>>42046232>i'm a bit confused as to why we're being so critical of the "you're special" trope when it's already widely employed in RPGs...?I'd be critical of it in other rpgs too, certainly, but the premise of the thread is internal to the franchise, and other Pokemon games aren't nearly so blatant about leaning on it
I used the term exploitative writing because that's what it felt like as I played it, it took the sensation of tugging on the heartstrings and made it all too tangible
>>42046054I could give you my spiel about pmd2's gameplay if you like but it's probably less interesting to most people. basically I think the direct control over the pc vs the parameters laid out for followers is a compelling compromise between the complexity of a fully controlled party based dungeon crawler and the immediacy that a relatively young mind probably prefers, but it's a compromise that means the game doesn't get anywhere near the visceral satisfaction of an action game and in interactions that should be more complex like monster houses and some bosses, is either relatively shallow or clumsy to manipulate. this is why pmd2 has a significantly easier main story than 1, I think. well, until darkrai. anyway it's mostly well executed except when followers expose the dubious AI you're working with, or any time you step on a warp trap
