>>40893530I don't think anyone is implying that Pokemon was ever really challenging (unless you count postgame stuff like Battle Frontier). It's more the fact that the dungeons are oversimplifed compared to how they used to be in the earlier generations. Masuda even points this out in the same interview where he explained why the Battle Frontier was omitted from ORAS
>We created a "balanced" game that was suited for our time and age, where everyone is very busy and young people have various means of entertainment. Using smartphones and other devices they can access a great number of games, so the time they dedicate to a single game is less than in the past. The player can choose to keep on playing after the main story and continue to the post-game, where the difficulty rises and there are much more difficult Trainers and challenges to overcome. Making the games easier was a design choice to appeal to the ever changing casual market. It has nothing to do with nostalgia making you think the games were harder, they actually were harder.
