>>37132196Despite being 100% pro-3D and never interested in seeing sprites again, I don't really disagree with this at all, but for different reasons. The current Pokémon mainline games definitely are 2D games, and the 3D generations *are* abominations, but I don't believe that's the fault of 3D, but rather the mediocre way Game Freak handled the 2(.5)D->3D jump. That's a pretty big leap for any game, and it carries with it a lot of expectations that XY+ just don't satisfy, or even try to satisfy. The modern mainline games are pretty much just the same 2D game with a 3D skin, and that's just not going to feel right no matter what.
3D Pokémon and characters offer such fantastic potential for interacting with and immersing yourself in the Pokémon world, but in practice they're little more than a drop-in replacement for sprites in most core gameplay; most players probably wouldn't even notice if Game Freak locked the camera in place during battles and replaced models with pre-rendered animations, and Showdown pretty much already demonstrates this. 3D models are advantageous because they can be so much more dynamic and "alive" than sprites, but what we got was almost just as rigid and lifeless.
Regions, towns and routes in the 3D era are just plain boring to me, because they're still really no different from what they were in the 2D era other than being less repetitive and grid-like. They're still tiny, they somehow manage to be even more lacking in character beyond over-the-top architectural themes or one-off gimmicks, and they're still just plain empty. All of these more "realistic" looking 3D inhabitants are still just fancy looking and slightly more interactive signposts with no depth, substance or significance whatsoever beyond being an idle tool to advance a snorefest storyline.
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