>>35375901 >>35375909 >>35375920 >>35376120>And simply calling out ad hominem is not a valid argument in itself either.Wasn't meant to be.
>you can go North of Oldale and surf across to North of SlateportI wasn't very specific here but that's what I meant - route between Slateport and Mauville. Whatever path you take you will have to backtrack to Mauville, whether it be from Oldale or Slateport. My bad.
>Do you consider XY to have backtracking because you return to Lumiose CityMy memory may be wrong but you explore new parts of town after the first visit.
>Now if you can actually explain why the game needs absolutely zero backtrackingWrong assumption, I don't think like that. E.g. Pokemon Ranger has quite a lot of maze-like locations and requires you to backtrack every so often. I like this because it stimulates your brain - make you memorize the map and use acquired knowledge to properly use Pokemon. After all, capturing Pokemon and using their field moves is this game's feature.
Hoenn's backtracking is just mindless for the most part.
After you beat Roxanne and save Peeko, you have to go almost all the way to Mr. Briney's shack.
After beating Wattson you go north of Mauville since you can use Rock Smash. You end up in Rustboro again after leaving Meteor Falls. Guess what, you go through Rusturf Tunnel and north of Mauville since Mt. Chimney is not closed now. You literally go in circles here.
After beating Flannery you have to either repeat your stroll through Meteor Falls or Rusturf Tunnel to go all they way to Petalburg. Soon after that you have to backtrack to Mauville.
And there is another thing, visiting early town after a long journey (like Viridian in RBY) is fine because it makes you think how long your journey was. Most of backtracking in Hoenn happens in first half of the game.
GF gave a lot of options for a player to travel and it works (for the most part) in the first playthrough. Sadly, it's irritating when you replay the games.
