>>56265969I agree on it being a meme that nobody really knows or what the fuck they're talking about since "hurr level curbb badd", but the start to that complaint wasn't an instinctual pavlov response.
I want to point towards Kanto and say that it did that right, as when the game opens up by Lt. Surge, there is a big jump after Erika, going from high 20s to high 30s, which is a lot more drastic in practice when you consider how much exp is needed for your pokemon now than then. But there are other things to do than the gym challenges like the Rocket takeover of Silph and the plethora of trainers to fight from routes 12-18. In FRLG you had the Vs Seeker too in case you wanted a rematch with trainers too. Even the wild pokemon found in those routes start off near the same level as your team.
In Johto, they overcompensate for the split path by flatlining the levels of every encounter that isn't a boss fight, and while the boss fights go up levels, they are completely ass and easily cheesed. Sneed spams focus punch, Jasmine gets walled by ground or crumpled by fire, and Pryce is just a shitty stallfag that is begging for a setup sweep. Everything post-Morty tends to be a blur until all of the sudden Here Be Dragons near the end of the game. For players looking for an easy going experience it's a nasty and unfair surprise, and players looking for a more difficult experience have to sit through a bunch of braindead filler.
A level curve is not inherently bad and sets an expected pace for RPGs. They are not inherent hinderances and work for the game. But Johto's level curve in its case IS a hinderance.
