Pokémon Let's Go (Pikachu & Eevee)

[Loony BoB]

Anyone got any thoughts on this announcement? I'm not sure how I feel about it. I hope it won't stop a more official release down the line. The idea of not being able to actually battle wild pokemon anymore because all you ever do is throw balls over and over is meh. I like that it's a return to Kanto region though, and the graphics look good (although I'm still wanting a true 3D Kanto region game).

[Fynn]

Definitely not a fan of returning to Kanto again (we’ve had enough Gen 1 pandering recently thank you) but it definitely does look like cute family fun. An actual next generation of Pokémon games is confirmed for 2019.

[Jinx]

I'm very underwhelmed. Unless they wow me in the next few months, I won't be getting it. I'd have preferred a new game over a remake.

[Psychotic]

I don't think anyone who posts on Eyes on FF is the target audience for this title. They're trying to capture the, and I hate this dumb expression, casual gamers who played Pokemon Go, and they're seriously late to that party but we'll see how it goes.

Despite Fynn's chagrin, it's a good strategy to focus on the original 150 as having to learn what 700+ Pokemon do is a real barrier to entry and the originals are the most iconic and well known, especially thanks to Pokemon Go. But I also think they could maybe add a further 50 or so of the cutest/best/most marketable from other titles in the series if they're intending this to be their gateway drug. I can only hope they're also going to tighten up the battle system that led to only 8 or so Pokemon being worthwhile in the multiplayer meta. No more Alakazams and Tauroses please!

I also don't think Kanto itself is a particular draw and it would've been better to set it a new region with new cities, stories, characters and dungeons. That might have drawn in some more of the long term fans of the series.

[Fynn]

Oh I definitely see the merits of easing people into the series with just the first 151. I just think Kanto has been done to death at this point.

[Freya]

Oh I'm totally the target audience. CO-OP pokemon? I can use another game to help this game? Heck yes.

I am hyped beyond belief and it is now the reason I will be getting a switch. We met out best friends in town thanks to PoGO. None of us play anymore but it left an impact on us all and if we can start jointly doing more pokemon? heck yeah.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

We still have a mainline pokemon game coming next year, and I’m definitely more interested in seeing how that looks. I also feel they must have botched up these announcements somehow because I’ve seen a ton of confusion from people that seem to think Pokemon Lets Go is the new mainline Pokémon game.

In regards to this game though, there is a chance I’ll end up getting it. My wife has been getting back into Pokémon Go. I like that you can transfer your Pokémon from your phone to the switch. I also like that the battles with trainers and such look like they are the more traditional battle system from the mainline games. I also like that it is co-op and could give my wife and I something to play together if it ends up looking decently fun in the end.

[Loony BoB]

Odd, most of the people we talk to at conventions are sick of them expanding the Pokémon and would be happy to get back to Kanto for a full-on 3D game, basically a reboot of the series. Few of the Pokémon art fanbase care too much about the new stuff. Hard to really gauge the global audience though.

Personally, I'd be happy with no more than 400 Pokémon ever, but with them simply improving the gameplay to something that's actually worth a full game price over constant additions of new Pokémon. After a while, any new Pokémon just became fodder to me.

[Jinx]

Personally, the reveal of new qt Pokemon every generation is one of my favorite parts. People are just stuck in a nostalgia bubble.

[Fynn]

Exactly. The thrill of discovering a new place and a whole bunch of new creatures is what really keeps me invested in the series

I also disagree with BoB’s assessment - if you take online communities, Poketuners, etc, into account, they talk about all the new stuff.

[Loony BoB]

Oh, without a doubt the people who are into it as much as we're into Final Fantasy will want every inch of new everything. I'm talking about the wider audience that actually makes up the bulk of Pokémon purchases, the "casuals" as you might wanna call 'em. We get buttloads of people asking for all kinds of Pokémon every con though (since we're selling stock that is about 50% Pokémon artwork) and it's rare we get asked about anything after the third generation. We definitely get the vast majority asking for the first gen.

I do like discovering new places, but to be honest they rarely feel like new places for me. I haven't played the latest games though which did seem more different than most? I dunno. But the generations following Kanto just felt like a bunch of towns surrounded by tall grass to me. There wasn't much exotic to them that made them feel like I was in a new game entirely, just a slightly reworked one. I admittedly didn't get too far into the games after Pokémon Black.

EDIT: When I say I want to see more of Kanto, I mean more than just the same areas we've already seen but done up. I mean a 3D world in which you can really explore on par with Zelda. Zelda's probably a good example actually as you see Hyrule - the same place it always was - but drastically improved upon. That's what I'd want for Kanto.

[Fynn]

I think you’re persoective is also kinda skewed since you’re viewing it from the perspective of someone who grew up with Pokémon at the height of Pokemania. But the truth is Pokémon has always managed to reach its target demographic of kids, so there are many people who were kids back then (but are more or less young adults now) that started with Ruby, Diamond, White, etc. it’s not really the bulk of the fanbase that has big nostalgia for Kanto - there is a very sizeable chunk of it for whom generations three, four, and beyond are what Gen 1 was for a lot of the older fans.

I think the most disappointed right now are the people who really wanted a Sinnoh remake - because instead of that we’re now getting yet another journey to Kanto.

Still, like I said, I’m fairly excited for this and I think it looks cool but I’m also really glad this is a side game because I would’ve flipped numerous tables if generation 8 meant going back to Kanto again after two whole generations giving us half-naked rosters with generation 1 pandering in the form of mega evolutions and Alolan forms.

I guess my point is - generation 1 and it’s pokemon get a lot of love anyway. It’d be cool if we just got something new again or if other generations got a day in the limelight instead


EDIT: also Kanto totes got expanded all the way back in Gold and Silver already. Something no other region ever got except maybe Unova between BW and BW2

[Freya]

I dunno PoGo was HUGE and it was bigger because of the nostalgia factor. So a switch game that works with PoGo? Of course it's also using the nostalgia factor. They are interested in making money ha.

And you back off my alolan forms. They are darlings and you hurt Snowy Vulpix' feelings.

[Fynn]

Oh I love the Alolan forms. Just wish it wasn’t just Gen 1 pokes

[Psychotic]

I think you're seeing this through the wrong lens, Fynn. I don't disagree with anything you've said about the popularity of later gens relative to gen 1 and how kids have grown up with later gens. As weird as this is to say, this game is not even about Generation 1 RYB Pokemon, it's about Pokemon Go Pokemon. I appreciate they are exactly the same thing on paper, but this title doesn't exist to pander to ye old skool genwunners. The people who Nintendo want to buy this game aren't posting on PokeTuners or have even heard of it.