“No, the transition to 3D isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to Pokemon”, there’s a lot worse!

Game news “No, the transition to 3D isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to Pokemon”, there’s a lot worse!

“Wow, Pokemon Scarlet and Purple’s graphics really broke the ground“The last part of Game Freak’s flagship license was titled Numerama at the time of publication, and we can find similar phrases on other information sites. And we must admit that 3D and Pokemon are not a great love story.

Released in 2023 on Nintendo Switch, Pokemon Scarlet and Purple had tons of bugs, a yo-yo framerate, and textures clearly below industry standards. (also for Japanese consoles). In short, a result difficult to see in the eye – which has revived the players’ distrust of the third dimension in the universe of pocket monsters. And if I fully understand that we can choose 2D shutters – taste and colors are not up for debate -, I think we need to stop blaming everything on 3D when we talk about Pokemon!

Check out Pokemon Scarlet/Purple on Amazon

3D and its good sides

I find it a shame that players only criticize the 3D graphics of Pokemon games and therefore only focus on the technical aspect of this opus. Because if you look closely, 3D has brought a lot to the license, whether we like it or not. On the one hand, the first three-dimensional games brought a breath of fresh air that game freaks really needed, while being absolute successes. Pokemon X and Y, which mark this transition, are a great example. We then admired the achievement of creating over 3,000 different animations for over 400 creatures, and all this in three dimensions, not to mention everything implemented outside of combat. And how can we not talk about Mega-Evolution, surely one of the best additions to any Pokemon game.

Also X and Y Game Freak’s 3D games are not the only exception. Although it was heavily criticized – and rightly so – for its graphics. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is, in my opinion, the most innovative game released in a long time. It is based on capturing Pokemon and not on fighting. The player evolves into the Hisui region, which follows from Sinnoh from the Diamond and Pearl games, and where humans are not yet in full harmony with pocket monsters.. This gives the game a very different atmosphere from other parts. Although it acts as a 4G remake, Arceus clearly represents a new way to play Pokemon. This new formula called Legends will definitely come back in the future, Legends Arceus Which can be considered as a kind of prototype.

But here we are despite good ideas and good results (Pokemon Y ranked 6th on Game Freak’s Best Sellers today), Three-dimensional Pokemon games have major drawbacks. However, the graphic quality, although I disturb you, is not the main criticism. In my opinion, games have suffered over the years from the casualization of licenses that studios absolutely want.

Casualization of Licenses: A Game Freak’s Worst Idea

Since the release of the Nintendo Switch, Game Freak has radically changed its approach to licensing. For several years now, I’ve seen the casualization of the franchise, which began in 2018 with Pokemon Let’s Go EV/Pikachu. The game, though visually beautiful, stands out from other opuses. Released two years after Pokemon GO crushed everything in its path, this let’s go Takes great inspiration from the mobile game, even adopting its monster capture mode. From combat to animal hunting, the game was more accessible, more fun and more “childish” than usual, so clearly aimed at a younger audience.

From that moment on, I noticed that difficulty became almost absent in Pokémon games, with features added to each generation to simplify the player experience, and elements deemed too complex were removed. The example that strikes me the most is the complete disappearance of victory routes in recent games. That, which represented one of the greatest challenges of the first generations, the penultimate part before the Pokémon League, is now nothing more than a faint, fleeting memory. Even in terms of end game content, we have very few challenges available. Every day, I think about the battles against Pokemon Heartgold or Red in the Pokemon Sun battle tree that required me to develop a realistic attack strategy.

But it is not only the battles that mark the casualization of the license. Game Freak also decided to remove elements that complicate player progression. From now on, there’s no need to know Pokemon weaknesses by heart or struggle to find an ability master, the game does it for you. in Pokemon Scarlet and Purple, we don’t even need to farm leagues to level up our creatures anymore, we just need to raid 4 to 5 Dynamax. In just 30 minutes, the creature went from level 1 to level 60. We also have access to our PC boxes – a stock of monsters normally only accessible in the Pokemon Center – from our bags, which is literally not the case! But despite much criticism from people, Pokemon Scarlet and Purple has sold over 23 million copies, ranking fourth among the best-selling licenses.

in short, I think the main problem with the recent Pokémon games comes from the studio’s casualization of the fully intended license. Certainly, the 3D graphics are deplorable, but they only represent the tip of the iceberg; If the games were better made, we wouldn’t be spitting on them so much. So what does the future hold for Pokemon? Even with a very good score for the last few games, it vaguely looks like a point of no return has been reached. The Legends formula gives me hope for better days ahead for the franchise, even if I have a hard time believing it. However, despite a certain lack of originality, increasing redundancy and obvious graphic lag, It looks like the Pokemon license is a swan that lays golden eggs that won’t stop laying eggs anytime soon.