>>40142957>>40143303>>40143563>>40144665I can't speak for anyone but myself but I never complained about the linearity of those routes. Pokemon overworlds have always been linear both in their design and in how you progress through them (with the only exception maybe being Hoenn's eastern water routes) and there's nothing wrong with that. People that complain about linearity as if it was something inherently wrong are retards anyway.
My problem with SM's routes and the reaso why I think most people perceive them as worse compared to older routes isn't necessarily their design but how it is presented to the player.
To demonstrate what I mean I'll use this part of Hoenn as a contrary example. Once you can leave Mauville City through the north your next plot important location is Meteor Fallls. As you can see on the map the route you have to take is completely linear. There's not a single meaningful choice you can make on how you progress and yet if you'd ask anyone who has ever played these games noone would say that it feels that way. That's because noone tells you where to go or what to do. You leave Mauville through your own volition, you discover the fiery path on your own. That's the main difference to SM really.
In Gen 7 you would've been stopped by rival when you'd try to leave Mauville so he could remind you where you should go next. The Rotom map would've put a marker on fiery path so you'd already know what would await you. Hell, in gen 3 you can enter and leave Fallarbor town without talking to a single NPC. You can should straight run through it if you'd want. In SM you would've been stopped dead in your tracks so a cutscene could inform you about Prof. Cozmo's kidnapping.
(to be continued)
