>>45910666In Gen II, you don't have to do Sprout Tower. If you do, you get rewarded with an optional rival interaction, Flash to light up Dark Cave, a potential Bellsprout you can trade for an Onix nearby which is helpful against Falkner, and a chance at catching a Gastly. The player is rewarded for choosing to go out of their way.
In HGSS, you are required to do Sprout Tower. I would have done it either way, but now it's not a choice. Now everyone gets the rival interaction and Flash and are more likely to get the optional Pokémon as well. The number of rewards for going out of your way has now decreased, and it's not replaced by anything like a hidden room with secrets or even an HM spot that you can backtrack to.
The games become more and more like this with each entry, marginalizing agency and giving what should be rewards for curiosity to all players as handouts. It's no child left behind, it's equating players who put in the effort to those who don't. For a game that should be about being on an adventure, modern entries sure take that aspect out of it. You think Kala'e Bay is a special secret area? The game literally walks everyone 95% of the way there to find Nebby. What is special about having Lugia or Ho-Oh in HGSS when now players MUST encounter it before beating the League?
I do not get any enjoyment from going through a mandatory rigid checklist with mind-numbing dialogue. Having a different team is window dressing, it doesn't matter what you use when the single-player is so easily breakable. I don't get any dopamine rush from seeing a Pokémon on my team that anyone has a 90% chance of getting. Gible from Wayward Cave? Good. Gible given to all players by Cynthia? Worthless.
