>>20191049Nah, the ability to build a team to your own specifications is a major part of what makes Pokemon stand out. The battle system is pretty simple and intuitive, but the sheer volume of techniques and monsters give it a great deal of depth.
Also, while it's true that the stories are super lackluster, the settings themselves tend to have a lot of personality. Traveling through all those exotic locations makes it feel more like a legit adventure. The social aspect (trading, battling, etc) was/is also a huge component.
Speaking of which, yeah, the system has to be modified for proper competition, but how many other RPG's have any sort of competitive scene at all? It's fairly unique among competitive games in that there really isn't an element of "reaction time"; it's just a matter of out-thinking your opponent and having a better strategy.
>>20191095I dunno if that analogy holds up. Mario's controls and level design are both considered to be pretty top tier among platformers, and it tends to move the genre forward with each main title (usually, I mean). I think OP's point was that the story *and* gameplay of Pokemon were lacking.
