save file. So you needed either two copies of the game and a second system, or a friend who had cleared his game - and even then this came at the cost of losing all your previous progress. It was almost impossible to have a blind playthrough on easy or hard mode unless you bought the game late and had a friend with a clear, and... you're kinda defeating the socialization of a Pokemon game by getting it late IMO.

As for Sun and Moon, I'm... not hearing good things. Game Freak hasn't improved the lag/3D issues and in fact seems to have made them worse somehow, despite having years to improve it over XY and ORAS. The "Alolan" redesigns of old Pokemon also come across as rather uninspired. I'm honestly considering skipping this one, which is something I haven't done since Black and White 1.

I was never impressed by how the Pokemon franchise evolved. Seems like Game Freak update their games by piling on more and more confusing mechanics on top of the basic, some would say stagnant, 20 year old formula, rather than evolving laterally. I bought Pokemon Y for my sister and the game was way too confusing to pick up and play for kids, the type differences meant nothing as all Pokemon seem to have access to all types of moves, and you were constantly bombarded with new items and information - every time we go back to play it we've forgotten what we're meant to be doing in the game.

Meanwhile the world you explore seemed to me very sterile and boring, NPCs still only talk about their Pokemon or spout technobabble. The plot was very unengaging and the visuals though pretty were totally generic. I guess the series' target audience is people who have stayed abreast of the hundreds of hidden values that determine the competitive aspect, which simply doesn't interest me.

I really admire the Generation 1 games, despite their coding being terrible, because they had a simplicity and soul. I have a lot of nostalgia for them - they weren't perfect by any means but I think I'd rather play them than any other Generation - including the Gen III remakes.

It's more Pokemon, seems fine, I'm sure I'll like it the same. I admit, my enthusiasm sorta fell apart for the franchise at both Ruby/Sapphire and Black/White....but they got me right back with Diamond/Pearl and X/Y, so I'm giving them a chance.

My only concern was how my XL began to ever so slightly chug during the 2 on 1 battle in the demo, which is giving me nightmares about how poorly Hyrule Warriors does on non-New 3DS models. Yeah, I could get a new one,w hich I sorta want to do anyway, but with the Switch coming out in the Spring, that'd just be dumb.

I'm excited. This looks like the single biggest evolution in the series since Gold and Silver came out. They're throwing out a lot of the formula, trying some new things, and hitting the ball out of the park Pokemon-design-wise.

It's the first time I've been excited for a Pokemon game in well over a decade.

Let me list the ways:
1. No more gyms. Trials, instead, which have a bigger emphasis on puzzle solving and other mechanics. The bosses at the end are usually 1 vs 2+ pokemon battles.
2. They show you the type advantage/disadvantage on each of your moves, once you've seen a pokemon.
3. They seem to be trying to involve more narrative within the game's golden path. We'll see.
4. The region theming is really strong. Prior ot X and Y each region was basically the same, and X & Y actually embraced showing off a different culture. This looks like it's going even further.
5. More subjective, but I've been impressed with the quality of the new pokemon designs. I haven't seen any stinkers yet, which is more than you can say even for Gen 1.
6. This one isn't noticeable as much in trailers and screens, but once you play the demo it's super obvious: The game is WAY more animated. NPCs move in ways that feel fun and exagerrated, rather than the typical stiff stuff. Pokemon, too. I was impressed by how much life it seemed to add in the demo.
7. Some sort of picture-taking system. Don't know the details yet. Might be good. Pokemon Snap was an amazing game, after all. I'm not expecting much... yet.

I'm aligned with LOS on this one. Pokemon games have gotten very repetitive over the years. I try to balance that out by limiting how frequently I buy them (I played Blue, Diamond, and Y), but Sun & Moon is trying to innovate enough that I have no problem picking up another one so soon after the last.

That's kind of where I am with Steve. The last Pokemon I tried was Diamond and Soul Silver, so I'm fairly overdue for giving Pokemon another go again. I'll probably get bored before even beating it, but it's always a good time in the short time I do play it.

What version & starter is everyone planning on getting? I'm getting Moon & Popplio.

Moon and Darkwing Owl for sure. I was really pleased to see that the owl becomes grass/ghost instead of grass/flying. It's ghost team time!

Same as Steve, Moon with Rowlet. I didn't realize it became Grass/Ghost, that just makes it all the more appealing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uWAMwcRGmU

Game Freak: "Battle legends from previous games!"

Me: "Oh, the old trainers have 3D models now, isn't that nice."

...Yeah, call me pessimistic, but I'm not terribly impressed here. Nintendo is going through all the trouble to show off Sun & Moon as something new, but now they dove right back into the nostalgia comfort zone. I'd have liked this if it were a twist for beating the game, but revealing this before the game even hit shelves to pander to older Pokemon fans doesn't work when they're promoting Sun & Moon as something for newer players. Sad to say if I do end up getting this, it won't be Day 1 (partly due to buying Civilization VI soon).

But, back on topic, if I do end up getting it, it'd be Sun with Rowlet. I couldn't possibly turn down a starter that gains the Ghost-type.


Edit:

Rowllett has become...someone else.

He's become......someTHING else.