>>55542566I think where people have it backwards is like, the older Pokemon games are a 90'. s / 00's idea of what futuristic technology is like.
I do think the old gadgets and stuff were 100% part of the world's aesthetic though that was lost. And goes with the broader strokes of what have been lost with changes to meet modern cultural expectations.
The world of pokemon and the idea of a pokemon trainer is very rooted in that sorta classic childhood idea, that "going outside with friends", sorta running around town or nature, and having your own little rules and conflicts with the other kids separate from the world of adults, you especially see this kinda idea in a lot of japanese media in regards to kids who seem to just be out on their own interacting with other kids who are also out on their own.
Nowadays that level of freedom for a kid is completely unheard of (it was already disappearing when pokemon was big, especially in the west), and the games have followed this.
There's just this extremely omnipresent feeling of adult supervision in the newer pokemon games. I'd say it was felt most strongly by me in Sun and Moon, which is to be expected as they were a "reset" point, of the games appealing to modern kids instead of trying to keep up with the audience who were kids when Red and Blue released. The trials just feel like a summer camp or something, with adult figures basically guiding you from activity to activity.
Sword and shield is similar, the way the league is presented makes the whole thing feel like little league sports.
Scarlet and Violet are again, another example, because the entire adventure is framed as a school trip, and you do (optionally) go back for classes and stuff too. So the whole thing feels more like a field trip then an adventure.
I'm sure not everyone feels this way about the latest 3 games, but its this feeling I just constantly get while playing through the stories and it really pulls me out of the vibe I'd like to be in.
