>>58890426He's... right but he's wording it in weird way.
Old Pokemon games were more about player's agency, with cutscenes and in-game events that very rarely drag you forward. You get your starter, your dec and your balls and move forward at your own pace.
Compare it to modern Pokemon titles where very often first 2-3 hours is just an introductions, tutorials, setups and then you're constantly dragged and urged to push forward and because world is so barebone and lacking in side content, usually going forward is the only direction.
Think about the classic roguelikes and how people can literally spend decades replaying something like Nethack. The story is very minimal, there's no cutscenes and player is free to do whatever they want in whatever way they want. And here's the kicker - TPC and Gamefreak don't want to make this kind of game because they don't want you to replay one game over and over again, they want you to finish the current game and then purchase another game, this is why you're dragged from start to finish.
