>>41303404The system of using routes is antiquated. As graphics get better and better, it starts to hurt more and more. There's no longer nondescript plains or endless trees beyond the play area, but the camera makes sure you see these amazing vistas you can never visit. The lack of movement options also means you can't do anything but walk around on the tourist areas you're allowed to "explore". A total scenario overhaul is necessary for the series to evolve any further.
Understand, open levels doesn't mean open world. Xenoblade has very open levels in which you can run, jump, climb and swim. Nevertheless, they're levels, and you progress from level to level in a linear fashion.
Ohmori's pokemon feels like a plastic tourist trap because there is such a huge disconnection between the pokemon fantasy and reality. That's why people generally like the idea of the "wild area" - you can finally move somewhat freely in an actual place, appropriate for 3D space.
Look at this. Doesn't this view spark a desire for adventure, hope for the future? "For now we still move on a grid on routes, but someday this fantasy will be fulfilled." Run and adventure freely in locations that feel like actual places instead of crude representations of them. But for Ohmori, this is the endgame. Tease the player with vistas and concessions like the small Wild Area, but keep them on rails in the supervised tourist hutch.
