Okay so we’ve got a new Pokémon game (again) and this (again) poses the same dilemma for every Pokemon fan…. buy the game and be disappointed by the lack of story development or don’t buy the game and spend 2 more, boring ‘Pokémon-less’ years watching the dust collection on your DS continue to pile up.
Normally all I ask is that the new releases are better than the previous ones (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire), but this being Pokémon’s 20th anniversary, we’re ALL expecting more! They need to do something bigger, something better, something NEW.
I’m a firm believer in ‘if it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it’, and the current model Pokémon is built on definitely isn’t broken, but there’s always room for improvement!
Here’s a list of 5 things that I think we all want from the new Pokémon ‘Sun and Moon’ games.
▪A Better Storyline
In all of Pokémon’s 20 years the question between players has always been “What Pokémon have you caught?”, but imagine it being “What ending did you get?”.
The story mode of Pokémon has literally been exactly the same since the very first Red and Yellow games. You pick your three starters, you beat all 8 gym leaders and then complete the extended story line after the Elite Four – not to say that this story mode is bad, for first time players it’s probably amazing, but for those of us who have been through our fair share of Pokémon games, it gets tiresome.
What we need are alternate endings similar to that on GTA V; with each players decisions and choices during the game determining how the game ends for them. This would add a new dimension to the game whereby players actually consider the outcomes of “Yes” or “No” scenarios and look forward to completing the game that much more!
▪An Opportunity To Catch Mew
We’ve seen Pokémon games undergo many changes over the past 20 years, the addition of the 24 hour clock, wireless trading, the addition of new types, so on and so on, but one thing hasn’t changed… We Still Can’t Catch Mew.
Before you guys start discrediting my Pokémon knowledge I do realise that you can catch a Mew at Pokémon events, but the opportunity to catch it during the regular story would make Pokémon Sun and Moon a huge milestone in the series. Especially considering that this year is Pokémon’s 20th anniversary, it would be fitting to put the spotlight on one of the franchise’ most popular Pokémon. Unlike Pikachu (the face of the franchise), Mew also happens to be one of the most powerful Pokémon in the whole game, capable of learning any/all moves, so I do understand why the game’s creators won’t allow just anyone to get a hold of one.
To make it harder for players to obtain a Mew, there could be a series of in-game challenges or mini-missions that must be completed before you could capture Mew OR maybe even a separate ‘Mew story arc’ at the end of the main story where you would have to protect Mew from being captured by the rival team – allowing the player to use it in a few battles before releasing it back into the its rightful place in the wild at the end of the story arc.
▪Connectivity between regions
With Pokémon being a game suitable for players 3+, there are those who are still yet to experience some of Pokémon’s most iconic regions – namely Johto and Kanto, both of these regions haven’t featured in any Pokémon game since the ‘HeartGold’ and ‘SoulSilver’ games all the way back in 2010.
Connectivity between regions isn’t a new concept, ironically the last games to embrace this were the ‘HeartGold’ and ‘SoulSilver’ games, which allowed players to venture into both the Johto and Kanto regions during the game.
Currently the only way to revisit some of these regions is to buy the original game (some of which are aren’t even on Nintendo 3DS) or wait for the remake to come out. Even the concept of Pokemon remakes is beginning to wear thin. We all like seeing our favourite games brought back to life with better graphics and added content, but I think we’d prefer the release of more original titles.
So before Pokémon get to the ridiculous stage of ‘remaking their remakes’, the creators should introduce connectivity between regions in Pokemon Sun and Moon allowing gamers to travel to (two or three) previous regions. Having to battle your way through multiple regions/gym leaders not only adds a degree of difficulty to the game but also further opportunity for exploration.
However, I highly doubt Pokémon will ever introduce this feature to their games. The reason being that they’d probably make more money from releasing remakes than they would from incorporating multiple regions into single game.
▪Multiple Saved Stories
You’ve got a friend who sees how much fun you have playing Pokemon, but doesn’t know enough about the game to know if it’s worth paying for, so understandably they ask if they can borrow yours to try it out. Reasonable enough request right? WRONG! Unlike pretty much every game ever made, every Pokémon thus far has only allowed you to have ONE active saved file.
This means that lending your friend your Pokemon game and allowing them to select the ‘New Game’ option could mean saying goodbye to months or years of gameplay *cue sad violin music*. If you’re a mature individual you’d probably still lend it to them, I mean you’ve had your fun and the game simply has nothing left to offer, but if you’re a ‘Grown Ass Kid’ like myself on the other hand, you NEVER press New Game… EVER.
No New Game = No Borrowing The Game To Your Friend.
Apart from just being able to lend the game to a friend, multiple saved files opens up so many possibilities for Pokémon fans! Imagine being able to start a new file and choose a different starter Pokémon, rather than having to choose and be stuck with the starter you’ve chosen. I’m a simple man, I see a Fire starter and I pick it, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not a fan of any of the ‘Water’ or ‘Grass’ Pokémon, so let’s cut the middle man out and let me start again with a different starter. To add a bit of difficulty the multiple saved file option should only be available once you’ve completed the game for the first time.
▪ More Eeveelutions Please!
Who doesn’t like Eeveelutions? We’ve gone through almost every type Eevee (Water, Psychic, Fairy, etc) and every type of way to evolve them (trading, stones, etc) and we still can’t get enough of them!
Rather than write a list of why we want them, I thought it would just be easier to add a video by the Youtuber ‘Dobbs’ which lists the possible Eeveelutions that could make an appearance in the upcoming ‘Sun and Moon’ games.
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