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Try to put aside how you feel about the new games for a moment.
And about the series in general and the generations thereof.
And about the developers.
Now, answer this.
Is this the biggest soft reboot the series has seen?
It’s easy to assume that Gen 5 was THE massive soft reboot because Black and White had zero old Pokémon until postgame, but something about SV makes it seem like it can beat that even with old Pokemon by virtue of everything else.
The gameplay is different. Fully open world, all Pokemon are visible to the player before encounter and there is no tall grass. Trainer battles are effectively completely optional. Local and online multiplayer is supported. ACTUAL multiplayer. Multiple people playing the game at the same time. Significantly larger in scale than Let’s Go’s multiplayer. Gyms, and everything else, can be tackled in any order, though the levels are still set and not scaled.
The story is different. You have three routes to progress through, all culminating in a finale. Beating the Champion, or Top Champion in this case, is not even close to the end of the game. The legendary isn’t presented as a threat, but a partner…until it technically IS the threat, presenting this as a twist.
The music is different. Five sections of the map all have the same music throughout, with towns having remixed versions of that theme, and variations playing during Pokémon battles. The music is also different depending on whether or not you’re riding the legendary.
How will the brand change from this dramatic shift in what “makes” a traditional Pokémon game?
And about the series in general and the generations thereof.
And about the developers.
Now, answer this.
Is this the biggest soft reboot the series has seen?
It’s easy to assume that Gen 5 was THE massive soft reboot because Black and White had zero old Pokémon until postgame, but something about SV makes it seem like it can beat that even with old Pokemon by virtue of everything else.
The gameplay is different. Fully open world, all Pokemon are visible to the player before encounter and there is no tall grass. Trainer battles are effectively completely optional. Local and online multiplayer is supported. ACTUAL multiplayer. Multiple people playing the game at the same time. Significantly larger in scale than Let’s Go’s multiplayer. Gyms, and everything else, can be tackled in any order, though the levels are still set and not scaled.
The story is different. You have three routes to progress through, all culminating in a finale. Beating the Champion, or Top Champion in this case, is not even close to the end of the game. The legendary isn’t presented as a threat, but a partner…until it technically IS the threat, presenting this as a twist.
The music is different. Five sections of the map all have the same music throughout, with towns having remixed versions of that theme, and variations playing during Pokémon battles. The music is also different depending on whether or not you’re riding the legendary.
How will the brand change from this dramatic shift in what “makes” a traditional Pokémon game?
