>>46160012Look at how many branching paths are in just that one small area you'll probably forget about.
Look at how many different orders you can take it in.
You can blast right through and not bother with the items, you can take the dead end and get the Misty Seed first, then the Life Orb, then Phantom Force, then the Smoke Ball, or you can take the Smoke Ball first, then Phantom Force, then Life Orb and loop back around. And the Mental Herb can be taken from both sides and even be missed, meaning the game rewards you for exploration. And this is for ONE SMALL AREA.
Now look at Unova. The entire game has literally zero branching paths whatsoever. You just go from one town to the other. Yeah, they gussy it up with dunjuns and puzzuls and gaemplaeey, but you ultimately have no choice in how you navigate the region whatsoever.
