Pokémon Sun and Moon: Yea or Nay?
I really like the Sun and Moon games! And I love the remakes as well, but it seems like not everyone is a big fan. I wanna take a temperature check and see how many people like or dislike this gen. Feel free to tell me why, I really wanna know!
Pokémon Sun and Moon: Yea or Nay? 7 votes
5 votes
2 votes
Comments
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Somewhere in the middle…
The options in your poll are a little limited and ambiguous. I think most people would probably say they fall somewhere in the middle. Should someone who was relatively positive on the game but had criticisms pick "I liked it!" along with the superfan who thinks they are the greatest games ever made, or do they fall somewhere in the middle?
For me I found the generation frustrating. I really liked the story and the characters, and there were a lot of appealing new Pokémon designs. Buzzwole and Mimikyu are now among my absolute favourite Pokémon. The music was fantastic and the art style and character design looked great, albeit inhibited by the 3DS graphics.
However, the story was drastically hampered by its pacing and delivery. I hated being stopped what felt like every few steps for a cutscene, or long into the early game, a tutorial. Especially irritating as a lifelong fan who's been playing since Red and Blue. I know how to Pokémon, thanks. Even for a young child new to the game it felt like it would have been excessive.
This was worsened by releasing essentially the same game a year later, forcing me to endure the same plodding plotline again before I finally got to the new content. It really soured my impression of the generation, to the point I am not sure I will ever play it again.
Furthermore, I feel that virtually all of the major story changes in USUM were for the worse. Making Hau the champion improved my impression of the character, but I didn't care for the Ultra Team (or whatever they are called in English) plotline.
Rainbow Rocket was a fun addition, especially for a longtime fan such as myself, but it came at the cost of brushing aside the conclusion and consequences of Lusamine's story and actions. It weakens the story and her character. Fortunately I suspect only the original games will be canon, so if we see Lusamine and family again, it will probably follow on from that version of the story.
From a game perspective, generation 7 continued the trends that began in generation 6. It once again deployed the exp. share, but you still had the option to turn it off, which I did from the moment the option became available. Pokémon transfered from other games no longer had Pokédex entries, and while they were still in the game, this was the prelude to dexit.
My complaints about the Pokémon 3D games in general also apply. The 3D models are flat and static compared to the detailed, colourful and lively sprites of the 2D games, Game Freak's awful optimisation practices slow the game down to a degree far more obvious than the 2D games, and the rigor of designing 3D worlds clearly takes a toll on Game Freak they are still ill equipped to handle even to this day.
In short, despite a lot of the things I loved about the game that could easily have made it my favourite 3D Pokémon game, its pacing and delivery make it a tedious experience. One that I may never choose to endure again.
This would make it a prime candidate for a remake that could address many of the issues I highlighted here, especially with the story delivery, but sadly I think modern Game Freak would only double down and make everything I hate about the game worse while not addressing the problems.
I think they would keep the story as it is, or add more scenes to it, while making exp. share mandatory and limiting the Pokédex to strictly generation 7 Pokémon. We might even get the BDSP treatment, which would be the final nail in the coffin.
Sun and Moon had so much potential, but the games just make me sad.
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I liked it!
These definitely seem to be the most common criticisms. I agree with you about the technical stuff, like the limiting of Pokémon being available and the current soulless state of the franchise’s games. However, I actually really liked the cutscenes and story elements, probably because I was a kid. I genuinely felt like everyone was well written, and I got pretty attached to the characters.do agree that Lusamine got nerfed pretty hard, though. As for the overall style, I actually think USUM is the prettiest game so far. I grew up in the era of 3D, so seeing the bright colors and occasional wingull flying ahead with the overall tropical theme definitely made me happy. Ty for the reply!
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