As we wait for the release of the recently announced Pokemon Sun and Moon, Game Rant takes a look at what features we’d like to see in the upcoming titles.
Despite the excitement of Pokemon Sun and Moon‘s announcement during Nintendo’s Pokemon-themed direct, very little has been revealed about the upcoming game besides the fact that it will be a new main series title.
Due to the lack of information in the company’s brief presentation, all we can do is speculate about the upcoming games, though some eagle-eyed fans have noticed that the presented concept art hints at the next adventure possibly having a tropical setting. While we don’t know much about what the new titles are going to be like, here are just some of the things we hope will be in Pokemon Sun and Moon.
A Better Rival
The original Pokemon games had great rivals that would occasionally pop up to test the player’s skills in battle. The Kanto region had Blue, Johto had Silver, and Hoenn had May/Brendan – as well as Wally. The thing is, as the games go on, The Pokemon Company seem to be diluting down the rival experience in place of allowing more characters to join the player’s journey. In the latest region, Kalos, the player has 4 friends that will turn up from time to time.
The thing is, while Blue and Silver’s teams would fill up and develop alongside the player’s, even the last time you encounter your friends in Pokemon X and Y, they still haven’t caught 6 Pokemon. Not only does this make them easier to beat but it actually serves to remove almost all of the threat in them challenging you to a battle. Here’s hoping that Sun and Moon brings back that same intensity that we saw when facing Blue in the Pokemon league for the first time.
Original Pokemon
One thing that made Pokemon X and Y so great was the inclusion of classic creatures, as well as the new additions to the Kalos Pokedex. While Generation 6 delivered a range of fresh and uniquePokemon, the power of nostalgia is strong, especially for Pokemon fans. With the inclusion of the brand new Mega Evolution, old favorites suddenly became important and usable creatures again.
Of course we’re all wanting to see what The Pokemon Company delivers in terms of new creatures, but adopting X and Y‘s method of blending the old with the new might be the best tactic to ensure popularity of the new games. Maybe Sun and Moon will once again give players a second starterPokemon, this time in the form of the second generation’s Cyndaquil, Totodile, or Chikorita.
Higher Difficulty
Despite Pokemon being a game generally aimed towards children, Nintendo has always been good at making its titles fun for all ages and the older fanbase isn’t about to abandon the franchise, especially during the Year of Pokemon. That said, it would be nice to see the Big N raise the difficulty just a little from it’s level in X and Y. The original games had just the right amount of difficulty to add a challenge while still keeping the game fun.
In the last original title, however, players had access to an exp. share that simultaneously levelled up all of their Pokemon at once, regardless of whether or not they were ever sent out in battle. This resulted in the player having a high level team with very little effort and led to many complaining that the game’s ultimate challenge, the Elite 4, required almost no preparation to beat. While an easyPokemon game does remove the need to grind levels, it takes away from the great sense of achievement that we felt after finally beating a difficult gym leader or challenging rival fight.
More Evolution/Mega Evolutions
It’s almost guaranteed that we’ll be getting a new range of Mega Evolutions in order to capitalize on the new feature that was introduced in the past couple games, but a few new regular Pokemon evolutions would be welcomed also. Pokemon such as Dunsparce, Farfetch’d, and Shuckle are long overdue a new form in order to make the creatures relevant and worthwhile in battle again.
In terms of new Megas, it’ll be interesting to see if the developers give any more starter Pokemon a Mega Evolution in much the same way as they did with Gen 1 and Gen 3. A Mega Typhlosion or Empoleon would be sure to be met with a great reception, due to the popularity of the two. It’d also be interesting to see creatures like Dragonite, Flygon, or Rapidash get a Mega form because, frankly, it’s upsetting that they haven’t already received the upgrade.
Return of the Roller Skates
Pokemon X/Y’s addition of the roller skates was one of the things that made the game stand out in comparison to the other main series titles. Ever since the series began, trainers have been confined to a blocky movement pattern that only allowed them to move in 4 different directions. Then out came the roller skates and suddenly every Pokemon master could move fluidly and quickly at a push of the CirclePad. Yes, bikes are available too, but there was just something fresh and new about the skates that made them so much fun to use.
Not only were the skates practical but trainers could also learn tricks including a stylish “Cosmic Flip”. Sadly, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby removed the option to skate in order to stay true to the original games, but with Sun and Moon on the way, Nintendo should certainly consider bringing back the transport method.
Pokemon Followers
Something that nearly every Pokemon fan wants to see is the return of the Pokemon follower. First seen in Pokemon Yellow where Pikachu could tail behind its trainer and be interacted with to check its mood, the Pokemon follower feature has been vastly underused ever since. Only appearing once more in Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Pokemon followers are well overdue a comeback.
Of course, it’d require a lot of effort to implement such a feature now, both because of the sheer number of Pokemon sprites that would need to be produced and because of the 3-dimensional movement but it’s sure to be very much appreciated by almost all of the Pokemon fanbase.
Conclusion
Despite the first Pokemon titles coming out 20 years ago, fans of the series are still playing the games today, and this is reflected in the success of Nintendo’s second most popular franchise as the sales increase with each generation. While the old classics still have a great deal of replay value, it’s important that the Big N learns from its successes and puts a great deal of time into making sure Pokemon Sun and Moon are remembered as fondly.
Regardless of whether any or all of the features on our list are added to the next Pokemon games, it seems hard for Nintendo to do anything profoundly wrong with this legendary series. With that said, it’s no stretch to say that we’re all very excited to see how Sun and Moon turn out.
Pokemon Sun and Moon are slated for a Holiday 2016 release for Nintendo 3DS.
[Source:- Gamerant]
