But Noooooooo! (Talk of 7th Gen)

I was poking around for news on new Pokemon games and found that they are talking about one. What I found distresses me a little bit though. The article says the following:

Quote :

In the magazine “We Love Pokémon”, Game Freak's Ken Sugimori commented on the seventh generation of Pokémon.

When asked what the next generation of Pokémon games will be like if such a plan exists, Sugimori commented that they will not add more layers of complexity, but rather revert back to simplicity, in part by using elements found in Pokémon Red and Green. Therefore, there is now speculation that Game Freak may opt for this route in developing Generation VII.

As a side note, not only the number of games, but also the number of Pokémon, moves, abilities, items, etc. increase as each new generation is introduced, to such a degree that is difficult to remember all of them. It is impossible to decrease the amount of Pokémon, and such a move is assumed to be uncalled for, but some fans have claimed that it might be better to significantly organize/trim the moves, abilities, items, etc.

Also, Sugimori thought that other than the content of the game, Pokémon designs could probably be simplified, as well. As an extra, he stated in the same magazine that his favorite Pokémon of all times, even now as of the Pokémon XY series, is still Gengar as in the past.

The last time they tried to simplify things, we got Sinnoh and I hated, hated that region. I nearly gave up on Pokemon because of that region. Gen fives complexity in it's plot drew me back in.

Now you want to revert back? I do not want!

Want to simplify things? Get rid of HM's because no one likes them. Cut back on IV's/EV's or simplify that so more people understand the idea of breeding for good stats. I honestly can't think of anything else that bothers me other than that. Moves, abilities, natures, etc. have always been fine to me.

Likewise, this is what game guides are physically made for, so the player can get extra help for the things they don't understand.

I don't know. This kind of pissed me off. I don't want another Sinnoh and god forbid another Kanto. Sugimori, you need to stop with feeding the first gen fanboys.

I would like to see where this actually came from, but I'm honestly thinking that it might not really be happening, especially since there isn't really an official announcement from Nintendo/Gamefreak on Gen VII, and things can change during the development for the new games.

Second, I don't think a simpler story is going to kill it. Don't get me wrong, I like having a good plot in any game, but for Pokemon, it wasn't always the primary focus. Though simplifying things may not really mean anything with the plot, it may actually have more to do with how newcomers play the game. Simplifying the EVs/IVs is something that most prominently comes to mind, though it's more likely that they will keep HMs in order to create a form of challenge so that it isn't too easy, and will have players keep wanting to play.

Also, while they do listen to fan input, it's not really that far off to say that they may consider a remake of Kanto or Sinnoh (or any region), it's more likely that they'll keep up with what's in the current generation and keep whatever standards were present in past generations that helped with the games (the Day/Night cycle is one that comes to mind first) while adding something new so that it can be it's own generation. And really, it's VERY unlikely that they'll make it appeal only to Gen I (or any past gen) fans by having the gameplay being anything like a past generation; They aren't that stupid.

Ram's Desire wrote:

If that plan does pull through I won't buy the next game, if there is one. Simple as that.

Couldn't agree more with you there. Which is a damn shame since Pokemon has gotten more or less on the rise again.

KnightZilla wrote:

I would like to see where this actually came from, but I'm honestly thinking that it might not really be happening, especially since there isn't really an official announcement from Nintendo/Gamefreak on Gen VII, and things can change during the development for the new games.

Second, I don't think a simpler story is going to kill it. Don't get me wrong, I like having a good plot in any game, but for Pokemon, it wasn't always the primary focus. Though simplifying things may not really mean anything with the plot, it may actually have more to do with how newcomers play the game. Simplifying the EVs/IVs is something that most prominently comes to mind, though it's more likely that they will keep HMs in order to create a form of challenge so that it isn't too easy, and will have players keep wanting to play.

Also, while they do listen to fan input, it's not really that far off to say that they may consider a remake of Kanto or Sinnoh (or any region), it's more likely that they'll keep up with what's in the current generation and keep whatever standards were present in past generations that helped with the games (the Day/Night cycle is one that comes to mind first) while adding something new so that it can be it's own generation. And really, it's VERY unlikely that they'll make it appeal only to Gen I (or any past gen) fans by having the gameplay being anything like a past generation; They aren't that stupid.

The source is a magazine called "We Love Pokemon", as I stated up there in the quote. More specifically, it's on a Japanese forum however, unless you've a good translator, you're not going to get full detail out of it.

I'm a very story driven person and lately, the games have been doing a marvelous job in immersing me into another world. The last time they simplified anything after Hoenn, we got Sinnoh which was very much a call back to gen one and I hated it.

Not to say I don't agree with you. There are things that could changed and simplified. What Sugimori is suggesting, however - especially the designs of Pokemon, just kind of seems over the top and pointless to me. Why focus on that when there are some things that can be fine tuned such as HMs being an annoying, undeletable move unless I'm specifically using a Pokemon for HMs.

They're re-making Sinnoh, no doubt, as that would be the next branch for mega-evolutions to fit for the starters. That and Lopunny getting a mega-evolution in third gen when it wasn't even supposed to be a in that generation tends to leave a large hint.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that they won't do it either. Nintendo has been making some terrible business decisions through the passed few years and systematically shooting themselves in the foot while they're doing it.