>>39738016What is a Metroidvania
There is a way in which HMs could be used to make the world open more organically, to encourage exploration of older places for rarer items or Pokémon, or to make backtracking less meaningless. On a well-integrated and designed map, HMs could allow for more exploration. Hoenn’s looping mainland was a decent example of this, and Sinnoh is somewhat structured like a Metroidvania.
It just sucks that most of the HMs are unappealing for even in-game-team movesets and that they’re permanent. It also sucks that, with such linear word design in Gen V through Gen VII, HMs/Pokeride serve purely as “go do the plot thing the rival told you to do so you get the move/Pokémon to cross that terrain”.
