>>48126984I assume you're talking about BW
>Linear regionI thought that was RS and Platinum?
>Region has lack of identity because it's just a clusterfuck of random biomesIt's got like one out of place desert, but I get you
>Story that takes itself too seriously, but the writing is dogshit and completely surface level so none of it actually means anythingI'm not so sure I agree
>3 Pokémon for the last Gym LeadersIt's not about the number of Pokemon, it's how they're used. Now, BW doesn't use them super well, but whatever, I'd take that over teams repeating the same Pokemon like Gen 1 or 2 tended to occasionally.
>Annoying rivalsTechnically up to taste, but they do interrupt you a bit more often.
>Focus is on characters and plot rather than the player's own adventure through the regionDefinitely a fair assessment, although I will say that Bianca probably works with that concept than most of the actual games do.
>0 explorationIt's about on par with Gen 1
>0 postgameIt's about on par with DP
>ROM hack tier Pokémon distributionI don't really disagree, it's more like RS but with more even typing. Unless you mean B2W2 in which case kinda yeah.
>Casualisation in the form of excessive handholding, linearalisation, forced tutorials etc.Again, I'm pretty sure that started some time in Gen 3 or 4, it's one of the big complaints some people have about HGSS (even though it's one of my favorites personally).
Basically, it's a very transitional game, it's got elements from a lot of both eras in terms of design philosophy. I can understand why you'd find more problems with it, but I can live with a lot of the issues because the game makes up for them in other ways.
>>48126994I get the thematic reason, which is understandable, but that doesn't necessarily make for a good game. I don't have a major problem with the distribution in Johto for the most part (aside from a weird Yellow reference with removing an early game electric type from the wild).
