>>58955485If Pokemon's target audience was just kids, it wouldn't be the most profitable IP in history. Like any other IP, it's art direction, presentation, and portrayal of characters, themes, and just the world these characters live in are a reflection of the time we live in. If you try and look at Z-A from a late 90s, or mid-00's or whatever, perspective, then yeah, it's going to feel different. It's how GF and TPC continues to grow the IP. At its core though, it's still Pokemon, with Pokemon that players from years ago grew up with, with familiar mechanics even with the tweaks in gameplay here and there. As more gamers age, there's always more that will start to feel nostalgic for "their" generation of Pokemon and come back, alongside the players that have been there from the beginning and the new players of today.
GF/TPC gets a lot of flack and rightfully so, but you have to give them credit for cracking the code that allowed them to create and maintain the biggest IP in history.
